Surprise Attack!: Battle of Shiloh

Osprey Graphic History #4

by Larry Hama, Ron Wagner (Illustrator), Scott Moore (Illustrator)

The first major Civil War battle in the Western theater, Shiloh came as a horrifying shock to both the American public and those in arms. On April 6, 1862, Confederate forces staged a surprise attack on the Union army encamped along the Tennessee River. Fighting was fierce as General Grant struggled to hold off the enemy until his reinforcements arrived the following day so that he could 'Whip 'em tomorrow'. Though nearly driven into the Tennessee River, the Union army could ultimately claim victory - won at a dear cost. With nearly 24,000 total casualties in two days' fighting, 'Bloody Shiloh' served as a wake-up call to the nation, announcing that the continuing fight for the Union would be devastating for both sides.
Surprise Attack! brings to life one of the Civil War's bloodiest battles in highly accessible graphic novel format. It also includes eight pages of authoritative background information placing Shiloh in its historical context, detailing the key players, and describing the build-up to the fighting and its aftermath.

Genres: History, Graphic Novels, American Civil War

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Larry Hama is an American writer, artist, actor and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s.

During the 1970s, he was seen in minor roles on the TV shows M*A*S*H and Saturday Night Live, and appeared on Broadway in two roles in the original 1976 production of Stephen Sondheim's Pacific Overtures.

He is best known to American comic book readers as a writer and editor for Marvel Comics, where he wrote the licensed comic book series G.I. Joe, A Real American Hero, based on the Hasbro action figures. He has also written for the series Wolverine, Nth Man: the Ultimate Ninja, and Elektra. He created the character Bucky O'Hare, which was developed into a comic book, a toy line and television cartoon.

Reviews

[Sean Chick · Rating 1 out of 5]

This comic had some decent illustrations and a solid battle narrative, at least until Beauregard takes command. Then the narrative becomes cramped and error ridden. Forrest did not accept Prentiss' surrender. Lew Wallace wrote A LOT about Shiloh after the battle, in fact nearly right up to his death. The fighting on April 7 takes places in about 2 pages.

All around, its quite a stinker.

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

A useful overview of Shiloh, one of the most important battles of the American Civil War. The author does a good job of balancing the experience of the battle with a broad overview of events and the illustrations are evocative.

[C.J. Ferrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love these comic series by Osprey Publishing, they are great tools to help teach people about key events of the American Civil War.

[Holly Letson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a student in Glen, MS in elementary school, and a citizen of Corinth, MS most of my life, I had already--of course--learned about the Battle of Shiloh as a child.
That being said, I did thoroughly enjoy this graphic novel account of the battle. The detail in the drawing is wonderful.
----------------
One thing I really loved in this GN was the story about a wife and a dog. After the battle, she came looking for her husband, and was told by Union soldiers that all the dead--including her husband--were already buried, and they did not know which is which.
But, he also said, there was one grave where a loyal and faithful dog stood, whining and whimpering that his lifetime friend was gone. The woman looked over at it, and instantly recognized it as her husband's dog.

[William Razavi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, this was shockingly poorly done with a lot of errors. I can't ding the artwork so that's what actually deserves the stars here, but this book should have been a lot better and it's a disappointing effort by a writer who should know better.

[miaaa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lupa dapat di mana, di antara tumpukan buku diskon gede

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent overview of the events. It would be a good supplement to the less-than-adequate coverage of the American Civil War found in textbooks.