Battlefields: Tankies #2 – Review

by Garth Ennis (writer), Carlos Ezquerra (pencils), Hector Ezquerra (inks), Tony Avina (colors), and Simon Bowland (letters)

The Story: Our tankies continue to try to find a company to rendezvous with in the midst of an increasingly poorly organized war effort.

The Good: The series once again does a great job of detailing the vulnerability of WWII’s metal monsters. Instead of just seeing them blow stuff up, we get a real sense of “the metal coffin.” This is best dealt with by Ennis in his observations on technological escalation. In focusing on the innovation of the tank destroyer, Ennis details the marvels of technology that arose from the war as well as the marvels that are so very fleeting; a new tank is only king of the battlefield for ten minutes before a new tactic/weapon renders it vulnerable and obsolete.

Ennis also again successfully displays the heartrending realities of war and the  bittersweet nature of victory on the battlefield. The surprisingly victorious “last stand” in this issue was definitely the highpoint of this comic. Even when pulling victory from the jaws of defeat, celebration is marred by inescapable tragedy.

Meanwhile, Ennis again has a great deal of fun displaying the different British accents as well as the non-chalant British gentleman-officer’s attitude to war, both of which provide a lightly humorous, if not ludicrous tone.

Ezquerra’s art is definitely growing on me. His work is super detailed, lending itself well to the different models of tanks and the soldiers’ uniforms. Of course, having such a detail-oriented style also suits battlefield carnage quite well. Ezquerra displays his brilliance in drawing whole packs of men getting shot down or lying dead on the blood-soaked battlefield. It’s nothing less than appalling, and I mean that in the best way possible.

The Not-So-Good: You know up above, where I wrote what “the story” of this issue was?  That was actually surprisingly difficult for me to come up with. Ennis seems to have fallen prey to his own efforts of displaying the carnage of war, resulting in a distinct lack of any real plot. At this point, with the comic flashing between several units which we may or may not have seen before, it’s murky at best. What little plot there is isn’t exactly moving either, as our tankies’ attempt to join up with another unit is still ongoing, as this issue just, well, sees them driving around some more.  That said, you won’t notice this stagnation because it’s a struggle to even find the major plot thread. So what the hell is going on? Who are all these other units we keep seeing and what do they  have to do with our tankies? None of it is clear.

It’s not only the plot that suffers, however. The characters were weak last issue and we get even less character development this month. Honestly, I don’t even know the names of two-thirds of the characters. I feel like I barely know them and none feel like major characters who I should genuinely care about. Even the tank’s corporal, with his funny accent, is little more than a cliched “hard-bitten veteran” with little nuance.

Conclusion: Considering how awesome “Dear, Billy” was, this limited series is a little disappointing.  It’s not bad, it just lacks the depth of the previous two Battlefields stories.

Grade: C

-Alex Evans

Battlefields: Tankies #1 – Review

by Garth Ennis (writer), Carlos Ezquerra (pencils), Hector Ezquerra (ink), Tony Avina (colors), and Simon Bowland (letters)

Story: The last of Garth Ennis’ Battlefields stories begins, following a British tank-crew as the Allies push into Germany late into the Second World War.

The Good: Not unlike the rest of the Battlefields stories, Garth Ennis’ writing is spot-on and he’s obviously doing something he loves in telling these war stories.  If there’s one thing that “Tankies” delivers in writing-wise, it’s authenticity.  The on-field commands and terminology feel well-researched and the combat looks realistic and accurate.  Even the casual dialogue feels authentic, as Ennis does a great job of showing the wide cross-section of Great Britain that took part in the war, with the various regional accents being well-portrayed and the interactions between Englishmen of various class or area being well-done.

Ennis also does a great job of, once again, portraying the brutality of war.  The gore is shocking, yet realistic, and the fear the men feel is all too real (the Tiger tank feels truly terrifying, both as specter and unstoppable killer).  The theme of the “German soldier with his back against the wall” is well done and the “take no prisoners” response of the English is equally desolate.  War is clearly a back and forth exchange of escalation, and Ennis shows that escalation can become a matter of emotion and brutality, not being restricted to weapons technology and tactics.

The art is well done and highly detailed and is a good fit for a war comic.  The tanks look great, the explosions look great, and Ezquerra clearly has a talent for drawing the faces of men who are terrified and/or desperate.

The Bad: Honestly, the worst thing about this story is that it had to follow “Dear, Billy.”  That story was one of the greatest things Ennis has ever written and so, by comparison, anything will look bad.  Tankies, thus far, just isn’t as deep as its predecessor.  It looks to be mostly about action and things blowing up in historically accurate fashion, and that just makes it a much simpler comic.

I guess at this point, I just don’t feel that there’s that much to this comic right now.  It’s not bad, it’s just not near as good as its predecessors.    Also, the characters don’t seem to carry the same level of depth or individuality.

Lastly, art-wise, I find some of Ezquerra’s blood splashes to be a little too….thick?  Honestly, there are a few frames where it looks more like lava than blood.

Bottom-line: If you’ve been following Battlefields, you’ll be disappointed by this one, which isn’t to say that it isn’t good (it is), it’s just not exceptional.  It’s still rock solid and authenticity is the name of the game here, but it’s just not as moving and not as complex, and I didn’t feel the same connections with the characters that I felt in past Battlefields comics.  It’s still very good, and while a lot of fun was gained thanks to the action and obvious research, that fun came at the cost of something more intangible.

Final Grade: B-

by Alex Evans

Battlefields: Dear Billy #3 (of3) – Review

By Garth Ennis (writer) Peter Snejbjerg (pencils, inks) Rob Steen (colors).

The Story: Since this is the first review of a three-part series, and the final installment in it, please allow, dear WCBR reader, for me to delve into the general story of the entire Battlefields: Dear Billy title.

This series stars an English nurse named Carrie who survives the worst kind of abuse by the hands of her Japanese captors during the second world war. The way she processes her pain, in both sickening and beautiful ways, fuels this brief but memorable story. Her rotating roles of both hero and villain, victim and oppressor, add depth and realism to this story that is rarely found in any literary medium, let alone comic books. In these pages, Garth Ennis does an almost unspeakable  job of displaying the human condition in all its glory and all its dirt, with all its warts and with all its halos.

What’s  Good: There is noting wrong in the slightest with this comic. It should be studied and emulated. Ennis’ prose is uncannily subtle and powerful. One can get lost in the beauty and transcendence of a single sentence at the top of a panel, and then need to squirm uncomfortably from another line at the bottom of the same panel.

Peter Snejberg’s illustrations are open, simple, and powerful. A perfect compliment to Ennis’ narration.

What’s Not So Good: It ended.

Conclusion: There was a time, I am told, long ago that a comic book reader could get all different kinds of comics. Sports comics, western comics, space comics, and war comics. Must have been great to be a fanboy back then (I for one would love a good NFL based series). Well, Dynamite Comics publishes a true war comic here, breathing hope into a stifling Superhero based comic market. (On the side, I must add that no other comic publisher excites me more of their current offering than Dynamite).

This is my first foray in Garth Ennis’ work and I have to say, he lives up to the hype. Granted, this shouldn’t be a surprise as I have read that both Brian K. Vaughn and Robert Kirkman think he is one of the, (if not the) best out there. I have been weary of reading titles such as Crossed and Back To Brooklyn, which Ennis helms, because of the nature of their content, but these historical nonfiction tales really call out to me.

I realize that in this review I haven’t revealed much of the specific plot and that is because the story is so tightly written that I am afraid any detail might spoil it for the poor lug who hasn’t read this series yet. Quite soon this series will be collected into a small TPB and sold for less than ten bucks. Buy it! Or, if you can find them, get the whole series now with the three beautiful Cassady covers. I cannot not wait for the next series of Battlefields to hit the shelves!

Grade: A

-Rob G