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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 17, 2022 1:42:28 GMT -5
Just finished reading Garth Ennis and PJ Holden's new comic, The Lion & the Eagle #1, from AfterShock.  It's another war comic from Ennis, along the lines of War Stories and Battlefields, focusing on the Chindits, in Burma. The Chindits were a formation of the British and Indian Armies (meaning the British colonial army, in India), commanded by Brig Orde Wingate, as part of the Burma campaign. They were airlifted behind Japanese lines and set up operational camps, which were resupplied by air, and launched harassing missions against the Japanese. The first issue introduces the main characters, Lt Col Keith Crosby, a British Officer, and Dr Alistair Whitmore, of the Royal Army Medical Corps. They meet on the retreat from Mandalay, in 1942, after the Japanese drive them back towards India, inflicting heavy casualties. By the end of the issue, they are being airlifted, in 1944, to go back into Burma and begin offensive operations against the Japanese. This is an area of the war that hasn't had a lot of attention, as it was part of the China-Burma-India Theater, which was treated as the lowest priority by both the US and the UK. That is a theme through the issue, as a Chinese observer officer remarks to Crosby about his American transportation and equipment and how the US has little interest in the UK maintaining its empire. The issue gets at the low morale and desperate time of the 1942 retreat and the somewhat foolish optimism for the 1944 operation. Things didn't go according to plans, as planners underestimated the logistic issues, the Japanese resolve to fight to the death, and the harsh conditions of jungle fighting (which plagued the Chindits, Merril's Marauders, and others in the Burma Campaign). Crosby is looking to take the war back to the Japanese and is a product of his training. Alistair is more philosophical and points out that the Indians and Burmese don't consider britain much of an improvement over Japan. They want them all gone. First the Japanese, then the British. he confronts Crosby with hard truths. The Chinese officer points out the UK's subordination to the US, in the Pacific and Asian theaters and even Crosby admits they are all but forgotten at home (and the soldiers of that theater were known as The Forgotten Ones). Really good stuff, on par with Ennis' previous work in the genre, with a good feel for the actual history and compelling fictional drama and characters. Ennis presents the wartime thinking and the alternate viewpoints that weren't voiced openly, at the time, but are seen in hindsight. he doesn't shy away from the brutality, on all sides, including things like the mules they are using to carry supplies through the jungle have had their vocal cords cut, to prevent them from braying and alerting Japanese patrols. PJ Holden gets the details right and does a nice job with the characters, with their expressions and body language. He illustrates the exhaustion and fear, on the 1942 retreat, and the optimism and determination in 1944. His work is a bit more stylistic than the classic DC war artists, like Joe Kubert and Russ Heath; but, his storytelling is in par. |
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Post by berkley on Mar 19, 2022 18:52:34 GMT -5
Although I like Ennis I've kept away from his many war comics, not sure why, apart from not being a fan of the genre, particularly. Still, I've read and watched lots of war stories since I was a kid so i don't think it's just that. Maybe it's just that he does so many of them, it seems slightly odd. I'll try something one of these days, though.
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 19, 2022 21:08:33 GMT -5
Although I like Ennis I've kept away from his many war comics, not sure why, apart from not being a fan of the genre, particularly. Still, I've read and watched lots of war stories since I was a kid so i don't think it's just that. Maybe it's just that he does so many of them, it seems slightly odd. I'll try something one of these days, though. Ennis' war comics are not the "rah-rah; manly heroes in combat" of the 50s Atlas books or shoot-'em up action of Sgt Fury. They are thoughtful pieces about real characters in horrible situations and what they do to survive. He doesn't shy away from the negative aspects of war and doesn't present the characters as John Wayne heroes. They have real foibles and personalities, the "good guys" can be just as nasty as the "bad guys." They are not propaganda pieces and they do not glorify war as some valiant exercise or macho adventure trip. They are not the stuff of the men's adventure magazines or pulp novels. These are on par with the best of Kanigher and Kubert (like Enemy Ace and Sgt Rock, at its best), Will Franz and Sam Glanzman (Lonely War of Willy Schultz, plus Ganzman's USS Stevens material), Harvey Kurtzman's Frontline Combat, Archie Goodwin's Blazing Combat or things like It War War in the Trenches and Charlie's War. |
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Post by berkley on Mar 20, 2022 18:07:16 GMT -5
Although I like Ennis I've kept away from his many war comics, not sure why, apart from not being a fan of the genre, particularly. Still, I've read and watched lots of war stories since I was a kid so i don't think it's just that. Maybe it's just that he does so many of them, it seems slightly odd. I'll try something one of these days, though. Ennis' war comics are not the "rah-rah; manly heroes in combat" of the 50s Atlas books or shoot-'em up action of Sgt Fury. They are thoughtful pieces about real characters in horrible situations and what they do to survive. He doesn't shy away from the negative aspects of war and doesn't present the characters as John Wayne heroes. They have real foibles and personalities, the "good guys" can be just as nasty as the "bad guys." They are not propaganda pieces and they do not glorify war as some valiant exercise or macho adventure trip. They are not the stuff of the men's adventure magazines or pulp novels. These are on par with the best of Kanigher and Kubert (like Enemy Ace and Sgt Rock, at its best), Will Franz and Sam Glanzman (Lonely War of Willy Schultz, plus Ganzman's USS Stevens material), Harvey Kurtzman's Frontline Combat, Archie Goodwin's Blazing Combat or things like It War War in the Trenches and Charlie's War.
I have the impression he mostly does WWII stories, is that accurate? If so, has he ever done anything from the "enemy" perspective - Japanese, or what have you? Just curious, not passing judgement in any way if he's stuck to the Allied forces.
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 20, 2022 19:59:21 GMT -5
Ennis' war comics are not the "rah-rah; manly heroes in combat" of the 50s Atlas books or shoot-'em up action of Sgt Fury. They are thoughtful pieces about real characters in horrible situations and what they do to survive. He doesn't shy away from the negative aspects of war and doesn't present the characters as John Wayne heroes. They have real foibles and personalities, the "good guys" can be just as nasty as the "bad guys." They are not propaganda pieces and they do not glorify war as some valiant exercise or macho adventure trip. They are not the stuff of the men's adventure magazines or pulp novels. These are on par with the best of Kanigher and Kubert (like Enemy Ace and Sgt Rock, at its best), Will Franz and Sam Glanzman (Lonely War of Willy Schultz, plus Ganzman's USS Stevens material), Harvey Kurtzman's Frontline Combat, Archie Goodwin's Blazing Combat or things like It War War in the Trenches and Charlie's War.
I have the impression he mostly does WWII stories, is that accurate? If so, has he ever done anything from the "enemy" perspective - Japanese, or what have you? Just curious, not passing judgement in any way if he's stuck to the Allied forces.
Yeah, it's WW2, mostly, though I think he might have moved outside that arena, in his Battlefields series. At least one issue of the 2012 series was set in 1951, with Soviet pilots. His original War Story series, at DC, had two issues that were not purely Allied POV. Johann's Tiger is about a Tiger tank crew, at the tail end of the war, as the Russians are rolling into Germany and the British and Americans are crossing the Rhine. The central character is the tank commander and the theme is the things he did for their survival, at different stages, including the initial drives into the USSR. It presents a pretty nuanced view of a German soldier, who did his duty; but, also contributed to atrocities. The second, Condors, is set in the Spanish Civil war, as four men take shelter together, in the same bomb crater, during a battle. One is a German pilot, a member of the Condor Legion, who was shot down while flying escort to a squadron of Stukas, who attacked the Republicans. The second is an English Communist, fighting for the International Brigade, who lost his father in WW1 and saw the government crackdown on labor activists. He joined the Party out of idealism and the war for the same. The third is an Irishman, an IRA member who felt betrayed when Northern Ireland remained with the UK, after independence. He joined the Nationalists, along with the other members of the Irish Fascist movement. The last is a Spaniard, who was passing through Guernica, when the Germans and Nationalists bombed it. Each has his beliefs debated by another, until they hear from the Spaniard, who says it will continue until mankind makes another evolutionary step and can feel the pain he inflicts on another. The Battlefields series, at Dynamite, includes a segment devoted to the story of the Nightwitches, the female pilots who flew for the Soviet Union. War Story, at DC, also had a story about convoy duty, on the trip to the Soviet Union, to deliver aid to the USSR. D-Day Dodgers recounts a British unit, in the Italian Campaign, as a new young lieutenant gets an education in the forgotten campaign of the war. It recounts the hard slog and brutal fighting, with al lack of equipment, since the Normandy campaign got priority. The story builds to a daylight assault, across open ground, in hopes that such an action will get some press and draw attention to the theater to gain the resources they need. The English officer is assigned to an Irish regiment and gets a bit of an education in many things, from command, to politics, to basic life. Screaming Eagles sees a bunch from the 101st, at the tail end of things, in Bavaria, based greatly on Easy Company. However, it mostly reflects on those they lost along the way, while they relax and party at a mansion that was the property of a high Nazi figure (based on the capture of Goering's house and the Eagle's Nest). War Story was done through Vertigo and each issue had a different artists, with work from David Lloyd, Dave Gibbons, Chris Weston, John Higgins, Cam Kennedy, Carlos Ezquerra, and Gary Erskine. |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Mar 21, 2022 3:50:17 GMT -5
(...) The Battlefields series, at Dynamite, includes a segment devoted to the story of the Nightwitches, the female pilots who flew for the Soviet Union. (...) |
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Post by berkley on Mar 21, 2022 8:48:39 GMT -5
(...) The Battlefields series, at Dynamite, includes a segment devoted to the story of the Nightwitches, the female pilots who flew for the Soviet Union. (...) Thanks, that was really interesting. If I do try some of Ennis's war comics this might be one of them - though I agree about the ending: I don't like the sounds of that either, as far as I can tell without actually having read it. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 26, 2022 11:57:16 GMT -5
Issue 2 is out, with the Chindits operating from their base, behind Japanese lines, in Burma. It heavily focuses on the fighting reputation of the Gurkhas, the soldiers from Nepal, who served in regiments in the British Army. It touches slightly on the politics in the China-Burma-India Theater, as Ord Wingate is killed in a plane crash and the Chindits end up under the command of Joseph Stillwell, who had his own plans for Burma, including Merrill's Marauders, whose concept was similar to the Chindits. It's a pretty brutal issue, as the Japanese launch "banzai" charges on the Chindit positions. It does tread a fine line between the sheer brutality of the war in Asia, with the Japanese not surrendering and nearly dying to a man and a worship of the Gurkhas, as soldiers, with a pretty similar attitude to war. What does balance it out is the changes in our two main characters, from the first issue, as they have grown since they met, while on the run from the Japanese, in the retreat from Mandalay. They have trained with their men and they have been at their lowest. Now they have a confidence in themselves and their men, though the doctor is still a troubling voice to our commander.
As an issue taken on its own merits, I would say it is less interesting than the first and that it tilts a little too much into gung-ho territory. However, taken with the first, you can tell Ennis is going somewhere and the story of the Chindits is not one of sunshine and medals. Some have questioned the strategic necessity of their missions, vs what it actually contributed to the war, a criticism that dogs many military operations in the Asian and Pacific Theaters. A lot of blood was spilled to take ground that had little importance in bringing about an end to the war. Ego is definitely an element to this story.
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Post by Prince Hal on Mar 26, 2022 14:13:35 GMT -5
Some have questioned the strategic necessity of their missions, vs what it actually contributed to the war, a criticism that dogs many military operations in the Asian and Pacific Theaters. A lot of blood was spilled to take ground that had little importance in bringing about an end to the war. Ego is definitely an element to this story. So true. Can you say Peleliu? Also, vis-à-vis the final sentence, can you say MacArthur? |
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 26, 2022 17:09:02 GMT -5
Some have questioned the strategic necessity of their missions, vs what it actually contributed to the war, a criticism that dogs many military operations in the Asian and Pacific Theaters. A lot of blood was spilled to take ground that had little importance in bringing about an end to the war. Ego is definitely an element to this story. So true. Can you say Peleliu? Also, vis-à-vis the final sentence, can you say MacArthur? Yeah, his name is not particularly hallowed by the Marines. By the same token, Stilwell is a pretty controversial figure, in his own right, probably second only to Mark Clark, in that area (taking MacArthur and Patton out of the equation, as they are entirely different levels of controversy). The first issue kind of foreshadows that you have competing goals in this fight, between the British wanting to protect India and maintain their empire and the US wanting to secure China and their interests there. Suffice to say, neither set of plans worked out very well, in the end, for the two countries. of course, neither of them consulted the people who actually lived in those regions. |
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Post by Prince Hal on Mar 26, 2022 19:51:19 GMT -5
So true. Can you say Peleliu? Also, vis-à-vis the final sentence, can you say MacArthur? Yeah, his name is not particularly hallowed by the Marines. Or by the Army, which actually did a whole helluva lot of the fighting in the Pacific, despite the way it has been identified so indelibly with the Marines. |
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Post by codystarbuck on May 13, 2022 18:25:59 GMT -5
Finished the third issue, today (read the second last month). Great stuff. Issue 2 spends much time on the reputation of the Ghurkas, as fighters, while also showing that the big plans for retaking Burma have proven to have been optimistic, to put it kindly. The Chindits are dug in, at their base, with resupply falling off, casualties mounting and operations slowing. The basic concept was to insert them into a forward jungle base, where they would be resupplied by air, as they conducted offensive operations against the Japanese, in support of Stilwell's advance. Merrill's Marauders worked in parallel. As we see in the latest issue, Murphy, the ultimate ajudicator in wartime, has risen up with a vengeance. Both the Marauders and the Chindits are on the ropes and supply flights have dwindled to nothing, as fighter escorts have been pulled to protect India and transport losses lead to them to reduce the number of transports for supply missions. Meanwhile, Keith Crosby finds himself being asked very pointed and sound questions by a subordinate and finding that his answers lack conviction, while Alistair Whitmore must face the reality that sometimes the best thing you can do for a patient is not try to save them.
Visually, this is some brutal stuff, possibly borderline gratuitous, though it reflects the reality of the thing. It is more honest and certainly doesn't glorify the fighting or the politics behind it, like the old war comics of the 50s and 60s. This is much anti-war as it is pro-soldier, as the one caught in the situation, trying to stay alive.
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on May 16, 2022 17:03:38 GMT -5
You guys should track down Johnny Red by Ennis and Burns. His take on the Battle Weekly strip about a Hurricane pilot fighting alongside the Russians during WW2. Published by titan a couple of years back, and IMHO up there with the best war comics ever.
Mind you the british comics were never heavily influenced by superheroes as much as American books seem to have been.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jun 8, 2022 22:51:59 GMT -5
Final issue is out and it is hardly a rah-rah, rip-roaring good time. Lot of parallels between the Chindits and soldiers in Vietnam (especially the Special Forces experience), not to mention the Marine Raiders, in Guadalcanal and others who fought in the harsh realm of the jungle. Lot of death, little glory. Intriguing stuff, particularly the ending, as it brings back someone from the beginning, for some shared perspective. First class material.
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