A graphic novel adaption of James Hornfischer’s historical account of the Battle Off Samar.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Doug Murray/Steven Sanders
What They Say
Adapted from the naval history classic and New York Times bestseller, The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors pieces together the action of the Battle off Samar, bringing to life a riveting story of heroism against daunting odds, duty, and sacrifice in a way never seen before.
In October 1944, Allied forces began landing on the Philippine island of Leyte. Quickly assessing the threat of the Allied invasion, the Japanese navy sought to counterattack. But with the island protected by the full strength of Admiral William F. Halsey’s Third Fleet, a direct attack was nearly impossible. Undeterred, the Japanese Admiralty deployed their forces, engaging the Third Fleet and retreating in a manner that drew the fleet into hot pursuit. However, Admiral Halsey had been deceived, and the Japanese plan had taken his fleet out of position to defend the American beachhead.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
In October 1944, US forces return to wrest the Philippines from the Japanese. In response, the Imperial Japanese Navy seeks to get the upper hand by deploying a decoy fleet. The ruse works, drawing Admiral Halsey’s Third Fleet into hot pursuit – and away from the main Japanese force of twenty-three ships, including the Yamato, the biggest battleship ever made. All that stands between the huge guns of the Japanese and the landing beaches of Leyte is Taffy 3, a landing support unit of thirteen ships. Unprepared, outmanned, and outgunned, Taffy 3 plunges into an incredible last stand on October 25, 1944.
This graphic novel is an adaption of the 2004 historical account by James Hornfischer. Generally speaking, I don’t have a problem with such adaptations. In fact, graphic novel versions often provide a clearer picture of events than straight text. Plus the physical quality of this hardcover book is top-notch. However, it feels like Murray bit off more than he could chew with this adaption. The work is 200 pages; the Battle Off Samar begins on page 18, the book closes on page 200 with the last survivors reaching safety. What that means is that there’s not a whole lot of room for background information.
So if you don’t know anything about World War II or its major players, you’ll probably get confused. While I knew the significance of MacArthur’s return, the strategic importance of the Philippines, and the overall progression of the War in the Pacific, I still had trouble figuring out what was going on. I actually had to rely on the information in the back cover blurb to grasp the context of this battle. The creators do include two nice visual aids: a graphic lineup of the opposing fleets and a map detailing their travel paths prior to the battle. Unfortunately, the book doesn’t contain enough of these aids. Characters make several references to straits and other geographical locations, but there aren’t maps to clarify the places they talk about. Even the one fleet route map has no place names on it.
The other thing that makes this narrative difficult to follow is that it doesn’t follow a single person. The original work was based on declassified documents and interviews with veterans. The graphic novel clearly reflects this in how it alternates from the wider scope of the battle to individual POVs, citing each person’s name, rank, and affiliation. So we get the perspectives of Americans and Japanese, sailors and pilots, enlisted men and admirals, all scattered on different points of battle. The quantity of characters isn’t bad in and of itself, but in this case, it’s problematic because Sanders’ character designs are not distinctive. I was constantly pausing to figure out who was who and what their role and location was.
Despite the book’s overall lack of cohesion, the individual anecdotes scattered throughout are gripping. Tales of heroism, desperation, close calls, even humor. My favorite stories were from the pilots–the aviator who had to convince his dispatch that the Japanese battleships FIRING at his squadron weren’t allies; another who pulled a gun on a stubbornly unhelpful Army officer to secure an airfield for his comrades to refuel and reload; and another gutsy pilot who continued harassing Japanese warships despite having no ammo left. The creators did an excellent job conveying the drama and emotion of these vignettes, even if I couldn’t tell one character apart from the next.
As far as the weaponry of war goes, the creators do a decent job laying out the strengths of the different forces (i.e. eighteen-inch Japanese guns versus the American radar rangefinder). Unfortunately, some of the action sequences get confusing. Also, glimpses of radar readout provide snapshots of the battle, but there’s no legend for the initials marking the ships, so I couldn’t tell which belonged to which fleet.
The text is also short on explaining terminology. While brief descriptions are provided for major vessels, none is provided for aircraft, and the Battle Off Samar involves a lot of planes. The dialogue also includes slang like “tin cans” and “fish,” much of which is not defined.
By the way, this is a war story, and it has the casualties to go with it. Sanders is pretty graphic with flying body parts, gruesome injuries, and the like. So if you pick this up, be prepared for disturbing images.
As far as I can tell, there’s no age rating, but I would rate it older teen for violence, disturbing images, and language.
In Summary
The Last Stand of the Tin Can Soldiers is a mixed bag. The overarching narrative of this adaption is confusing, but the anecdotes peppered within it are compelling. Character designs have a sameness that makes it difficult to differentiate individuals, and some illustrations don’t communicate action clearly, but the intensity and gruesomeness of combat come across loud and clear. This hardcover, full-color book is beautifully produced and may hold appeal for fans of Hornfischer’s original work, but if you don’t know anything about the War in the Pacific, this is not the place to start.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B-
Packaging Grade: A+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dead Reckoning
Release Date: November 17th, 2021
MSRP: $29.95
