Review by Diego Guerra

Mike Grell’s Vietnam War wasn’t spent on the front lines, but working from an office he witnessed the number of soldiers who never returned home.

It’s impossible not to think about this reading about John Sable returning to Vietnam in 1984. At first, the idea may seem a bit far-fetched, referring to the terrible aftermath of the movie First Blood, in which Rambo carries out commando operations to rescue prisoners in Vietnam, decades after the war ended. However, what we find here is a reconstruction of the pain of war, much more serious and deeper than shown in Hollywood movies. Sable, a veteran of a thousand battles, returns to Vietnam to search for a soldier who never came back. This case isn’t for the money and, actually, he hires two seasoned mercenaries to accompany him. The result forces Sable to face his own demons.

Of all Sable’s adventures so far, this is perhaps the least “adventurous”. Sable spends almost the entire journey sick due to the difficulty of returning to Vietnam. And indeed, the almost improbable mission may not be fully carried out, as he may not find the lost soldier or maybe this soldier may not want to be found. Instead, perhaps Sable will make a little peace with himself. One of the deepest treatments of the Vietnam War, and especially its aftermath, in comics, perhaps comparable to what we see in Cosey’s In Search of Shirley.

‘MIA’ divides into two chapters, and is so interesting and endearing that under a different creator it could overshadow the following adventures. ‘The Wall’ is set in the cold war of the 1980s, in which Sable must rescue a Soviet dissident, Anastasia, who wants to go to the United States to reunite with her husband, also a dancer. The reconstruction of Berlin resonates, and the action scenes interspersed with a majestic ballet are well drawn to achieve a very suitable cinematic effect. It’s among Sable’s best adventures, and doesn’t end here as Grell returns to these Soviet dissidents.

Sable then becomes involved with an archaeologist visiting Nicaragua looking to find an ancient pre-Columbian treasure, and, after that, reunites with Maggie the Cat (see Volume 2) to investigate a powerful soda company. It’s light and cheerful adventure, very different in tone from the dramatic and serious Vietnam story.

Jon Sable’s adventures are so interesting for having so many valuable elements. Perhaps ahead of their time, it’s sad that the monthly serialised format prevented dwelling on various details and nuances. However, it’s a series from the past that is worth rescuing from oblivion.