Battlefields: The Tankies #1

Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Carlos Ezquerra and Hector Ezquerra

In this, the newest of the Battlefields series, Ennis is giving us a story about a tank crew advancing through Normandy following D-Day. The crew, made up of soldiers who have yet to see action, are quickly decapitated by the loss of their Lieutenant, who is then replaced by a Corporal from Newcastle.

This is standard Ennis: the Corporal speaks in a thick brogue, transmitted off the page by phonetic spelling, and fits the archetype of the 'soldier who gets things done.' The rest of the crew, still splattered with the remains of their former commanding officer, follow along and work to please.

Meanwhile, Ennis portrays the Germans as desperately holding on to the land, and fighting even after the point of surrender. The stakes for our little crew are quite high.

Ezquerra has long been a collaborator of Ennis's, and together they excel at portraying the innocence (and perhaps stupidity) of the soldiers. As Vertigo's recent Haunted Tank mini-series revealed, it is difficult to convey an exciting tank battle in comics, but the Ezquerras manage to do so nicely here.

This iteration of Battlefields completely lacks the subtlety and beauty of Dear Billy, but it is still an enjoyable comic.

Battlefields #5

Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Carlos Ezquerra

Here's another strong issue of The Firefly and His Majesty, the follow-up to the earlier Battlefields story The Tankies.  Our tank crew is now hunting the King Tiger that they learned about last issue, and it has become somewhat personal for the Sergeant in command.  We finally learn why he hates Tigers so much, and what is driving his contempt for the German tank crews they have come across.

There is also some very nice character work involving the rest of the crew, and their German enemies are given some screen time as well.  Ennis usually personalizes both sides in these conflicts, which adds a lot of depth to his story, except for the Obersturmbanfuhrer, who he leaves a right scary bastard.

Most of this issue involves men sitting in and around tanks talking, and yet Ennis maintains a degree of suspense and foreboding throughout.  Ezquerra's art is spot-on, and I like the reference to one of Ennis's earlier War Story tales, Johann's Tiger.  I never thought of these books as having a continuity before, but I like the idea of Ennis weaving together some of these different stories one day.

Battlefields #6

Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Carlos and Hector Ezquerra

The Firefly and His Majesty ends as we all knew it had to, with the final battle between the Firefly tank and the King Tiger it has been hunting for the last two issues.

This arc, the sequel to The Tankies, has been interesting for the way it has changed the tank crew from a bunch of misfit jokers into a seasoned, and very hardened, group of veterans.  The events at the end of the last issue have totally drained any enthusiasm for warfare that might have been left in them, and it is clear now that the simply want to finish their job and go home.  At the same time, their rivals in the Tiger want the same, yet they know that they are on the losing end of the war.

As usual with Ennis, this is a very well-realized portrayal of warfare, and one that I found interesting throughout.

Battlefields: The Tankies #3

Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Carlos Ezquerra and Hector Ezquerra

This was the strangest of the three Battlefields mini-series. The first gave us a story told from both sides or perspectives in the war. The second was the most tightly-plotted thing that Ennis has written in years. This one was one of the loosest.

I expected that the various groups of characters that have been in this book since the beginning might meet up at some point. I also expected that some major battle might get fought. Not really. Perhaps this adds a layer of veracity to the war story - it's a lot of driving around lost, followed by some waiting. As a plot for a comic, it's strange though.

That said, I enjoyed this series, and I'm pleased to read that Ennis is bringing it back for three more series next year. I'm in.

Battlefields: The Tankies #2

Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Carlos Ezquerra

As a series of individual moments, this title is quite standard Garth Ennis war story fare. There is a tough-as-nails sergeant, a group of likeable, but inexperienced tank soldiers, and some pretty twisted moments ("I say, d'you know you've a chap in your tracks?" being pure Ennis gold).

The problem with this particular iteration of Battlefields is that the story just seems to be a string of these moments, with no real larger plot being furthered. The action shifts from our tank crew to different groups of British soldiers strung out along the Normandy offensive, but there are no caption boxes to inform us of the change of setting. The art doesn't help that much with this, as, like in many war movies, the characters kind of all look the same.

The book is enjoyable, I just have come to expect slightly better.

Battlefields #4

Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Carlos Ezquerra

With this latest arc of Battlefields, "The Firefly and His Majesty", Ennis returns to the character of Sergeant Stiles, last seen in the arc 'The Tankies'. Time has passed, and Stiles and the other tank units have taken the war into Germany. They are pushing their way closer and closer to Berlin, although as usual, Stiles's team is way behind their main force and perhaps a little lost.

Stiles and crew meet up with a group of American Shermans which have been attacked by a King Tiger - the German super tank. What follows is some soldierly conversation, a good story about how the newest crew member was needed in the tank, and generally, set up for the fight between Stiles's Firefly tank (American tank, British gun) and this Tiger that we keep hearing about.

As usual with an Ennis war comic, this is some pretty good stuff. When he works with Ezquerra, he always find a nice balance between the comic and the gritty.