Whatever it is that your outside perspective thinks this book is about, you’re probably wrong. Whatever slant you derive from it’s description, or axe you perceive it to grind is most likely off the mark in a monumental way. The Other Side marks Jason Aaron’s formal debut into the world of comics (other than an 8 page Wolverine story that won him a contest in 2002), and it contains all the action, emotional violence and stunning candidness that has become Aaron’s stock in trade since this book debuted back in 2006. Make no mistake, this is a book about war. A very specific war at that, but more than anything this book is about the human spirit, the world’s collective soul that unites us all at our very cores and the lengths to which it has been mutilated by the military industrial complex, and THAT is what makes it such a complete joy to read.
From the outset, this book is uniquely Aaron in a lot of ways, the first being the language. As an Alabama native, Aaron is familiar with Southern US language represents it a lot better than most. On the other hand, Aaron has always excelled at writing some “fucked up shit” and the language he assigns to US Military personel is deeply, DEEPLY fucked up in places. I often take pride in the creativity of my insults, but I lost count of how many new swears Aaron created by page 10. Now, one of the advantages of writing mature readers comics is not being tied down by societal norms relating to language, but when a comic swears TOO much it often comes across as disingenuous at best and downright immature at worst. Neither is the case here though, as ever bit of flowery, abrasive language is used with a distinct purpose and goal that sets it apart from, say, your average Kevin Smith film, and that sets the book apart right from the beginning.
Something else Aaron excels at as a writer is making you both question the characters you are reading and still want them to succeed. However, in this book, unlike his more traditional comic fare as of late, you aren’t quite sure what your own gauge for their success is. Our two primary leads stem from wildly different worlds and circumstances and enter the war for entirely divergent reasons. Private First Class Bill Everette, our American lead, is drafted following the death of another soldier in Vietnam and does everything he can think of (using his most likely limited intellect) to get out of military service. Meanwhile, Vo Bihn Dai, our Vietnamese lead, gladly marches south with his fellow northern comrades to join the effort against the American oppressors. This juxtaposition between characters would ultimately form the backbone of this story, as their individual tales paralleled, mirrored and finally intersected with each other.
It is through this juxtaposition that our story is told. Aaron takes the lives of these two characters and uses them to prove a point. However, that point is not entirely defined, which to me implied that the definition had to come from me, as a reader. A friend told me as I began to read this book that the ending is sad. Having made it through, I’m not sure sadness is the emotion I ultimately felt once I closed this book. As someone that has leaned left politically since adolescence, I saw a story here that truly failed to take a stance ON war and still managed to accurately tell the story OF war. Sure, it was the Vietnam war, but the commentary on human conflict and it’s affect on the human mind is intense, thoughtful, awkwardly hilarious, hard to watch at times and entirely universal. Vietnam is the medium Aaron is using, but it isn’t quite the message, which for my money is why this book will ultimately transcend the lives of other war comics (which it actually does comment on) and obtain more longevity than other books in the genre.
Which brings us to Cameron Stewart’s art, and I think the only modus one can use to talk about his art in this one is the very public research methods he employed to prepare it. In order to accurately convey the scenery and situations Aaron penned for him, Stewart actually went to Vietnam and toured the locales and interacted heavily with the natives of Vietnam in order to truly develop a feel for what the country looked like. This, I feel, is why Stewart NEEDS to become as well known as respected as the Romitas and Kuberts of our time, because he truly exists at a cut above. It would have been so much easier for him to just work from the billions of photos of Vietnam that exist, but no, he had to see it with his own two eyes or risk misrepresentation. And the research done absolutely shows in the beautifully stylized line-work, the crisp and precise facial structures and intentional body language and especially the incredible detail of the backgrounds. No tree in the entire jungle seemed painted on to have something in the background, but rather every single leaf seemed intentionally formed and placed. THAT, my friends, is dedication to an art form.
I won’t lie to you, I’ve written a fair amount of these Friday Recommendations in my time at Multiversity. To be stunningly honest, I’ve covered books that, while good, do not entirely excite me and wouldn’t on a normal day cause me to run to my shelf and grab for someone to read, or introduce to my students, or even write about for a half hour straight without stopping as I have now. This book, however, I can thoroughly and unabashedly recommend to any fan of this art form or, indeed, any other art form as well as that is what the book is. Art. In the purest sense. Physical, psychological, sociological perfection. Seriously? Go read it.
