Four-Fisted Tales

Ben Towle is a four-time Eisner-nominated cartoonist. His previous works include Oyster War; Amelia Earhart: This Broad Ocean (with Sarah Stewart Taylor), which received accolades from The New York Times and Publishers Weekly and was a Junior Library Guild selection; Midnight Sun; and Farewell, Georgia. He lives in Columbus, Ohio, and is a professor of illustration at The Columbus College of Art and Design.

Nominated at the 2022 Eisner Awards: Best Publication for Kids"Four-Fisted Tales is a stellar graphic history whose art is exemplary, capturing action, humor, and poignancy alike." —Foreword Reviews"A fun and amazingly informative graphic novel I found hard to put down, Four-Fisted Tales is chock full of fascinating stories about animals that have fought-and died-alongside soldiers throughout history, all complemented beautifully by Ben Towle's classic Roy Crane-esque cartooning." —Jake Tapper, CNN anchor"They had no choice and sadly neither did the majority of the men who fought. Despite the battle being a human one we would have known no victory without the support of the animals." —David Backhouse, designer and sculptor of the Animals In War monument, Park Lane, London"Four-Fisted Tales brings you animal stories you had no idea you needed! From time immemorial to the Gulf War and beyond, each animal, each story makes you say, What? No way! All brought to vivid life by the artistry of Ben Towle!" —Jeff Smith, writer and illustrator of Bone“Towle does beautiful work in a monochrome olive that suggests combat in more ways than one. Beyond the typical association of the color with the army, the muted tones provide shadow and depth in keeping with the risk of death involved in battle. [...] The stories are about sacrifice and determination. It’s an effective introduction to a great variety of military battles over history.”—School Library Journal“Possibly the first military history that could be described as adorable, this episodic graphic novel from Towle recounts the animal cohorts of human warfare. [...] Towle’s rigorously detailed art evokes the kind of spot illustrations found in old-school children’s encyclopedias [...] Undeniably captivating.”—Publishers Weekly