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7 reviews for:
War Stories, Volume 2
Cam Kennedy, Garth Ennis, Carlos Ezquerra, David Lloyd, Gary Erskine
3.85 AVERAGE
7 reviews for:
War Stories, Volume 2
Cam Kennedy, Garth Ennis, Carlos Ezquerra, David Lloyd, Gary Erskine
3.85 AVERAGE
Almost as good as vol. 1 - this is Ennis at his best. Sure, there is plenty of violence and some blackly, violent humor, but Ennis excels at telling stories of honor and morally complex men facing trying situations.
He's not romantic about the actualities of war, but he does clearly believe in the heroism of the men fighting it. He humanizes them all, including the "enemy," but he also shows how one man can rise to the occasion (with bravery, if not incredible accomplishments).
Great art, all around.
He's not romantic about the actualities of war, but he does clearly believe in the heroism of the men fighting it. He humanizes them all, including the "enemy," but he also shows how one man can rise to the occasion (with bravery, if not incredible accomplishments).
Great art, all around.
Garth Ennis returns with another squad of artists to tell a series of thrilling, heartbreaking and deeply human tales of those who fought in and around WWII. This time, we read about a Lancaster bomber crew whose shared experience still doesn't make them friends, a courageous SAS team raising hell in the deserts of North Africa, a quartet of disparate figures thrown together by fate and artillery for a fateful night during the Spanish Civil War and a luckless but skillful RAF pilot who gets assigned to a virtual suicide mission borne of desperate measures. As before, Ennis' deep interest in the subject matter drives things forward, and he always knows when to let the story override the history for the sake of narrative, but without trampling on history. The result is, once again, some of the finest war comics you're likely to read any time soon. So good.
Had low expectations after reading Preacher (shite) and his work on Judge Dredd (load of old bollocks) but this is excellent.
The utter lack of serious interest in -and mainstream commercial success of - war comics is something I (hopefully others join me in this) have decried Odin knows how many times. Here is a genre that contains the holy trifecta of what makes a story engaging (unflinching action, pathos, based on true events), yet it is one that consistently gets relegated to the background.
This sad state of affairs gets even more irksome when a great writer like Ennis (Preacher, Hellblazer) nearly always does his very best work tackling that genre. He was born for it. In a perfect world, Ennis would be given free rein to just keep on writing them (he has often admitted that this is his dream) without having to sneak in military history into mainstream Marvel properties (Punisher Max, Fury Max ), or resort to writing commercially succesful "shock" comics ( The Boys, Crossed ). All these are of course fine, skillfull pieces of writing, but it's in war where Ennis' passion truly lies. And it shows.
Avatar Press has realised this too, evidenced by the fact it has bought the rights from DC to republish Ennis' original run of War Stories (2004-2006). Additionally, it will release a third volume of new stories in July. Can I get a discrete "hurrah"?
Now on to the volume itself. I won't expand too much on the actual plot of the tales (I'm urging you to buy them after all), but suffice to say that the quality remains equally high. Four stories in total, my personal favourites were 'The Reivers' ( a highly engaging tale about the fledgling SAS and a doomed operation in North Africa) and the poignant, oddly philosophical 'Condors' ( a slight detour from WWII in its focus on the Spanish Civil war of 1936-1939).
I do hope Ennis will incorporate other military conflicts in this series in the future, but that might detract from the intended project of doing WWII-based tales. Not really complaining, though, just a thought.
Artwise this collection is gorgeous. Not only are we treated to the very best talent the UK has to offer (David Llloyd, Gary Erskine, Cam Kennedy), but also to veteran Carlos Ezquerra who as a Spaniard born in 1947 adds a special human touch to 'Condors' (the Guernica segment in particular is absolutely gut-wrencing).
If you like thoughtful, mature, character-driven stories about the realities of war, I urge you to get your paws on this series.
This sad state of affairs gets even more irksome when a great writer like Ennis (Preacher, Hellblazer) nearly always does his very best work tackling that genre. He was born for it. In a perfect world, Ennis would be given free rein to just keep on writing them (he has often admitted that this is his dream) without having to sneak in military history into mainstream Marvel properties (Punisher Max, Fury Max ), or resort to writing commercially succesful "shock" comics ( The Boys, Crossed ). All these are of course fine, skillfull pieces of writing, but it's in war where Ennis' passion truly lies. And it shows.
Avatar Press has realised this too, evidenced by the fact it has bought the rights from DC to republish Ennis' original run of War Stories (2004-2006). Additionally, it will release a third volume of new stories in July. Can I get a discrete "hurrah"?
Now on to the volume itself. I won't expand too much on the actual plot of the tales (I'm urging you to buy them after all), but suffice to say that the quality remains equally high. Four stories in total, my personal favourites were 'The Reivers' ( a highly engaging tale about the fledgling SAS and a doomed operation in North Africa) and the poignant, oddly philosophical 'Condors' ( a slight detour from WWII in its focus on the Spanish Civil war of 1936-1939).
I do hope Ennis will incorporate other military conflicts in this series in the future, but that might detract from the intended project of doing WWII-based tales. Not really complaining, though, just a thought.
Artwise this collection is gorgeous. Not only are we treated to the very best talent the UK has to offer (David Llloyd, Gary Erskine, Cam Kennedy), but also to veteran Carlos Ezquerra who as a Spaniard born in 1947 adds a special human touch to 'Condors' (the Guernica segment in particular is absolutely gut-wrencing).
If you like thoughtful, mature, character-driven stories about the realities of war, I urge you to get your paws on this series.
Unlike the first volume, I found a couple of the stories in this anthology very underwhelming (and, truly, boring). The art was also a tad less impressive on a couple of stories. Sequelitis strikes again.
The quest for glory, meaning, and a "noble" enemy are made vivid in these stories; due to the artistry involved, the real horrors of war remain clear throughout.