The Yankee comandante

The Yankee Comandante is a well-researched story which attempts to present the events of the Cuban revolution from an unusual perspective. I had never heard of William Morgan before and the idea of an American fighting in Fidel Castro's revolutionary army is certainly intriguing, especially considering the future American attitude towards Cuba. In this graphic novel, Jakupi condenses a convoluted historical narrative with many participants so I did find it tricky to keep track of everyone's role within the drama. There isn't much opportunity for the men, other than Che Guevara, to establish themselves as individual personalities. Even William didn't come across to me as real hero material. What I did love in The Yankee Comandante though were the atmospheric illustrations and particularly the use of different colour palettes to establish each environment. There is a great vintage feel to the work which reflects the period in which it is set. I think readers interested in the military and political history would appreciate this graphic novel, however I approached it more from a historical fiction perspective so was a little disappointed.