This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Armistice of the Second World War. Considered the largest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries, WWII shaped the world we live in today. Causing immense human suffering and physical destruction on an unprecedented scale, its conclusion resulted in a reshaping of the world’s political, economic, and social systems, laying the groundwork for international relations for the remainder of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century.
When it comes to our duty of memory, comics offer a unique way to revisit World War II. From historical accounts to personal experiences, they depict the war’s events, and figures, providing different perspectives on a conflict that shaped the modern world.
Today we invite you to continue exploring and discovering stories from World War II with our selection of comics, ranging from family stories transformed by war to the bloodiest battles and everything in between, exploring both intimate tales and large-scale events, capturing the trauma, sacrifice, and lasting impact of this defining moment in history.
1. Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman
Without a doubt, one of the most celebrated and discussed comic books ever published, the Pulitzer Prize Winner Maus is also a chilling tale set during the Holocaust, with Jews drawn as wide-eyed mice and Nazis as menacing cats. Maus is weaving the author’s account of his tortured relationship with his aging father into an astonishing retelling of one of history’s most unspeakable tragedies. It is an unforgettable story of survival and a disarming look at the legacy of trauma.
2.Berlin by Jason Lutes
Created over two decades, Jason Lutes’ classic graphic novel makes the Capital of Berlin the main character in this story charting the fall of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Nazism through the eyes of its citizens-Marthe Müller, a young woman escaping the memory of a brother killed in World War I, Kurt Severing, an idealistic journalist losing faith in the printed word as fascism and extremism take hold; the Brauns, a family torn apart by poverty and politics.
3. They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven R. Scott
Today a celebrated figure of pop culture thanks to his role in Star Trek, George Takei was also a four-year-old boy growing up in America after the bombings of Pearl Harbor. The famous actor shades a light on this dark chapter and a gross miscarriage of government in his graphic memoir, revisiting his haunting childhood in American concentration camps, as one of over 100,000 Japanese Americans imprisoned by the U.S. government during World War II.
4. Once Upon a Time in France by Fabien Nury and Sylvain Vallée
Joseph Joanovici represents à la perfection the complex and ambiguous role and place of France during World War II. Based on a true story, Nury and Vallée’s graphic novel follows the life of Joseph Joanovici, a Romanian Jew who immigrated to France in the 1920s and became one of the richest men in Europe as a scrap-metal magnate. For some, he was a villain. For others, a hero. As Germany occupies France, Mr. Joseph plays both sides of the fence as a Nazi collaborator and a French resistant, and it will take a lot more than money to pay for the survival of his family.
5. Showa A History of Japan (1939-1944) by Shigeru Mizuki
A four-volume manga series covering the reign of the Japanese emperor Hirohito (1926-1989), Showa: A History of Japan is a very detailed historical account mixed with biographical elements of Japanese life in the twentieth century. The second volume covers World War II, specifically, the devastation of the Sino-Japanese War and the first few years of the Pacific War. Mizuki’s idyllic youth in the countryside comes to an abrupt halt when he is conscripted into the Imperial Japanese Army against his will. On the tiny island of Rabaul in Papua New Guinea, a constant struggle for survival ensues. Not only must he fend off attacks from Allied forces, but from the harsh discipline of his own commanding officers too.
6.Onwards Towards Our Noble Deaths by Shigeru Mizuki
Before Showa, Mangaka Shigeru Mizuki had already related his personal experience as a soldier in the New Guinea campaign in Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths. Kokopo, 1943. In the last years of the war, Mizuki is part of a platoon of soldiers ordered into battle, instructed to die for their country to avoid the dishonor of survival.
7.Twists Of Fate by Paco Roca
From one war to another. This is the story of the Spanish Republicans who fled Spain after Franco’s victory and went from fighting for their homeland to battles spanning the globe in WWII. Miguel Ruiz (a composite character created by Roca to tell this story) is part of this group, a man who fought in Africa and participated in the Liberation of France.
8. Grass by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim
A beautiful and gut-wrenching story covering a less-known somber chapter of the war, Grass tells the life story of a Korean girl named Okseon Lee who was forced to work as a “comfort women”, and shows the horrific realities for all those women put into sexual slavery for the Japanese Imperial Army during the Second World War.
9. The Journey of Marcel Grob by Philippe Collin and Sébastien Goethals
Written by Philippe Collin as a tribute to his great uncle, The Journey of Marcel Grob has become, since his publication seven years ago, a French comic classic. Marcel Grob found himself among the ‘malgré-nous’, a young man from Alsace forced to become a member of the Nazis’ infamous Waffen SS after the region’s annexation. At more than 80 years old, Grob is investigated about his past and forced to revisit painful memories as an adolescent forced to fight in Italy with the sinister Reichsführer division to prove his innocence.
10. Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm
How the Atomic Bomb was built? illustrator Jonathan Fetter-Vorm tells the history of the race to build and the decision to drop the first atomic bomb, and the ethical debates that followed. From depiction to the process of a nuclear chain reaction, the establishment of Los Alamos and the Manhattan Project under J. Robert Oppenheimer’s leadership, and the first test-site code-named Trinity, this is a deeply researched comic book about the first nuclear weapon and how it changed the world. On that subject, you can also read The Bomb: The Weapon That Changed the World by Didier Alcante and Laurent-Frédéric Bollee.
11. Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation by Ari Folman and David Polonsky
Authorized by the Anne Frank Foundation in Basel, this graphic edition of the Diary of Anne Frank delivers a faithful adaptation, bringing Anne Frank’s world to life. At Age thirteen, the young girl and her family were forced into hiding in an Amsterdam attic. There, Anne Frank kept a diary in which she confided her innermost thoughts and feelings, movingly revealing how the eight people living under these extraordinary conditions coped with the daily threat of discovery and death.
12. Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home by Nora Krug
An illustrated and hand-lettered visual memoir on a German family’s memory of WWII. After years of living in the US, artist Nora Krug returned to Germany in a quest to learn about her family’s past. Though all four grandparents lived through the war, they never spoke of it when she was a child. Now, Krug visits archives, conducts research, and interviews family members, uncovering her family’s place in it all.
13. In This Corner of the World by Fumiyo Kouno
The fictional life of Suzu Urano, a young woman from the countryside who joins her joins her new husband and his family living on the outskirts of Kure City during the Second World War. s her beautiful home collapses around her, Suzu must confront the challenges of a new life while coming to grips with a world in turmoil. Unwilling to give up hope, Suzu struggles against the horrors of war to create her own happiness. From the same author, see also Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms, about a family of survivors of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
14. I, Rene Tardi, Prisoner Of War In Stalag IIB by Jacques Tardi
After covering the First World War in the acclaimed It Was the War of the Trenches and other comics, Jacque Tardi tackled the Second World War with a graphic novel trilogy depicting his father’s harrowing story, French tank crewman Rene Tardi, who was captured by the Germans on May 22, 1940. His life is then changed forever as he is shipped off to a P.O.W. camp, Stalag IIB, where he endures a brutal day-to-day existence for nearly five years.
15. Alan’s War: The Memories of G.I. Alan Cope by Emmanuel Guibert
A three-volume French comic book series (completed a few years later with a companion piece) from Emmanuel Guilbert based on his many exchanges with Alan whom he met on the beaches of Ile de Ré. When he was eighteen, Alan I Cope enrolled in the Army and was sent to fight in Europe in World War II, with no idea what he was getting into at the time. His story and moving experience is then told in this graphic memoir
While Garth Ennis is a celebrated comics writer best known for Preacher, The Boys, and his works on The Punisher and Hellblazer, the man is what we can call a World War II aficionado, and some of his best, though less famous, works are war comics set during the period:
16. The Complete Battlefields (3 volumes) by Garth Ennis and various artists
A collection of several miniseries set during World War II. Includes Night Witches, Dear Billy, Tankies (Vol. 1), Happy Valley, The Firefly and His Majesty, Motherland (Vol. 2), The Green Fields Beyond, The Fall & Rise of Anna Kharkova (Vol. 3)
17. War Stories (5 volumes) by Garth Ennis and various artists
A collection of mini-series dealing with the horror of war experienced by those on the frontline. Includes Johann’s Tiger, D-Day Dodgers, Screaming Eagles, Nightingale, The Reivers, J for Jenny, Condors, Archangel, Castles in the Sky, Children of Israel, The Last German Winter, Our Wild Geese Go, Tokyo Club, Send a Gunboat, Vampire Squadron, Flower of My Heart.
18. Sara by Garth Ennis and Steve Epting
In the cold winter of 1942, Soviet sniper Sara and her comrades fight against Nazi invaders. But as the fighting intensifies, can their squad survive?
19. The Stringbags, by Garth Ennis and PJ Holden
Written for the U. S. Naval Institute, this graphic novel presents the story of the men who crewed the Swordfish (A biplane torpedo bomber in an age of monoplanes), from their triumphs against the Italian Fleet at Taranto and the mighty German battleship Bismarck in the Atlantic to the deadly challenge of the Channel Dash in the bleak winter waters of their homeland.
20. Adventures in the Rifle Brigade by Garth Ennis and Carlos Ezquerra
Garth Ennis combines his love for war comics with his particular brand of humor and violence for this series. The Rifle Brigade is Britain’s top commando team-skilled, deadly, and with no more grip on reality than absolutely necessary.
21. Dreaming Eagles by Garth Ennis and Simon Coleby
The story of the first African-American fighter pilots to join the United States Army Air Force in WWII and whose humble beginnings in Tuskegee, Alabama propelled them into the deadly skies above Hitler’s Third Reich.
22. Johnny Red by Garth Ennis and Keith Burns
Johnny ‘Red’ Redburn was the hero of the British comic book war of the same name published between 1977 and 1987. His adventures have been reprinted by Titans Comics who also released a new story featuring the rogue British pilot written by Ennis, who grew up a fan of the character.
23. Out of the Blue by Garth Ennis and Keith Burns
The duo behind Johnny Red is reunited to tell another tale of World War II aerial combat. Jamie McKenzie is assigned to deadly shipping strikes along the enemy coast. Flying the Mosquito fighter-bomber against heavily armed targets is dangerous enough at the best of times, but after incurring the wrath of his vengeful commanding officer, Jamie is assigned the most unpopular navigator in the unit- not to mention the least reliable aircraft.
24. World of Tanks (2 volumes) by Garth Ennis and various
Inspired by the online game World of Tanks, follow an untested British tank crew advancing into France shortly after the D-Day invasion, then the fight for survival of two tank crews-one German, one Soviet- during the Battle of Kursk.
25. The Lion and the Eagle by Garth Ennis and PJ Holden
1944: Imperial Japan still commands most of Asia. Determined to regain their hold on Burma, the British sent a special forces unit – the Chindits – deep behind Japanese lines. Their mission is to attack the enemy wherever they find him. What awaits them is a nightmare equal to anything the Second World War can deliver.
26. Message to Adolf (2 volumes) by Osamu Tezuka
From the “Father of Manga” comes a tale set before, during, and after World War II, featuring three men who share the name Adolf. Kamil, a Jew who grew up in Kobe, Japan; Kaufmann, the child of a German consul; and Hitler, the führer whom the Far East nations agreed with.
27. Moving Pictures by Stuart and Kathryn Immonen
The awkward and dangerous relationship between curator Ila Gardner and officer Rolf Hauptmann, as they are forced by circumstances to play out their private lives in a public power struggle.
28. Stalingrad: Letters from the Volga by Antonio Gil and Daniel Ortega
The Battle of Stalingrad is recounted from beginning to end, through the eyes of Russian and German soldiers.
31. Song of a Blackbird by Maria van Lieshout
Weaving two timelines to shed a light on how important art can be to face the worst, Song of a Blackbird tells the story of Emma Bergsma who joined the Dutch Resistance in 1943, while the discovery that Annick’s grandmother was adopted led to a series of art prints hanging on the wall–each signed by a mysterious “Emma B.
29. We Are Not Strangers by Josh Tuiniga
Inspired by artist Josh Tuininga’s family experiences We Are Not Strangers describes the the shared experiences of discrimination faced by both Sephardic Jews and Japanese Americans, who arrived in Seattle around the same time and faced cultural and linguistic barriers. Despite the war raging just outside US borders, Marco befriends Sam Akiyama, a Japanese man who finds his world upended by President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066. Marco is determined to help his friend and his family while they are unjustly incarcerated.
30.Catherine’s War by Julia Billet
Based on the author’s mother’s own experiences as a hidden child in France during World War II. At the Sèvres Children’s Home outside Paris, Rachel Cohen has discovered her passion—photography. But as France buckles under the Nazi regime, danger closes in, and Rachel must change her name and go into hiding–leaving her home and becoming Catherine Colin.
33. Six Days: The Incredible Story of D-Day’s Lost Chapter by Robert Venditti
This is the true story of a World War II battle that took place in the small village of Graignes, France. In the worst mis-drop of the D-Day campaign, a group of soldiers are rattled to find themselves even deeper behind enemy lines than anyone had intended. Miraculously, the citizens of Graignes vote to feed and shelter the soldiers, knowing that the decision would bring them terrible punishment if their efforts were discovered by the Germans. That day of reckoning comes faster than anyone could expect.
32. Normandy: A Graphic History of D-Day The Allied Invasion of Hitler’s Fortress in Europe by Wayne Vansant
Wayne Wansant has written several comics on historical and military subjects aimed at teens (but also for adults!) to tell the true story and in this particular case the history of D-Day, the planning and execution of Operation Overlord. From the same author, see also The Battle of the Bulge, Bombing Nazi Germany, Katusha: Girl Soldier of the Great Patriotic War.
36. The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors by James D. Hornfischer, Doug Murray, Steven Sanders
An Adaptation of the naval history classic The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors, pieces together the action of the Battle off Samar, the centermost action of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, one of the largest naval battles in history, which took place in the Philippine Sea off Samar Island, in the Philippines on October 25, 1944.
34. Barefoot Gen by Keiji Nakazawa
loosely based on Nakazawa’s experiences as a survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bombing, Barefoot Gen is a classic manga that recounts the bombing of Hiroshima and its effects from the perspective of a young boy, Gen, and his family. From the same author, see also Saw It: The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima: A Survivor’s True Story, the predecessor of Barefoot Gen.
36. The Jewish Brigade by Marvano
In the waning years of World War II, a Jewish fighting force, known as the Jewish Infantry Brigade Group, was born as part of the British Eighth Army. Leslie Toliver, a racecar driver in the pre-war years, eagerly joined the all-volunteer force for a chance to fight with his people against those who sought to murder them.
37. The English GI by Jonathan Sandler and Brian Bicknell
Jonathan Sandler depicts his grandfather’s story, Bernard Sandler, who was a 17-year-old schoolboy from Yorkshire, on a school trip to the United States in September 1939. He finds himself unable to return home, separated from his close-knit Jewish family in Britain, and stranded in cosmopolitan New York for an unknown duration, he must grow up quickly. But just as he finds his independence, the United States declares war in December 1941, which changes his life once again.
38. The Reprieve & Flight of the Raven by Jean-Pierre Gibrat
Set in Paris during the German Occupation, Julien has escaped from a prisoner-of-war train headed for Germany, but fate intervenes when the train is bombed and among the victims, a body is identified as his. Dead to the world, he takes advantage of the situation and hides in the small village of Cambeyrac, using his secret observation post overlooking the village square to watch the permanent theater that people offer in the course of the day. But this hidden life was just a reprieve and he must become an actor himself and meet his destiny.
39. Shanghai Dream by Philippe Thirault
In 1938 Berlin, aspiring filmmaker Bernard Hersch works at the UFA studios. But as a Jew in Hitler’s Germany, Bernard faces increasing danger and discrimination and is soon forced to accept deportation to Japan as his only hope. As he escapes the Nazi threat in Shanghai, he is forced to adapt to a new land and cope with familial loss through the magic of filmmaking.
In the world of superheroes, some characters more than others have been affected by World War II (especially at Marvel Comics). The global conflict has been revisited more than once, from flashback scenes or comic series set during this period. Many war comics were released not long after the war, offering also a page of comic history at the same time.
40. Magneto Testament by Greg Pak and Carmine Di Giandomenico
The Magneto origin story is also a Holocaust story following Max Eisenhardt, a Jewish schoolboy n Nazi Germany who finds himself having to struggle for survival against the inexorable machinery of Hitler’s Final Solution.
41. Captain America: White by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale
No hero can be more associated with WWII than Captain America, a propaganda hero representing the righteousness of the US and its fight against Nazism. The creative duo of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale revisits the origins of Captain America while the man out of time must come to terms with the loss of his best friend and his past with Bucky Barnes charging fearlessly into battle at his side. The Howling Commandos are right behind. Odds against them, lives on the line, taking the fight to the greatest evil of all.
42. Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee
Before becoming the leader of the S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury was fighting Nazis with his Howling Commandos (a fictional World War II unit). An influence on Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds, this series saw our heroes battle more Nazis than you can shake a bayonet at, team-up with Captain America and Bucky, battle the nefarious Barons Strucker and Zemo, set out to capture Adolf Hitler himself and much more!
43. Sgt Rock created by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert
Created at the end of the fifties, Sergeant Franklin John Rock is a World War II soldier who served as an infantry non-commissioned officer. He first appeared in G.I. Combat #68 and steadily gained popularity appeared in many Our Army at War issues and in several miniseries named after him.
44. Atlas At War!, edited by Michael Vassallo
A collection of fifty stories published between 1951 and 1960 from Atlas Comics, the company that became Marvel Comics. Atlas at War! covers the brutal pre-code period where graphic depictions of war action were rendered by artists who were World War II veterans themselves, as well as the post-code period, where code restrictions forced creators to tell stories without graphic violence but produced some of the most beautiful comic art of the genre.
45. Commando Comics by various
Commando Comics was a British comic book war magazine launched in 1961. If you were a young boy growing up at the time, you couldn’t miss them as they were everywhere! Now, you can discover the classic Commando Comics in several anthologies such as The Dirty Dozen which collects stories set at Dunkirk, through desert warfare in North Africa and daring commando raids behind enemy lines, to tough battles across Europe from D-Day to VE Day. There are other collections out there, some bigger than others, often organized by themes.