Reptiles Comic reviews #1: Finding Peace

Reptile · Mar 7, 2015

Story by Tom Waltz
Art by Nathan St John

Man, what an unexpected trip. While waiting on my old lady in church, I took a trip to my comic book store, as I am one to do on Sunday mornings. I recognized this comic, I had seen and passed it up multiple Times, and thought, "why the hell not." I decide to sit down and read it in this old, decrepit confederate cemetery next to the store while I waited and took the first step into a breath taking experience. The first thing you notice is the striking and beautiful art work. As outlined in the intro by war historian William R. Forstchen Ph.D, it harkens back to a forlorn day of war journalism, charcoal sketches from a war correspondent as they frantically try to capture the horror unfolding before them. It's stark and gritty, and cultivates the proper atmosphere for these tales.

Finding Peace is a collection of Short Stories taking place in an unnamed, war-torn nation. Presented in reverse chronological order, they are:
Prelude
The Riot
Sniper
Mass Grave
Letters From Home
Sergeant Henderson
The Covenant

Each one detailing a different war time experience. The refreshing thing about Finding Peace is that, in contrast to what you would expect from a book of this nature, it is neither overbearing nor does it try too hard to fray your heart strings. All in all, this comic couldn't be more properly titled, for what I found the most in this book were small comments of joy, those kind that are like tiny flickering candles that offer a brief respite from the darkness. Being a former marine and Desert Storm vet, it is no surprise that Tom Waltz weaves these stories with a brutal realism and undisputed authenticity. As such, this means this book is far from a happy one: each laugh and each innocent moment is laced with an inescapable melancholy that never lets once truly rest at ease, but perhaps it is the priced we pay for these tiny lights that makes them so sweet in the end. Above all else, the thing Finding Peace does best is taking these joys that are rare, and brief, and fleeting, and with paper and ink, making them last forever. As I finished the book, I looked up and noticed something I had previously overlooked: on the tree directly in front of me was carved a small, crude cross. The absurdity and irony I found in this moment brought the full fruit of my reading experience to light, and brought a laugh from me. As I drove away, I found my self dwelling things I normally gave little mind, such as how grateful I was that I had spent the entire morning out and about without my knife having ever needing to leave my belt. I'll conclude by saying Finding Peace is, comic book or not, one of the greatest things I've ever read. I cannot recommend it highly enough, and wether you've read a single comic, there is something amazing waiting for you between these covers. Maybe it will make your Sunday morning as Damn good as it made mine.