World War II was truly global; this week we go beyond the traditional WWII narrative.

It is a bit odd thinking about it now, but when I was born, World War II had ended less than 35 years prior; it was still fresh in the minds of many. We still had living veterans, and those that clearly remembered its after effects. I imagine that for this generation, the mindset of war never really ended as they also witnessed the Korean War, and had just witnessed the end of the Vietnam War.

Of course, World War II books and movies really dominated the war genre (and still do to this day). With many great examples to choose from, there is one common element. Regardless of the story or the approach, the narratives tend to focus on the US, Russia and Germany, with the U.K., Japan, Italy and Canada playing supporting roles.

When looking at these great WWII stories, I was intrigued when I came across Elisio – a true story of Brazilian World War II combat veterans. Yes, you read that right – Brazil.

When we think of Brazil, it’s easy to think of Rio de Janeiro and its party scene, political corruption and crime, and of course soccer. Brazil has had a huge impact on culture worldwide, with its soccer stars being the idols of youth around the world. But a lot of this fame seems newfound; it’s almost like the world didn’t care much about Brazil before 1950, and certainly I had never heard anything about their involvement in World War II. When I first encountered stories about the Cobras Fumantes (or, the Smoking Snakes), I thought that maybe this was some kind of parody, or clever hoax. After all, I’ve read WWII books and comic books, watched pretty much every big movie about the Second World War, and along with my dad watched hours of documentaries on the History Channel. So, why hadn’t I heard any of these stories before on what is probably the most covered, documented and historically significant war in our history?

To be honest, the firefights involving the Smoking Snakes are likely just a blip on the grand scale of things. The thought of Brazil’s Expeditionary Forces might feel more like a show of support than an actual threat to enemy combatants. After learning more about these brave soldiers, it is sad to think that there could be literally hundreds of these stories around the world – lost, even though they are tied to such a pivotal event.

Before I jump in to more details on the Smoking Snakes, I wanted to give you a bit of background on how I encountered this story and why I was immediately drawn to it. I was contacted a couple of years ago by an agent for AVEC – an amazing indie press out of Brazil. I immediately loved their catalogue, and Artur Vecchi (Chief Editor) had some great titles to show me. During his presentation, I saw a brief glimpse of a war book. I asked him to back up a few slides. He stopped at Elisio and said “No Rodolfo, you don’t want this one.”

“What do you mean? Why not? It’s gorgeous!”

“Yes, it is” he replied. But no one outside of Brazil will care. Nobody cares what we did during World War II.

Despite his warnings that the book wouldn’t sell, I insisted on seeing the complete story. The more he warned me, the more I wanted it. He insisted that I take some other titles – basically anything but Elisio. Fortunately, I stood my ground. This was something I really enjoy not only as a publisher, but as a fan: a comic book story you won’t find anywhere else. Combined with beautiful art by Renato Dalmato made this an easy choice for me.

Now that I had this beautiful book, I just had to figure out how to get it into English. It’s one thing to have a book about Brazilian WWII soldiers and hope it will sell in North America; it’s another to hope that it will sell in Portuguese! Fortunately, my lovely wife’s family were able to assist and Elisio was on its way to being ready to share with the world.

Elisio follows the story of our hero, who seems to live a life of middle class in Brazil as a solider. While at the movies with his girlfriend, he sees a news reel highlighting the Nazi threat, and Brazil’s formal declaration of war becomes apparent. Eliseu, who as a Brazilian soldier imagined himself too far removed from World World II to ever see combat, will now be sent off to war.

Similar to how many might view and even ridicule the idea of Brazilian soldiers, the Smoking Snakes find few true allies. Ostracized by the Americans, and a welcome target for the Germans, the struggle for our Brazilian soldiers is not an easy one. Along the way Eliseu engages in several firefights, finds (and loses love), and is eventually captured by enemy forces, where we might say that his real struggle begins.

The story of Eliseu is one of tragedy and trauma, but above all else, it is an important record of a lost part of our history.

Be sure to join us next week as we begin to explore alternate realities that could have been.

p.s. Are you into manga? Do you love murder mysteries? Be sure to check out Bitemark here.

Get a FREE Digital Comic!

Receive our feature, Undiscovered Stories – Straight to your inbox, and you’ll get a free digital comic just for signing up. Unsubscribe anytime.

First Name:

Email:

Join Now

When I was in Film School, my teacher Yves Martin told us that the visual arts is a lagging medium.

I learned about this story 3 years after it happened. I read the public domain work from Army Historian Richard Killblane. I made a set of videos from pictures and videos the soldiers gave me which allowed me to document the story on YouTube. These videos, collectively titled Blaze of Glory make up my most watched videos on my channel. Naturally, the statistics reflect top countries by views: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Germany tied in the first spot. Number two is Iraq.

10 years after the ambushes, after having failed numerous times to get this story on movies or TV, here it is in a comic book. Though the medium seems like a consolation prize, I am very proud of the product; it looks better than anything I have done in film.

Killblane’s Book Convoy Ambush Case Studies tells lots of true stories. Many of his source material stem from a real life person I will henceforth refer to as Mack – the name of my protagonist. Killblane and Mack formed such a real kinship that much of Killblane’s writing is from Mack’s perspective.

When I first read it, it mirrored some of my own experiences during my tours of duty. It is a given that the bad guys are going to kill you. You’re an American. They want you dead. They are kind of like Zombies. But what bothered me then and bothers me to this day, (and where my writing and Killblane’s deviate) is that I didn’t expect my own Army to assist in trying to get me killed.

Rich doesn’t want to criticize the Army. He sees the bigger picture. His experiences in and out have been different than mine even though we are both looking at the same Rorschach blob. The bureaucracy and the political correctness killed more soldiers than the enemy did. This institutional friendly fire, this dress right dress, flagpole, garrison mentality that we called the Big Gay Army when referring to stupid dictates outside the SOF community, kills people. The Big Gay Army does not want a warrior ethos. It wants robotic milksops that obey and feed the short-term political objectives of the puppeteers. If that sounds too much like the ramblings of a “pass the ganja” 9-11 Truther, I am sorry.

The Department of Defense Public Relations Officer in Hollywood won’t help this Veteran tell another Veteran’s story. But it will bend over for Marvel’s Transformers and Iron Man. I am not going to conceal my moral outrage. This is not a happy story, and I am not a happy man. But this is a true story based on real events and real people. Hopefully it entertains. Hopefully it provides an escape exposing the reader to these dangers from the comfort of their own home. But ultimately I hope it provokes the reader to think. For only the dead have seen the end of war. I am 41 years old and before I die, we will see a Third Iraq War. Count on it.

– James A. Bretney, November 2014.

Get your copy today on these platforms:

<!–    –>

Article keywords: Blaze of Glory #1A

Andrea Montano combines her fearless expression in rendering The Kursk by Sasha Janowicz. She contrasts manga and anime with noir, German Expressionism and Chiaroscuro illustration in this macabre political thirller.

In 2010, Australia nominated Sasha Janowicz’s play for the Helpmann Awards for Performing Arts. Sasha won the 2007 Bell Award for Best New Play, and three Matilda Award – Best New Australian Play, Best Direction, and Best Independent Production.

Lucha Comics is proud to be able to bring this fantastic story to yet another powerful medium. Simply click below to purchase The Kursk #1 on your preferred platform:

Get The Kursk #1 on:

    

Article Keywords: The Kursk by Sasha Janowicz