Normandy: A Graphic History of D-Day by Wayne Vansant review

At first glance, Normandy: A Graphic History of D-Day could be confusing to some readers. It’s a graphic novel with the word graphic in the title of the book about the history of D-Day. This graphic novel is historically accurate, so everything in the book is true and has realistic art accompanying the narrative. Author and illustrator Wayne Vansant has been drawing realistic war comics for years and has a series of graphic novels to help teach key points in the history of the United States military.

Even if you know what to expect from the book it’s difficult to think of how it was accomplished. If the book is too cartoony then the historical aspects wouldn’t be respected or taught. If the book is too graphic then it wouldn’t be as palatable for (young) students of history.  I hesitate to say that it’s for young student because it’s not exclusively for them.

I read the book cover to cover and learned dozens of things about the summer of 1944 and the heroes that changed the world. It’s incredibly detailed of the allied invasion, individual battles that waged as part of that chapter in WWII.

It is a graphic novel, but it is packed with education. It tells the basics of infantry life, how big a platoon was (3 squads of 12 men), their weapons and how it compared to the Germans. I didn’t know that the English used gliders as part of the reconnaissance for the Omaha Beach. Most of the glider hit their marks, but some didn’t leaving the crew sitting ducks for Nazi troops who saw them parachuting down in a well lit city.

The illustrations in the Normandy aren’t too graphic, but they reflect the reality of conflict. There are multiple panels where dead bodies are pictured and a couple that reflect them being burned in a vehicle. 10 year old children who are studying WWII would be able to look at this and realize that it’s part of what happened, meant to be education and not gratuitous.

For older readers it’s a great way to learn about Normandy and the final year of WWII. With Flag Day coming up this summer and Veteran’s Day later this year it’s also good to remember those from that generation that changed history.