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By Garth Ennis & Carlos Ezquerra
ISBN 1401-203-531
Garth Ennis is a huge fan of the British war comics he grew up reading. He’s also a writer with a distinct voice and two discrete senses of humour.
The black sardonic ironies of Preacher and True Faith are not present in this compilation of the two Rifle Brigade miniseries he produced with veteran combat illustrator Carlos Ezquerra. What you get here is the cruel, ultra-violent gross-out stuff that made Hitman or The Boys such guilty pleasures.
The Brigade are Blighty’s top combat unit, dealing death and destruction to the Hun in World War II. They’re also the worst congregation of deviants and psychopaths ever gathered under one roof, giving the creators the opportunity to lampoon every cliché you’ve ever seen in a war movie.
The plots (escaping from the Gestapo’s dungeon and beating the Germans to the mystical artefact that is Hitler’s missing testicle, respectively) are simply hangers to drape an avalanche of bad taste jokes on. The scripts, one-liners, and action sequences are all up to their usual high standards but whether it’s an enjoyable experience depends on what kind of humour you prefer. Not one for the easily offendable or retired Colonels.
© 2001, 2002, 2003 Garth Ennis & Carlos Ezquerra. All rights reserved.