With the Battle of Stalingrad in full and savage swing, the Russians are throwing everything they have at the Nazis, in an effort to turn the battle’s tide. Caught up in the fighting is Johnny and his squadron of fighter pilots, the legendary Falcons, and the Nightwitches, an all-female unit flying ancient biplanes in a very one-sided war. But for Johnny Red, the war is about to take a very sudden, and unexpected, twist!

The first issue of Johnny Red captured a sense of nostalgia that I wasn’t expecting in too; that of the old British war comic. The first issue really spoke to me, especially the way in which Garth Ennis framed the story, and I loved everything about the comic.  Needless to say, I was a bit apprehensive of the second issue’s ability to live up to the first.

I needn’t have been.

The second issue is every bit as enjoyable as the first, although as with the first issue  the review pdf I had access to didn’t show off the double page spreads quite as well as a printed copy (or a dedicated e-reader) would, and just like last issue I can’t wait to see them in the print copy I’ll be picking up on the 2nd of December. The art is the first issue really popped when I was able to hold it in my hand, it seemed more visceral and vibrant, and whether that’s due to the settings on my laptop or the quality of the printed product I don’t know (maybe a combination of both?), but either way this is still a fantastically well illustrated comic with  Keith Burns really getting the details across in his line work.

Garth Ennis is crafting this tale masterfully; I am a huge fan of the flash back nature of the World War II era events, and how they’re being related by a man that was actually there gives the comic a very personal touch as the old veteran Rodimitz relates his tale to the new owner of Johnny Red’s Hurricane aeroplane, Tony Iverson, and the reader finds out just what happened to the young British pilot during his time in Russia.

The first issue really struck me in a nostalgic wave of awesomeness that I wasn’t expecting. By playing on it’s homage to the old war comics during the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s in both the art style and the subject matter I was in comic book love. That the second issue still holds up now that I was expecting the nostalgic wave is a testament to the quality of the book. I was genuinely surprised (again) by this series ability to hook me in now that the initial wave of adoration had passed for me; despite loving  Johnny Red for what it brought me in terms of memory, at the back of my mind I was concerned that the magic would drop off as the series progressed to it’s conclusion, but like I said, that wasn’t the case. This is another solid entry in an eight issue miniseries that I’m thoroughly enjoying.

At the end of the day, this is probably the best non-superhero book on the racks that I’m reading right now, and it’s certainly one of the better comics, too. Whether you love this series as much as I do, however, is a question that only you can answer.

Story: Garth Ennis Art: Keith Burns
Story: 9.5 Art: 9.75 Overall: 9.75 Recommendation: Buy

Titan Comics provided a FREE copy for review, but I’m still buying it anyway.

Legendary British fighter ace, Johnny ‘Red’ Redburn, returns once more as the commander of the Falcons – a Russian fighter squadron battling the Nazis in the skies over Stalingrad. But dogfighting Messerschmitts are about to become the least of his troubles when the NVKD – the notorious Soviet secret police – come calling!  

Look, I’m going to be honest with you here; I love everything about this comic. Reading it reminded me in all the right ways of my dad’s old comic strips I read as a kid in England. To say that Johnny Red #1 has captured my nostalgia is entirely accurate, but this is also a very good comic whether it reminds you of times gone by or not.

As an homage to the classic British war strips of the 60’s and 70’s, this is spot on, right down to the scratchy art style that conveys so much detail and grit in the panels. Indeed Keith Burns gives us some spectacular double page spreads here that, whilst they didn’t really shine as well as they could have on the review pdf I had (I can’t wait to see them in a printed copy when I get my hands on one), promise to be stunning.

Garth Ennis has approached the framing  of the story brilliantly; set more or less in the present day, the comic opens with a man, Tony Iverson, buying an old wreck of an air pane. But who flew it, and how was it wrecked?  I’m sure you can guess the answer to the first question easily enough, and the rest? Well that’s what we the readers, and Tony Iverson are hoping to discover.

I’m genuinely excited by this comic; not only because Garth Ennis is on fine form here, but in part because the way in which he is telling the story is fantastic and also Keith Burns art is just stunning. Although the double page spreads may have lost some of their magic in the review copy, his layouts are spectacular, as is the way his line work encapsulates the feeling of reading an old war comic without feeling like it’s stuck in the past. It feels like the perfect mix of an homage to the old with just the right dash of the new thrown in.

I did mention that I was a bit of a fan of this comic, and I can’t wait for the next seven issues, but because I feel the need to temper expectations that I may have unfairly built, after all Johnny Red brought back a lot of memories of old comic strips an anthology books from my childhood, so I am aware that the nostalgic factor is definitely there, but I also really enjoyed it as a comic beyond the nostalgia factor. But at the end of the day as much as I loved Johnny Red #1, am I a huge fan because of the feelings this comic evokes in me, or am I a fan because it’s a truly excellent comic? It’s tough for me to differentiate the two, so although this may not be the best comic you’ll read this week, and even though this comic was nigh on perfect for me, I wanted to be as honest as I could about why I love this issue so much.

At the end of the day, whether you love it as much as I did (and I hope you do) is a question that only you can answer.

Writer: Garth Ennis Art: Keith Burns
Story: 9.75 Art: 9.75 Overall: 9.75 Recommendation: Buy

Titan Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review