Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Johnny Red #1

Collapse
X
Collapse
  •  
    Ian Jane
    Administrator

  • Johnny Red #1



    Johnny Red #1
    Released by: Titan Comics
    Released on: November 4th, 2015.
    Written by: Garth Ennis
    Illustrated by: Keith Burns
    Purchase From Amazon

    Tony Iverson has just flown in from San Jose to meet with Paul Finley at the Vintage Flyers Suffolk Ltd. hanger. Paul offers to show Tony a 'real airplane' and they head into the hanger where what's left of a vintage Hawker Hurricane World War II era fighter plane is stored. Paul and his crew are going to restore it for Tony but it might take some time. Like Paul says… “even the bullet holes have bullet holes.”

    They discuss the history of the plane, how it helped to win the war and how Tony wants it painted. Paul also tells Tony that this particular plane never saw combat in the Battle Of Britain, it was used for training and after that sent off to Russia to help guard a convoy. They talk a bit more about the history of the plane, and how it's last pilot, Flight-Lieutenant Harris, was listed as missing in action even though the plane made it out of Russia, as it was found in Germany. The plane also appears to have undergone some modifications, the kind that weren't done under the authorization of the R.A.F. - there's definitely a mystery to this plane's story. Paul can help Tony figure out that mystery, he knows people in Russia, it'll take time and money.

    Tony has time and money. We next see him in the back of a limo with a beautiful blonde woman named Lyudmila explaining, at her request, how he made his fortune. She's taking him to meet a man who served in the war and who knows the very plane Tony is paying to have restored, an old man named Rodimitz. When the old man asks Tony how much he's got wrapped up in the plane, money wise, Tony answers him. Rodimitz? He laughs. Rodimitz tells Tony he was the chief mechanic for the squadron the plane flew with. He and the plane are the last survivors of a decades old secret and with that out of the way, Rodimitz starts to tell his story starting with Stalingrad. The Nazi's were seemingly unstoppable, their air force and impenetrable war machine…. until 'he' showed up, the man in the cockpit of that Hurricane, an Englishman named Johnny leading a Russian squadron against the German forces.

    North American readers (like myself) might not be too familiar with Johnny Red but the character has roots that go back to 1977 where the character first appeared in Battle #100 courtesy of writer Tom Tully and illustrator Joe Colquhoun. The Brits saw Johnny as a traitor, the Germans as a deadly threat and to the Russians untrustworthy. Johnny was an anti-hero, we're told in the afterward, his only loyalty was to his squadron. That same afterward tells us that the story was based on an actual event, and how the talent pool working on comics like Battle would eventually makes UK comics history with 2000 A.D..

    So yeah, Johnny Red has been around awhile, and now he's back and in Garth Ennis' capable hands. We're definitely off to a good start here. Like Tony, most of us are keen to uncover the truth behind not only the plane but also the man who flew her, and we get that in this first issue from Rodimitz's testimony. This allows the dramatic first half of the book to segue into some pretty killer action sequences showing off some bloody dogfight action over the skies of Stalingrad. Garth writes this well, creating some interesting people out of the supporting players and giving us just enough information about the legend of Johnny Red to make us want to come back next issue to find out more.

    Keith Burns' artwork is fantastic, nice and gritty but also very detailed. The guy draws planes really well, this is on par with Kubert's Enemy Ace work, and there's a lot of excellent layouts to eyeball throughout this inaugural chapter. Credit is also due to Jason Worde for handling the coloring here. He helps make Burns' Russia a cold looking place, and he gives the war scenes that Burns illustrates just that much more punch and violent intensity.

    First issues should leave you wanting more without showing their hand and this one does just that. Whether you're familiar with the character's past or not probably isn't going to matter here, we get enough of an origin story that, with that now out of the way, we can get back to solving that mystery and enjoying the action that would seem to be sure to follow in subsequent chapters. This is a fun read, don't miss out.






      Posting comments is disabled.

    Latest Articles

    Collapse

    Working...
    X