Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths - Shigeru Mizuki

Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths by Shigeru Mizuki, translated by Zack Davisson / ISBN 9781770466302 / 372-page paperback published by Drawn & Quarterly *** The book that brought pre-eminent Manga-ka Shigeru Mizuki to the English-speaking world Kokopo, 1943. A platoon of soldiers is ordered into battle. The objective is death. The alternative is certain execution as a consequence of survival. Inspired by Eisner Award-winning author Shigeru Mizuki's own mandatory tour of duty as an active combatant in the Imperial Japanese Army, Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths portrays a flailing infantry unit on its last legs near the end of the Second World War. This deeply personal and landmark anti-war work could only have been made by a pacifist. The desperation and moral depravity on display is devastating. Mizuki's fanciful characters must make do against a photo-realistic backdrop teeming with tropical life that remains inhospitable. Indeed, commanding officers prove even more ferocious than