War Stories, Volume 1 Book

These WW2 war stories are a series of one-shot comics Garth Ennis did with a plethora of the best comics artists around at the moment including Chris Weston, John Higgins, Dave Gibbons and David Lloyd.

The stories in this volume include: the story of a Nazi tank commander as he and his crew evade their own troops in order to surrender to the Allies in the final months of the war; a group of soldiers tasked with taking Italy from the south upwards but being labelled "D-Day Dodgers" as if what they were doing was somehow worth less than what their comrades were doing in France; a group of jaded soldiers who decide to take advantage of a reconnaissance mission and hole up in a luxurious German castle for a few days; and the story of the HMS Nightingale, a battleship accompanying merchant ships as they battle unseen U-Boats across the Atlantic.

Simply put, I think this is Garth Ennis' best work and if you've read Ennis you'll know he's a tremendous writer with an enormous amount of talent and a list of brilliant books to his name. "War Stories" trumps them all. His signature black humour is missing and all of the focus is on paying tribute to the heroes who lived and died in the most brutal war in humanity to date.

The "D-Day Dodgers" was perhaps the most poignant as these thousands of men who fought their way to Berlin via Italy (my grandfather among them) were somehow seen as better off than those taking part in D-Day up in France. I'd never heard the term but was disgusted to learn that this label was indeed applied to these men as if their contribution was less than those in France. Ennis does justice to these men who died heroes despite being told they weren't appreciated.

I could go on about each of the four stories here as there are so many elements in each that are noteworthy and fascinating but I'll stop before the review goes on forever. Suffice it to say, if you're a fan of war stories, of history, of great writing, of fantastic artwork, and of brilliant comic books in general, this is a must read. That it's out of print is criminal given the fact that Ennis is not just one of the best comics writers living today but that this series is his best work. Hugely recommended, this is an amazing book.