An excellent war comic with real history
Creative Staff
Story: Tom Tully
Art: Joe Colquhoun
What They Say
After top RAF pilot Johnny Redburn is grounded for killing a superior officer, his flying career abruptly ends. A German airstrike whilst serving in the Royal Navy sees him stealing a Hurricane and taking to the skies as an ally of Falcon Squadron—a group of misfit pilots from the USSR!
When the embittered brother of the dead officer discovers his identity, it will take all of Johnny’s dogfighting skills to avoid being caught in British—as well as German—crosshairs! But it’s the arrival of Nina Petrova, a Russian pilot as skilled and deadly as Redburn himself, who will take him on a fearless journey to hell itself: the besieged and battle-scarred city of Stalingrad.
Acclaimed British creators Tom Tully (Roy of the Rovers) and Joe Colquhoun (Charley’s War) bring World War II to life in the finest air warfare series ever told—collected for the very first time!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Even though he’s a Brit, Johnny Redburn leads Falcon Squadron, a ragtag group of Russian pilots holding the line against the German Luftwaffe. Johnny Red, as he’s called, had to flee his home country after accidentally killing his superior officer. He entered into the Royal Navy and only survived a German airstrike by stealing a Hurricane. With his beloved plane, Johnny Red fled to Russia where he not only got a chance to fly again, but also a chance at redemption.
This volume introduces Nina Petrova, a female Russian pilot who is part of the feared Angels of Death, an all-female squadron that struck fear in the hearts of the Germans. Her skills equal Johnny’s, and her daring perhaps surpasses his as she takes to the sky in outdated machinery. Their relationship begins with difficulty, but the two quickly gain respect for the other, and while they never become lovers on panel, it’s not hard to imagine it happening between the scenes.
Johnny will need all the help he can get as the brother of the officer he accidentally killed comes searching for revenge. Johnny faces that and the horror of war on the ground in this third volume of the acclaimed series.
England has had its share of excellent war comics—probably the most notable being Charley’s War, set in World War I. While my experiences with war comics don’t go far past Sgt. Rock, what struck me about this title is the realism and the complexity with which it represents war. War is, to put it lightly, a contradiction. It’s terrible, gruesome, and full of horror, but at the same time there is an undeniable excitement and a mystique of glory attached to it that is difficult to shake. The majority of stories set in war—especially World War II—highlight the latter over the former, but Johnny Red does an admirable job of striking a balance between the two. The scenes where people get shot are truly horrifying, and the story where Johnny joins the ground forces in Stalingrad shakes him to his core. The fear, the starvation and constant deprivation that the ground soldiers faced every day are truly terrible to behold for both Johnny and the reader.
The comic wouldn’t be nearly as effective in conveying this if not for the superb art work of Joe Colquhoun of Charley’s War fame. The quality of his work is so great that I don’t know why he isn’t held up with other greats in the field such as Neal Adams or Jack Kirby. The sheer level of detail he manages to cram into the panels without making the image confusing or buys is very impressive. In addition to that, his figure and face work is equally well done, and the fights—oh, the fights!—are probably the best representations of air combat I’ve ever seen in a comic.
Of course, the horror captured in the pages is only a minor representation of the real horrors experienced in Russia at that time. There is an excellent introduction written by comic writer Garth Ennis and in it he detailed the historical accuracy of Johnny Red (forgiving the fact that the Russians apparently needed an English flying ace behind which to rally). Introductions can be rather hit or miss, but Ennis does a fine job of pointing out the historical accuracy of this title, especially with the Angels of Death and the planes.
The Angels of Death are an homage to the real-life Night Witches, a battalion of female Russian pilots that terrified the Germans in World War II. Their story, which Johnny Red uses and Ennis illuminates in the introduction, is an incredible one, and perhaps even more incredible is the way that they, in the form of Nina Petrova, are portrayed in a comic book in the 1970s, especially in a war comic, which was designed to appeal to boys. Nina is strong, capable, and every bit the equal to Johnny without coming across as a caricature or a flimsy model of a female empowerment. Even as a member of an already strong supporting cast, Nina manages to shine.
In Summary
It’s easy for war comics to fall into the trap of super heroism and glory, but Johnny Red manages to walk the line between being a genuinely exciting and thrilling title and a hard look at the terrors of war. The artwork is superb, the characters real, and the plots steeped in real history. Highly recommended.
Content Grade: A+
Art Grade: A+
Packaging Grade: A
Released By: Titan Books
Release Date: February 19, 2013
MSRP: $19.95
