Tet #2

Tet, issue #2

Tet, Issue #2 starts with the line, "and so it was gone."  The Tet Offensive has begun, and Lt. Eugene Smith is a soldier once again.  Just as I was becoming disappointed that the detective story had ended, Eugene gets off the truck, remaining in Hue City to find his fiancee, Ha.  Soon, he is reunited with Bao, and off to find Ha.  Back in 1984, Smith travels to Vietnam to be reunited with... well, I can't put too many spoilers in here.

The notes in the back of issue #2 were bittersweet.  I found out that there are only four issues of Tet.  I wanted there to be more, but at the same time, I bought issues #2 through #4 yesterday, so I know that I'll be able to complete the series today or tomorrow.  I bought the variant covers of issues #2 through #4 (#2, non-variant pictured to the right).  I have the non-variant copy of issue #1, so I might go back and buy the variant copy.

There are so many themes to be explored in Tet.  I'd like to go over a few of them.  There's the detective story, there's the romance, and then there are the differences between the 1960s through 1980s and today.  Americans simply did not honor the soldiers returning from Vietnam the way they have soldiers in the Greater War on Terror (including Afghanistan and Iraq).  I've volunteered with a couple of non-profits, including one that helps homeless veterans get sober-living housing, and I strongly believe that sober living is the key to dealing with the extreme mental illness that comes with war and other severely traumatic life events.  There are more options for returning soldiers, but homelessness, substance abuse, and mental illness are still a problem.

In 1984, Eugene Smith lives in low-rent housing, and I can't help but think of all the cheap apartments that were torn down in my hometown of San Diego to build Horton Plaza that year, leading to a surge in homelessness.  When Eugene receives a letter in the middle of issue #1, I thought it had to do with him losing his housing or some sort of benefits, but I was cheering out loud when I saw him return to the streets of Vietnam.