Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Comics Review: OUT OF THE BLUE, VOLUME ONE

OUT OF THE BLUE, VOLUME ONE by Garth Ennis, writer; Keith Burns, artist; Jason Wordie,colors; and Rob Steen, letters. (Aftershock Comics, March 2019) Hardcover, 72 pages. ISBN #1949028135 / 9781949028133  


Summary on the Goodreads website . . . . .


A WAR IS A DIFFICULT THING TO KILL



The Second World War is almost over, but no one seems to have told the Germans- as Royal Air Force pilot Jamie McKenzie finds out when he's assigned to deadly shipping strikes along the enemy coast. 


Flying the Mosquito fighter-bomber against heavily armed targets is dangerous enough at the best of times. But after incurring the wrath of his vengeful commanding officer, Jamie is assigned the most unpopular navigator in the unit- not to mention the least reliable aircraft. Worse still, the commander's sights are firmly set on Jamie's beautiful young wife, Beth.


Writer Garth Ennis (Preacher, The Boys) and artist Keith Burns (War Stories) re-unite after the success of their series Johnny Red, presenting another tale of World War Two aerial combat- featuring skies black with flak and enemy fighters, nail-biting low-level action, and the dark humor of men whose lives can be snatched away at any second... Out of the Blue.  





My Five-Star Review on the Goodreads website . . . . .


     Garth Ennis could teach a master class in how to write a good war comic. He's very knowledgable on the subject of World War II aircraft, tanks and vehicles utilized by all forces and always does a good amount of research. It's obviously a period in history that he has much interest in. 


     What makes OUT OF THE BLUE one of my absolute favorites of all the war comics I've read (admittedly, not an extensive list) are three things 1) The amazing detailed artwork of Keith Burn, so intricate and colorful, 2) the oversized format that allows those details to be viewed in gorgeous bigger panels, and 3) the story itself. Rather than concentrate on just the military details and combat action, Ennis develops his characters and makes them human and relatable. Along with the sky battles, there is plenty of drama, conflicts, political maneuvering, abuse of power, grudges, discrimination, reunions, etc. 


     My only quibble is that this story was divided into two volumes, interrupting the story just as the tension was coming to a head. However, OUT OF THE BLUE was later published complete in one larger hardcover collection.


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