This month, Dark Horse Comics is going overboard on its Star Wars offerings. With the bucks that will be flying around in May from frenzied Star Warriors, I can't say I blame them. While I will be seeing "The Phantom Menace" along with the rest of the world, I still prefer my war stories a little more down to Earth.

 War has always been a rich source of literature. The extreme nature of war allows man to be displayed at his extremes: most noble, most base, most human. A broad spectrum of humanity can be shown making decisions that are tragic, horrible, disgusting, and inspiring -- often all at the same time. While I have never participated-- and hope to never participate-- in any war, I find war stories to be endlessly fascinating for their insight into the people of our world.
 

ACES HIGH #1 (Gemstone Publishing/EC Comics)
ENEMY ACE: WAR IDYLL (DC Comics)

World War I was known in its day as the Great War. The trench warfare and mustard gas attacks make it difficult to romanticize the ground warfare in this grueling, bloody conflict. However, as the birthplace of aerial combat, the First World War produced the idealized image of the combat pilot, or "ace," and his agile-but-deadly fighter craft, the biplane. Comics have a long history of enshrining and debunking that concept.

 Due to the success of WWI air combat stories in its previous war comics, FRONTLINE COMBAT and TWO-FISTED TALES, EC Comics offered up ACES HIGH in 1955 during a relaunch of its entire comics line. Typical of EC Comics, ACES HIGH delivers spectacular artwork from the likes of George Evans, Wally Wood, Bernie Krigstein and Jack Davis, then proceeds to hide it behind ponderously dull dialogue balloons and redundantly wordy captions. The stories are simple, if not simple-minded at times. I can understand why the artists signed their names to the stories but the writers did not.

 Occasionally though, a gem will show up in an EC Comic, and in ACES HIGH #1 that treasure is the story entitled, "The New C.O." An elite group of fighter pilots spends their time jousting with the enemy and issuing challenges to aerial duels. They view themselves as knights of the air and attribute the same characteristics to their foes, remarking upon their nobility and gentlemanliness. A new commanding officer takes charge and offends the pilots with his crude fighting style and gung-ho kill-kill-kill manner. The finale is predictable -- the pilots are in for a rude awakening about the nature of their enemy thanks to their new C.O. -- but effective. Unfortunately, "The New C.O." is buried at the end of ACES HIGH #1 after three other very bland tales which buy into the romanticized version of the fighter ace.

 Years after the end of EC's war comics, DC Comics picked up the gauntlet and showed the war from the enemy's point of view in the back-up feature called "Enemy Ace." Appearing after the main story in a variety of DC war comics, "Enemy Ace" is the story of Hans von Hammer, a lonely German fighter pilot of World War I. Hammer is invincible in combat and must watch with personal bitterness and dark irony as his enemies and colleagues fall while he, who has the least for which to live, flies on.

 The typical "Enemy Ace" story by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Joe Kubert opens with a dogfight which Hammer wins or loses but survives. Scene two cuts to Hammer safely back at his base where he snubs his fellow pilots, broods over a glass of wine, and writes in his journal. In scene three he goes for a walk in order to contemplate existential thoughts deep in the surrounding forest. In the forest Hammer inevitably comes across a lone wolf with which he deeply identifies and to which he voices his thoughts out loud. He returns to his base resigned to face the fight he knows awaits in the morning with a) the pilot he barely escaped previously, b) a vengeance-seeking friend of the pilot he just killed, or c) a hot, young ace looking to earn a reputation by taking down the ultimate ace. In the final scene, Hammer is inevitably triumphant and morose. That's it. Every time. And yet "Enemy Ace" is an engaging serial about a tragic man whose natural talents cause him to excel at something that he abhors. Go figure.

 In his 1990 graphic novel ENEMY ACE: WAR IDYLL, writer/artist George Pratt revisits Hans von Hammer, picking up his life near its end in a West German nursing home in 1969. Hammer is being interviewed by a young American man who has recently completed a tour of duty in Vietnam. Pratt contrasts the myths of war with the grim realities. Hammer's memories as the ultimate survivor help the young man come to terms with his own horrible war experience.

 ENEMY ACE: WAR IDYLL is profound in its simplicity and enthralling in its execution. It's a moving story with an ethereal quality. Awful, terrible atrocities occur in war, it tells us, and each man must cope with those events in his own way, in his own time. It shows us those events in gruesome detail with its fully-painted artwork. Pratt's work is dark, murky and blurry, perfectly enhancing the mood and tone of this depressing little character study on the after-affects of war.

 If you prefer your war stories to be of the John Wayne black-and-white variety, ACES HIGH will serve you well. If, like me, you prefer your war stories to be morally ambiguous a la Oliver Stone's "Platoon," you will find ENEMY ACE: WAR IDYLL to be the ace of aces.

_____	ACES HIGH	Grade: C
_____	ENEMY ACE	Grade: B+

(ACES HIGH #4 is solicited this month in PREVIEWS on page 243. ENEMY ACE: WAR IDYLL TP is resolicited this month in PREVIEWS on page 98!)

(Gemstone Publishing's EC Comics web page is located at http://www.gemstonepub.com/eccomics/. An ENEMY ACE: WAR IDYLL fan page is available at http://www.youknow.demon.nl/pages/pratt/p8pratt.html)

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AGE OF BRONZE #1-2 (Image Comics)

Sub-titled "The Story of the Trojan War," AGE OF BRONZE is an updated and in-depth presentation of the events described in Homer's classic, "The Iliad." But don't let the classic reference scare you off, 'cuz AGE OF BRONZE is thoroughly modern in its approach and presentation. In fact it's one of the more intriguing comics I've read so far this year.

 Estimated as a 50-issue limited series, AGE OF BRONZE is taking its time to establish the characters, the age, and the setting before jumping into the actual war itself. Indeed, in the first two issues, we are merely introduced to Paris, a cocky young punk from the ancient Greek countryside. When the king's men seize his father's valued sacrificial bull to be a prize in a Trojan sporting competition, Paris travels to the big city to win back the beast. His athleticism and attitude quickly catch the eye of the king, and a secret about Paris' past guarantees that he'll be sticking around Troy for awhile.

 The pacing is wonderful, but also demonstrates that writer/artist Eric Shanower is in this for the long haul. After the first two issues, as far as the war goes, Kassandra the seer has only begun warning people about a terrible fate for Troy. And Helen, the woman whose face will launch a thousand ships, has only been mentioned in passing. I anticipate the initial skirmishes may not happen until issue ten or twelve at the earliest. As this is a bimonthly comic, that means almost two-years until the bloodshed begins in earnest. If those issues are as good as the first two -- and I'm sure they will be -- the wait will definitely be worthwhile.

 Thankfully Shanower has foregone the "thee" and "thou" approach to writing about events from early in man's history. Also avoiding the opposite extreme, Paris' speech is not packed with anachronistic references from the modern day. Shanower has found a perfectly neutral and brisk tone for his dialogue. Also, Shanower is presenting his story with dialogue only. No thought balloons or captions exist to drag the story down. Finally, Shanower is taking the time to introduce each character properly, making them three-dimensional and realistic in their goals and motivations. AGE OF BRONZE is thoroughly readable and getting better with each issue.

 And the art! AGE OF BRONZE has the same fine linework Shanower exhibited in his Oz books at First Comics and Dark Horse and his AQUAMAN limited series at DC. Expressive faces, highly-detailed clothing, and fully illustrated backgrounds are trademarks of Shanower. I'm pleased that he was able to translate the attention to detail in his artwork to his writing.

 If Shanower and Image can stick with this project for the full eight (!) years, AGE OF BRONZE is sure to be a classic in its own right. I know this book will be a slow starter financially, but the quality story contained within is sure to start a buzz. No witty puns or cute wrap-ups for this one, folks, just a sincere plea. If you want to support a true work of art in its infancy, please place your order for AGE OF BRONZE immediately.

_____

Grade: A-

(AGE OF BRONZE # 4 is solicited this month in PREVIEWS on page 124!)

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ARTESIA #1-2 (Sirius Entertainment)

ARTESIA is a much-too-serious effort to capture the spirit of the Mel Gibson movie,"Braveheart," and infuse it with a way-too-generous portion of Celtic magic and mythology. Unfortunately, as in "Braveheart," the self-important tone and slow pacing cannot live up to the spectacular battle sequences and glorious visuals.

 In ARTESIA, the Mel Gibson character has been replaced with a hot babe named Artesia. For her lord, King Branimir of Huelt, Artesia is captain of his armies, his concubine, and his priestess. She's sort of a Joan-of-Arc-of-all-trades, you see. As Artesia leads Branimir's armies to success on the battlefield, Branimir plots her betrayal. He is adopting a new religion to enhance his political power and seeks to distance himself from Artesia's pagan ways. With the aid of her magicks, Artesia discovers the betrayal and builds a revolt amongst her loyal troops. Sides are chosen, swords are raised, and bloodshed ensues.

 The best part of Artesia is the artwork. Writer/artist Mark Smylie has some rough edges but the bulk of his work is beautiful -- especially any depiction of the lead character, be she clad in armor or gloriously naked. While most every character looks like he or she has a broken nose because of a few superfluous doodles Smylie makes on the faces he draws, the bodies and costumes are well done. Best of all, his depiction of soldiers, armor, and battlefield action is superb. Jammed with detail, his war sequences are as breathtaking as they are brutal.

 Unfortunately, the dialogue in ARTESIA is dreadfully overwrought and nearly unreadable. The simple plot becomes obscured in the delivery and the artwork is hidden under needless captions and word balloons. Indeed, I regret the loss of every square inch of art to Smylie's unfettered words. The story features far too many references to obscure gods, goddesses, and demons. A dense and dull glossary has to be included in the back of each issue to explain the sprawling mythology.

 It's great that Smylie tries to bring the culture alive in order to add further dimensions to the characters and main story, but the effort fails dismally and leaves me wanting to know less about Artesia and her world of the distant past. Maybe next issue I'll ignore the words and simply look at the pretty pictures. It can only improve the book.

_____

Grade: D+

(ARTESIA #5 is solicited this month in PREVIEWS on page 265.)

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THE 'NAM #1-84 (Marvel Comics)
THE 'NAM Trade Paperbacks Volumes #1-3 (Marvel Comics)

At the height of Vietnam War mania in the 80s, Marvel Comics cashed in on the trend with one of the few Vietnam War comic books ever. At a time when every movie action hero was a Vietnam War veteran and every other movie was a Vietnam War story, THE 'NAM stood out as a high-quality tale of men at war.

 In this ambitious project, writer Doug Murray and artist Michael Golden set out to tell the story of the Vietnam War from the grunts' point of view, one month at a time. Set in real time, each issue of the series was to represent one month of the war. Characters would enter the focus platoon, die or survive, then rotate out at the end of their tour of duty to be replaced by new recruits.

 The initial storyline focuses on a young, naive man named Ed Marks. He comes of age in Vietnam, forced to deal with the cynicism and corruption that surrounds him. Through Marks' eyes, the reader discovers the terror of night raids, the boredom involved in laying an ambush, the uneasiness and paranoia felt toward civilians who may be the enemy, and the emotionally dulling presence of constant pain and death. The early issues of THE 'NAM are thoughtful, jarring tales illustrated in a striking style which walks the thin line between realism and cartoonishness. As a special treat, legendary artist John Severin (FRONTLINE COMBAT, TWO-FISTED TALES, MAD MAGAZINE, RAWHIDE KID) draws issue #12.

 Unfortunately, Marvel editorial decree thwarted the ambitions of Murray and Golden, and they eventually found themselves rotated out of their tour of duty on THE 'NAM before reaching their goal of producing a comic for every month of the conflict. Such are the vagaries of war and publishing.

 Before leaving, Murray and Golden produced an enviable body of work in THE 'NAM and set a high bar for their successors on the title. Late in the run, after floundering for much too long, THE 'NAM was fortunate to end up in the hands of writer Don Lomax (VIETNAM JOURNAL) and artist Wayne Vansant (BATTRON, AMERICAN HERITAGE COLLECTION), giving it the chance to go out with dignity and style.

 Marvel is now beginning the reissue of its early trade paperback collections of THE 'NAM, and once again, editorial fiat is ruining a good comic. For $14.95 Marvel will re-release a slim four-issue compilation -- which I purchased for $4.95 in 1987 -- of comics which originally cost 75 cents apiece. Yeah, I know about inflation, economies of scale, supply and demand, and all those other economic terms I studied back in college. But this is such a missed opportunity! For nearly the same price, Marvel could have collected 20 issues of THE 'NAM in its "Essential" format, making the entire run of one of America's best war comics available in just four large volumes. For less than 60 bucks, I could have had an edition of this series that would stay on my bookshelf for display, browsing, and reference for years to come. Marvel's current format would have me buying 21 trade paperbacks and paying over 300 smackers to own the complete collection of THE 'NAM.

 Hey, we know Marvel is never going to be able to publish 21 compilations of THE 'NAM -- only Batman has that kind of clout. Four big books might have been doable. Four books and they're done -- quick in and out. Instead, we get the publishing equivalent of the Vietnam War in Marvel's THE 'NAM collection: long, drawn out, costly, and sure to end poorly. And as the efforts of America's soldiers were lost in the controversies which swirled around the Vietnam War, the fine artistic efforts of Murray, Golden, Severin, Lomax, and Vansant are the victims here.

_____	THE 'NAM	Grade: A-
_____	Marvel Comics	Grade: F

(THE 'NAM TP is resolicited this month in PREVIEWS on page 157!)

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Copyright Rodney J. Brown 1999
Last Update: 04/03/99