Ennis brings Rifle Brigade safely home for its delightful conclusion.

It’s a somewhat busier issue than usual, as it opens with the boys still in the SS prison. They get out quickly, sabotage some German laboratory and head off for their escape. Actually, most of the issue is action–they’re escaping in a stolen plane and elite German commandos (genetically engineered thugs) attack them.

Ennis is able to get in a constant stream of jokes–while the action’s going on, while the Germans are recovering from the attack. The only place he doesn’t do a lot of humor is at the end (the issue ends as the D-Day fleet is in transit). I wouldn’t say he gets respectable, but he does tone it down a little once the boys intersect with history.

What’s so striking is how smart the script has to be, even though the humor’s crude.

Brilliant.

The lunacy continues. And maybe amplifies a little.

While the boys in the Rifle Brigade are being questioned by a busty SS woman, the regular army guy who caught them is bickering with the SS commander. Basically, Ennis just uses the structure to get in as many Nazi jokes as possible. There’s a beauty to his comic writing–especially the panel where, after the Rifle Brigade has inspired the entire prison to sing about the manly deficiencies of the Nazi Party leaders, a Brit in front of the firing squad gets off a bit of the chorus.

It’s somewhat hard to tell if the British are supposed to be foolish but stubbornly brave or just stubbornly brave. The only stupid Rifle Brigade member is the gay guy coming on to the captain again this issue.

Beautiful art from Ezquerra in what’s basically a talking heads issue.

Simply marvelous comedic work.

Rifle Brigade might be Ennis at his funniest (this first series anyway). He mixes absurdly graphic violence with constant humor here. There’s nothing going on but his attempt to get a laugh out of situations. He even takes the time to set up jokes, like the gay soldier trying to get a dying kiss out of his captain. But it doesn’t stop there, since the captain’s now suspicious.

Ezquerra’s artwork is fantastic stuff. He can make just an illustration worth laughing over (The Piper, for example, brings a grin whatever panel he’s in) but he’s also able to do all the action Ennis requires of him.

The joke of it–British bravado amped up–is particularly hilarious because Ennis doesn’t make them smart. They’re dumb, vicious and hilarious. Of course, having the Nazis as bad guys means being vicious isn’t going to make them unsympathetic.

It’s an utterly hilarious comic.