Battlefields 9 (August 2010)

Could you be more depressing Garth Ennis? I mean, it’s really not depressing, not in the futility way the first Battlefields embraced… but it’s the first issue of this series to get me to tear up.

So it’s really effective.

It’s also the perfect example of why Ennis shouldn’t have done any sequels in this second Battlefields series. This arc hasn’t been anything but a postscript to Night Witches.

Really awful computer colors from Aviña–I’m assuming he was instructed to add all the shadows so whoever had that idea is a bit of a jerk. The series is rather unpleasant to look at during the talking heads scenes. The battle scenes are fine (I notice Aviña doesn’t add out of place shadows there).

It’s a good issue, but suggests maybe Battlefields doesn’t need to continue. Ennis has the ability to tell these stories, but the passion is absent here.

CREDITS

Motherland, Part Three; writer, Garth Ennis; artist, Russell Braun; colorist, Tony Aviña; letterer, Simon Bowland; editor, Joseph Rybandt; publisher, Dynamite Entertainment.

Battlefields 8 (July 2010)

Still a ton of art issues–I can’t be the only one who’s noticed Aviña’s colors are horrific on this issue. Luckily, Braun keeps it together, saving the strange tablet lines for the last couple pages.

There’s a lot of flying battle stuff in this issue. Three double-page spreads. It shows the chaos really well, but it’s also filler. Along with Anna talking to herself (and hearing her dead friend talk back to her), it’s clear Ennis doesn’t have the story to fill this arc out properly. He’s never been good at war sequels anyway.

It’s not bad, not by a long shot, but there are only a few excellent moments. Nice moments, sure… but only a few excellent ones.

It also reads really fast. I think the entire issue took five minutes to read. Any emotional weight Ennis is getting is from it being a Night Witches sequel.

CREDITS

Motherland, Part Two; writer, Garth Ennis; artist, Russell Braun; colorist, Tony Aviña; letterer, Simon Bowland; editor, Joseph Rybandt; publisher, Dynamite Entertainment.

Battlefields 7 (June 2010)

Is Braun drawing on a computer tablet here? His lines just seem completely unnatural. Of course, his art’s really loose–the size of Anna’s face isn’t constant.

And Tony Aviña’s colors are atrocious here. Looks like a beginner’s guide to Photoshop coloring.

The visual complaints aside, this issue starts fine. I’m a little unsure of another sequel (this time to Night Witches), especially after the last issue. Ennis has some good material in the issue–there’s some funny, touching stuff with this young female mechanic who’s inspired by an indifferent Anna. Indifferent being the polite way of putting it.

But, once again, Ennis has a lot of humor in the issue. It’s well-executed… but it doesn’t feel right, not when one thinks of the first Battlefields series.

Ennis maintains the attention to historical detail, but this issue is mostly full of Anna’s angst.

It’s good, but I’m getting wary.

CREDITS

Motherland, Part One; writer, Garth Ennis; artist, Russell Braun; colorist, Tony Aviña; letterer, Simon Bowland; editor, Joseph Rybandt; publisher, Dynamite Entertainment.

Battlefields (2010) #6

B2010 6

The curse of the full page panels. Ezquerra has two in the last few pages and it hurts the reading experience. The tank battle needed more elucidation, not full page panels.

I have no idea how this issue ends, but I’m assuming since Ennis is literal with Battlefields, it’s not ending with a ghost. It’s more Ezquerra’s fault, his panicked faces are all looking alike at the end of the issue. But it’s also Ennis’s fault for not leaving enough room.

The confusion leaves the arc a lot less steady than I thought possible for a Battlefields story. Sadly, Tankies is the strongest and its sequel is the weakest. In some ways, I think Ennis got too comfortable. It served him well in the first story, while here… it’s “just” a sequel. It’s horrifying and affecting, but mostly because of the familiar protagonist.

Worth a read, of course, just disappointing.

Battlefields 6 (May 2010)

The curse of the full page panels. Ezquerra has two in the last few pages and it hurts the reading experience. The tank battle needed more elucidation, not full page panels.

Worth a read, of course, just disappointing.

CREDITS

The Firefly and His Majesty, Part Three: Kingdom of Dust; writer, Garth Ennis; penciller, Carlos Ezquerra; inker, Hector Ezquerra; colorist, Tony Aviña; letterer, Simon Bowland; editor, Joseph Rybandt; publisher, Dynamite Entertainment.

Battlefields (2010) #5

B2010 5

I’d like to call a foul on Ennis here for playing the reader but it’s not his fault. Maybe he knew the reader would get comfy, a little relaxed, laughing at the jokes… only to have the last couple pages of the issue knock the wind out of him or her.

So instead of calling foul, I’ll just say he makes a great turn at the end. I can’t imagine what this story would read like without Ezquerra. He does such a perfect job with the expressions. He manages the humor, the exhaustion, the anger and the horror in such a way he brings the whole issue to life.

This issue is rather full. Not a lot of time passes, but Ennis gives the reader a lot of information–there’s even backstory on the Sarge–whether about the tank crew or the Germans. The German scenes are scary.

Brilliant work.

Battlefields (2010) #4

B2010 4

Hey, it’s the sequel to Tankies. I didn’t even realize from the cover.

Well, I’m not sure it’s exactly a sequel to Tankies, rather another adventure of that tank crew. If I remember the original correctly, the plotting’s basically the same. The issue opens and closes with a different group of characters, here it’s some Nazis. Then we get to our crew.

The majority of the issue is talk, with the Sarge (he gets a last name here–Stiles–though he might have had it in the first series) talking to an American about an off-page tank attack (the Germans from the first scene hit a column of American tanks).

We get a brief introduction to the newest member of the tank crew and a flashback catching us up on their recent activities.

Ezquerra handles Ennis’s more humorous moments, as always, beautifully.

It’s a strong start for the arc.

Battlefields 5 (April 2010)

Brilliant work.

CREDITS

The Firefly and His Majesty, Part Two: Soldiers of the Reich; writer, Garth Ennis; penciller, Carlos Ezquerra; inker, Hector Ezquerra; colorist, Tony Aviña; letterer, Simon Bowland; editor, Joseph Rybandt; publisher, Dynamite Entertainment.

Battlefields 4 (March 2010)

Hey, it’s the sequel to Tankies. I didn’t even realize from the cover.

We get a brief introduction to the newest member of the tank crew and a flashback catching us up on their recent activities.

Ezquerra handles Ennis’s more humorous moments, as always, beautifully.

It’s a strong start for the arc.

CREDITS

The Firefly and His Majesty, Part One: Welcome to the Fatherland; writer, Garth Ennis; penciller, Carlos Ezquerra; inker, Hector Ezquerra; colorist, Tony Aviña; letterer, Simon Bowland; editor, Joseph Rybandt; publisher, Dynamite Entertainment.

Battlefields (2010) #3

B2010 3

Well, Ennis gets to the rough stuff here. But he still handles it calmly and affably for the beginning, then once the event occurs, it’s rather touching. To this point, Battlefields has been pretty extraordinary and different, whether in plot details or characters. This arc is the first one where Ennis just sits down and tells a traditional war story–not too traditional, of course, the dead guy didn’t have a girlfriend to cry over him.

It’s a very sure piece of writing. Ennis always seems sure of himself, but this arc is a little different. There’s no hook. There’s nothing different about it to get a reader’s interest. It feels very comfortable and not in a bad way. Makes me wish Battlefields was a monthly.

However, something’s off with Holden this issue. His faces are too broad, which hurts during the two talking heads scenes.

Still, a great comic.