War stories are not usually my thing, but this one was super enjoyable!
It's the story of one family and their involvement in two wars. After his sister finds an old diary, Lincoln Brown (a soldier stationed in WWII Europe) is told that one of his ancestors, Angela, worked for Betsy Ross during the Revolutionary War. Not only that, but as a symbol of her people, Angela may have hidden a black star under one of the 13 white ones on the original US flag.
Unfortunately that flag has been lost for generations, and may have been stolen by a Hessian mercenary. Lincoln must take on a new task - to become a "monumnets man" and along with two friends find and re-capture that flag in enemy territory.
This is the first of a series, which I am very eager to continue.

This graphic novel is the first part of a series that follows three African American soldiers during World War II. Back home, one of the guys' sister finds a authentic document from a slave woman in 1777 stating that she had sewn a black star behind one of the white ones in Betsy Ross's original U.S. flag.

The three young men get sent to work under the famous Monuments Men and are tasked with finding the flag which has been traced to France. The novel ends as they parachute into France to retrieve the flag. This was disappointing as the title did not imply that this was not a complete work.

Just as it was starting to get really interesting, it was over. Despite that, I did like the story and the artwork. I can't wait for the next part.

'Black Cotton Star' by Yves Sente tells an interesting story that takes place in a couple different times in history. At first, it didn't seem related, but I'm glad I stuck with it.

A group of black soldiers in World War II have the duty of tending to an airbase full of balloons shaped like tanks. They are there to throw the Germans off, but they'd rather be fighting on the frontline. Meanwhile, one of the soldiers has a sister back home. She finds a diary from the Revolutionary War that talks about a unique artifact. That artifact may now be in Germany, so she helps get her brother and his friends on a mission with the Monuments Men.

Then this volume ends, just as it's starting to get pretty interesting.

The art is pretty good. The story is very interesting. I'd really like to read the rest of this story.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Europe Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Hmmm… I wasn't sure what to make of this book – it veers too much from pleasant look at a few guys who are eager to be some of the first black soldiers allowed by the US Army to fight in the European theatre of WW2, into some fanciful back story that I just didn't gel with. The guys eventually become Monuments Men and are tasked with capturing the first ever USA flag – which secretly contains a rallying call for black power that their racist and white superiors could never suspect. However, that seemed far too Dan Brown (no pun intended) to my taste, and even if the writing and artwork couldn't really pin the characters of the grunts down, I had wanted more of their pioneering spirit and less of the earlier history. In the end the colouring probably is what I would remember of this book the most, but I doubt I'd be back for the rest of the story. Three and a half stars on a good day.

Great story and art with this graphic novel. I'll definitely be recommending it.

In 1944 a group of black soldiers are sent on a mission behind enemy lines. They have been sent to find one of the original American flags which is in danger of falling into the hands of the Nazis.

Of course there is more to this story than meets the eye because the soldiers are not allowed to serve the front line because of their race. The discovery of a historic journal back home has led to this opportunity. The journal belonged to a black housemaid called Angela Brown. She kept a journal during the revolutionary war and recorded how she sewed a black star under the white stars on the first American flag.

Angela did this because she knew that even if America gained its independence, the slaves will not be free. Having lost her two brothers and her parents, she decides to make this commemoration and she leaves a journal explaining what she has done. The flag is lost to the Prussians who support the British forces in their battle against American soldiers on the battle field and the story is also lost until the journal is discovered in 1944.

A young woman is delighted to find this journal amongst the belongings of her aunt who has died and from this discovery the powers that be decide they should hunt for this flag behind enemy lines and the black soldiers should do this because the journal was written by a black woman. And so three young black soldiers get sent on this mission. It is a chance to prove that they too can serve their country.

This is a really fascinating story and I really enjoyed reading it. Unfortunately this is just book one. It provides a background to the story about the flag and the story about the young men and how the journal was discovered. The book is very clear in its depiction of racism and discrimination, and the early civil rights movement in the United States. In this way the reader is drawn into the history and the importance of the flag, not just to America but also to black America.

I thought this was a very interesting book and I certainly want to read book two. I don't know how much of this is historical fact and how much of this this is fiction, but it's a great story. It provides some amazing contrasts when you look at the history of racism and discrimination. The hundreds of years between the revolutionary war and the Second World War and the way in which racism and discrimination passed down through the years are illustrated by both the journal and by the segregated US army, but it also shows the resistence and strength of those people who were oppressed and their willingness to fight for their country.

I loved the courage of the soldiers, but I also loved the courage of the youg servant who found a way to give voice to the loss of her family and the oppression of slavery.

This is a brilliant book and I intend to read Part 2 whenever it is published.

My only gripe about this book is the colouring. I dont think the colouring does the story justice. The book has great drawings but they are coloured in monotone for each page, This is rather boring and a bit lazy and unimaginative.

Brilliant story though so I overlooked the colouring.

Copy provided by Publisher via Netgalley

Great artwork!! However, the entirety of the storyline was given in the blurb for the comic. And, there was no resolution, but rather, a cliffhanger to be continued in volume two.