Synopses & Reviews
Normandy depicts the planning and execution of Operation Overlord in 96 full-color pages. The initial paratrooper assault is shown, as well as the storming of the five D-Day beaches: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. But the story does not end there. Once the Allies got ashore, they had to stay ashore. The Germans made every effort to push them back into the sea. This book depicts the such key events in the Allied liberation of Europe as: 1. Construction of the Mulberry Harbors, two giant artificial harbors built in England and floated across the English Channel so that troops, vehicles, and supplies could be offloaded across the invasion beaches.2. The Capture of Cherbourg, the nearest French port, against a labyrinth of Gennan pillboxes.3. The American fight through the heavy bocage (hedgerow country) to take the vital town of Saint-Lô.4. The British-Canadian struggle for the city of Caen against the “Hitler Youth Division,” made up of 23,000 seventeen- and eighteen-year-old Nazi fanatics.5. The breakout of General Patton’s Third Army and the desperate US 30th Division’s defense of Mortaine.6. The Falaise Pocket, known as the “Killing Ground, ” where the remnants of two German armies were trapped and bombed and shelled into submission. The slaughter was so great that 5,000 Germans were buried in one mass grave.7. The Liberation of Paris, led by the 2nd Free French Armored Division, which had been fighting for four long years with this goal in mind.
Review
"Normandy: A Graphic History of D-Day; The Allied Invasion of Fortress Europe, adopts the comic-book, graphic-novel style of illustrated panels accompanied by a bit of text to tell the story of the June 6, 1944, invasion of France through the August 25 entry into Paris. Unlike the mostly-for-entertainment comics of my childhood, this book gives an accurate overview of the events it relates and provides a surprising amount of detail, given its limited-text, just-over-100-pages format. It isn't just for younger readers, either, although it would serve as a great introduction to the Normandy campaign for pre-teens and teens. Wayne Vansant found the right mix of text and illustration in creating this book. The short sentence structure imposed by the graphic novel format adds to the story, giving an enhanced sense of action and urgency. It's a good, short, informative read for adults and an excellent tool for introducing younger readers to the story of D-Day. Highly recommended." - ArmChairGeneral.com
Review
"What a glorious book, vivid, accurate, utterly bewitching." â?? Alex Kershaw, bestselling author of The Bedford Boys: One American Town's Ultimate D-Day Sacrifice
Review
"I am very pleased to have discovered a new history graphic novel series, beginning with Normandy: A Graphic History of D-Day: The Allied Invasion of Hitler's Fortress Europe which is both written and illustrated by Wayne Vansant. Other books will follow, on subjects including Gettysburg, Civil War Generals Grant and Lee, and the Bombing of Nazi Germany. The series is aimed at teen readers, but I find it's great for adults interested in experiencing history through the graphic novel medium. I recommend this book and the forthcoming books in the series to anyone who enjoys graphic novels and/or history, and for those older kids in your life who are having a hard time getting into history. We will definitely be using it for our homeschooling curriculum when my kids are a bit older." - WIRED.com Geek Dad
Review
"â?¿ absolutely one of the most phenomenal things I've ever read. It was like reading a textbook except it was interesting. These are fantasticâ?¿ I love these things. I wish I had these when I was in school because I probably would have learned a hell of a lot more." - PetesBasement.com
Review
"If you have a nostalgic affection for comic books--I mean (ahem!) graphic histories--or if you enjoy reading and collecting them today, you'll certainly want to get a copy of this one. I'd also recommend it as a gift for any young reader you think might be developing into an enthusiast of military history." - World at War
Review
"This book is a fine work for someone looking for a quick overview of the Allied campaign in Normandy or for someone who would appreciate its visual stimulation. It is perfect for a youngster or a novice that needs to get familiar with D-Day and subsequent events associated with the battle." - Air Power History
Synopsis
Normandy is a historically accurate and serious graphic narrative of the most anticipated event of World War II: the invasion of Normandy.
Synopsis
The Invasion of Normandy was the most anticipated event of WWII. A historically accurate and serious graphic narrative by Wayne Vansant, Normandy depicts the invasion of Normandy on five beaches—Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword—to the construction of Mulberry Harbors, the capture of Cherbourg, the fight for Saint-Lô and also Caen, the breakout of Patton’s Third Army, the fights at the Falaise Pocket, to the liberation of Paris.
Synopsis
Writer and artist Wayne Vansant (Marbleton, GA) was the primary artist for Marvel’s The ‘Nam for more than five years. Since then, he has written and illustrated many historically accurate books such as Antietam: The Fiery Trial (with the National Park Service) and The Vietnam War: A Graphic History. He is currently finishing up Gettysburg (Zenith, 2013) for the 150 anniversary of America's most famous battle.
Synopsis
“What a glorious book, vivid, accurate, utterly bewitching.” -Alex Kershaw, bestselling author of
The Bedford Boys, One American Town’s Ultimate D-Day Sacrifice The Allied invasion of Europe was the most anticipated event of WWII. In this powerful graphic history, Wayne Vansant tells the intricate story of the planning and execution of Operation Overlord from the invasion of five D-Day beaches (Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword) on June 6, 1944, to the liberation of Paris on August 25, 1944. In between Vansant paints a portrait of the campaign’s vicious and unforgiving fighting, including the Allies’ capture of Cherbourg, the deadly battles in hedgerow country, the Allied struggle for Caen, the breakout of Patton’s Third Army, and the eventual defeat of Axis forces in the Falaise Pocket. It was the Allied success in Normandy that hastened the beginning of the end for the Nazis. About the Author -Writer and artist Wayne Vansant was the primary artist for Marvel’s The ‘Nam for more than five years. Since then he has written and/or illustrated many historically accurate graphic histories including Antietam: The Fiery Trial (for the National Park Service) and The Vietnam War: A Graphic History. He is currently working on Gettysburg, a graphic history of the Civil War’s most famous battle.
About the Author
Writer and artist Wayne Vansant was the primary artist for Marvel's The 'Nam for more than five years. Since then, he has written and illustrated many historically accurate graphic histories, such as The Hammer and the Anvil; The Vietnam War: A Graphic History; Normandy: A Graphic History of D-Day, The Allied Invasion of Hitler's Fortress Europe (Zenith Press, 2012); Gettysburg: The Graphic History of America's Most Famous Battle and the Turning Point of the Civil War (Zenith Press, 2013); Grant vs. Lee: The Graphic History of the Civil War's Greatest Rivals During the Last Year of the War (Zenith Press, 2013); Bombing Nazi Germany: The Graphic History of the Allied Air Campaign That Defeated Hitler in World War II (Zenith Press, 2013); and The Red Baron: The Graphic History of Richthofen's Flying Circus and the Air War in WWI (Zenith Press, 2014). He is currently working on The Battle of the Bulge: A Graphic History of Allied Victory in the Ardennes, 1944-1945 (Zenith Press, 2014) for the 70th anniversary of the battle in December 2014.
Table of Contents
Introduction 6
Chapter 1 Second Front Now!
Chapter 2 How Peaceful the Land Looked
Chapter 3 Hitting the Beaches
Chapter 4 Bloody Omaha
Chapter 5 The Skin of Their Teeth
Chapter 6 The Tigers of Villers-Bocage
Chapter 7 Death in the Hedgerows
Chapter 8 The Devil’s Children
Chapter 9 The Capital of Ruins
Chapter 10 Blood & Thunder
Chapter 11 The Cobra Strikes!
Chapter 12 “Come and Get Us!”
Chapter 13 Third Army Rampage
Chapter 14 The Killing Ground
Chapter 15 “Aux Barricades!”