The reason why the book is considered a classic is that Crane was the first writer to pen a war story that wasn't actually focused on the war itself. It does have battles and troop movements and such, but the focus of the book is on Fleming's inner conflict -- how he thinks and feels about what's going on around him and, more signficantly, how he's reacting to it all. That Crane wrote in a unusually naturalistic style and from such a humanist perspective is probably why the book has remained in print continuously since its initial publication.
Despite the book's -- and its subsequent adapations into multiple media -- proliferation, I will admit that I was unfamiliar with it at all before reading Steve Cuzor's version that came out in May. So for good or ill, I'm unable to compare it against any other iteration. I choose to view this as a positive because, living here in 2025, I've seen/heard/read countless war stories that are told from all sorts of perspectives. From individual combatants to civilians simply caught in the line of fire to the generals directing the overall strategy to spouses and loved ones left at home far from the physical danger of combat. The book would not at all have seemed historic or original in that sense. Going in to Cuzor's version, then, means that I'm pretty much just looking at: can he tell a good story?
The short answer is "yes." It did take me a couple pages to get into the rhythm of his storytelling approach; he lets the story breath a surprising amount. Fleming is alone with his thoughts for a fair portion of the story, but even with that, we get many silent panels where his thoughts and feelings are to be inferred through facial expression and body language. Which is made all the more impressive by Cuzor's illustration style, which relies pretty heavily on spotted blacks with minimal feathering and no cross-hatching to speak of. You would think such an approach would make it difficult to convey much nuance, but Cuzor seems to do that with ease.
The same can be said for his color palette. It appears to have been drawn simply as black and white, and each section is then given a kind of color wash over the entire section, with just variations of a single color for the entire section. Mostly in a kind of grey-ish green range, but with nighttime scenes in dark blues. It's surprisingly effective and, again, offers a nuance that you wouldn't anticipate with that approach. Kudos to colorist Meephe Versaevel.
But back to Cuzor's illustration, the other note-worthy bit is how he manages to make each character identifiable visually throughout the book. Keep in mind that almost the entire story takes places within the ranks of an army regiment -- everyone is wearing the exact same uniform! And yet he manages to make the characters still look unique even when they're all marching in formation. Really an impressive feat!
Obviously, a lot of the book's structure and theme owe a huge amount of debt to Crane's original. But Cuzor handles them here very smoothly and seemingly with ease. As I said, I haven't read any other adapations, but I am familiar with other adaptations from Classics Illustrated and similar lines, and I am nearly 100% they don't do as good a job relaying the story as Cuzor does here. If you're already a fan of the story, this is certainly a worthy addition to your library, and if you've never read the original but are curious about it, I'd also highly recommend this version.
The book, as I said, came out in May under the Abrams Comics Arts imprint so it should be readily available from your favorite book seller. The paperback retails for $19.99 US and the hardcover for $25.99 US.
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