The War is On!: Battle of First Bull Run

Osprey Graphic History #10

by Larry Hama, Dheeraj Verma (Illustrator)

On July 21, 1861, two inexperienced armies of a divided nation clashed for the first time in Manassas, Virginia. As the 35,000-strong Union forces began their long-awaited campaign to capture Richmond, the public gathered to watch what they thought would be a colorful pageantry. Neither the citizens nor the soldiers could conceive of the long war that lay ahead. Culminating in a stalwart defensive fight by Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's Virginia Brigade, the Battle of Bull Run marked the Confederacy's first victory. By the day's end, after ten hours of fierce fighting, soldiers on both sides were shocked by the violence and destruction they had encountered. As the Union army retreated they took with them any notion that the war's outcome would be decided quickly. This book vividly evokes the real-life experiences of the men on the battlefield in graphic novel format and includes eight additional pages of background information detailing the key players, the experience of the forces, and the aftermath of the battle.

Genres: American Civil War, History

48 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 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

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid overview of the Civil War's opening battle.

[Holly Letson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very nicely written/drawn book about The Battle of First Bull Run, which was a battle that was the Confederates won by a landslide.
This is a graphic novel, and the detail in the art is very nice. Also, they use several actual quotes from both the Union and Confederate soldiers, which makes it all the more easy-to-believe.
I read this aloud with my family, and we all enjoyed it. It is a definite conversation starter and makes for some interesting conversation as you read it together.
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I have 4 of these graphic novels about the Civil War, checked out at present, from the Decatur Public Library.

[Cameron B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just finished the first bull run by Larry Hama I've read his books there really good. I learned lots of stuff from the book because its a information book but it has some blood in it because they re did the battle in the book like all battle information books. Although I like how the put details in the pictures and I like how told me when the battle ended and started in the book.This book is good book to learn about the first bull run I give it a 3 star!!!!!!

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is terrific entertainment for a ten year old. My son loves comic books so I thought this would be a great idea to get a glimpse of history and have it read like a comic book. It was a hit. He has read the book numerous times and now knows about the Battle of Bull Run without yet covering the Civil War in school. And as a bonus he has used the pictures to learn to draw realistic cartoons.

[Katie]

kyle bryan - 9/21/12