Grunts: War Stories

Written by a bunch of people
Art by Matt Jacobs

Well, this was a mistake.  Looking at the cover, one could reasonably assume that this comic is written by Keith Giffen and Shannon Eric Denton.  Their names are in a prominent place on the front, and the back proclaims "Battlefield Action from...." before listing them.  But, as it turns out, they didn't write this book, they simply 'created' it.

Which might still be a symbol of quality, except that these are simply short stories, written by a variety of writers, featuring a group of soldiers fighting in the Second World War.  The only thing that separates this from a Khanigher/Kubert era DC war comic, or from something written by Garth Ennis, is that it's not very good.  So what exactly did Giffen (who I admire a great amount) and Denton create?  The fact that one of the soldiers (the fat one) is named Fatty?  Time for an Eisner....

So yah, avoid this.  The stories are okay taken individually (if they were a back-up in a war anthology, I wouldn't mind one, or even two of them), but taken as a whole, their similarity (despite ten different writers) is mind-numbing.  For some reason, almost every story has a soldier either writing a letter (sometimes in the middle of some action) or talking about the letters they've written.  And having something to do with a letter in this book is like wearing a red shirt in Star Trek.  They always die.

I get it that there is a market for war comics, but I think after reading so many by Ennis, that market is kind of particular.  You can't just shovel any old thing at them.  At least, you can't shovel it at me...

Aces: Curse of the Red Baron

Written by Shannon Eric Denton and G. Willow Wilson
Art by Curtis Square-Briggs
This is a simple but enjoyable book. It tells the story of an American soldier and British fighter pilot in the first world war, both of believe they have shot down the Red Baron, and one of whom holds a map to a secret island where they believe he has stashed his treasure. Off they go, only to find some science fiction plotline along their way.

This book is very much in the Raiders of the Lost Ark style, minus any love interest, and with slightly less humour and more futuristic technology. It works as a quick read buddy movie set during the war, so long as you don't think too much about it (I could be wrong, but I thought that the airplanes they are flying held only enough fuel for a couple of hours of flight, not the limitless range shown here).

As someone who has read a great deal about the Great War, the implication that the Black Hand was guiding everything from behind the scenes is ridiculous, but it does make for a good story.

I think I would have been much harder on this book had I paid full price for it, but seeing as I found it for $2 in a used book store, it's perfectly acceptable as a lazy Sunday afternoon read.