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April 9, 2021 · 5:50 pm

Interview with Garth Ennis: The Art of the War Story

Garth Ennis has been writing comics since 1989. Credits include Preacher, The Boys and Hitman, with successful runs on The Punisher and Fury for Marvel Comics. As well as his own war series War Stories, Battlefields, and Dreaming Eagles, he recently revived the classic British aviation character Johnny Red, and has produced two series of World of Tanks for Wargaming.net. Originally from Northern Ireland, Ennis now resides in New York City with his wife, Ruth.

It is an honor to have the opportunity to discuss comics with such a notable comics writer as Garth Ennis. Even the most casual of comics readers will recognize the name behind such big hit titles as Preacher and The Boys. For this conversation, we focus on the exciting Garth Ennis titles being published by Dead Reckoning, particularly the newly collected, The Tankies. Any writer will easily relate to what Ennis has to say about growing up reading war comics. As a child, the only comics he could access back in Belfast in the 1970s was 2000 AD, a sci-fi anthology, and Battle, a monthly collection of the best British war comics. It was there that he read Charley’s War, a collected comic strip about a boy soldier who enlisted in World War I just in time to fight in the Battle of the Somme. What really struck Ennis was the veracity of these works. These were real stories about real people. It stood in stark contrast to fantastic themes he was reading elsewhere. And it stuck by him. Like any good writer, he has essentially been recreating what had the most impact upon him as a child.

CHARLEY’S WAR

For those of you who are longtime fans as well as new fans emerging from The Boys on Amazon, Garth Ennis has so much to offer the reader in incisive and highly engaging work. Our talk, in fact, pretty much focused on the collected Tankies as there was already plenty there to cover.

Stiles, the man you want in a clutch.

We discuss the main character of Stiles, an awful little man who redeems himself over and over again by leading his men into combat. Stiles may not be likable or pleasant but he knows what can and can’t be done on the battlefield. Stiles is the man. He is not much to look at but, in the end, he wins you over by sheer determination and integrity. And Stiles is the glue that holds together the three stories in The Tankies.

The Korean War. We forget it at our own peril.

As we progressed, we turned our attention to the Korean War. I pointed out that this trilogy of war stories could have easily been all from World War II. Ennis said that, by the time he came around to writing a third Stiles story, it became imperative to do a whole separate story set during the Korean War, a war that has somehow receded into the shadows of history. It’s a sobering thought to think such a war is sort of lost to history given it really had all the factors that could have led to World War III.

THE TANKIES!

So, if you’ve read some Garth Ennis by now, I highly recommend his war stories and you will find a perfect selection of The Tankies, The Stringbags, and The Night Witches, over at Dead Reckoning.

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April 8, 2021 · 11:20 am

Review: THE TANKIES by Garth Ennis

Corporal Stiles, a rough and rowdy fella who is nobody’s fool.

The Tankies. writer: Garth Ennis. artist: Carlos Ezquerra. Dead Reckoning. 2021. 248pp. $24.95

All good writing provides a hook, a way into a story. War stories might seem challenging for unfamiliar readers since they might seem remote–but not if you have characters as alive as the action. Garth Ennis knows this well and it has resulted in numerous thrilling and engaging war stories. In the case of The Tankies, Ennis opens with a panorama of activity evoking the intensity and chaos during the Normandy invasion. After a good amount of blood spill, a leading figure emerges: Corporal Stiles. He’s a rough and rowdy fella who is nobody’s fool. Of course, some folks need convincing, like gunner Robinson who has Stiles pegged for a Geordie from New Castle. And what’s a “Geordie” supposed to be? Robinson is from the East End of London, a Cockney. And, as far as he’s concerned, Stiles is a lowly Geordie from the Tyneside area of North East England. Ah, the petty conflict amid the vast hell of conflict! And there you’ve got the bits and pieces that add up to a good hook!

Enter Corporal Stiles!

This collection of war stories features Stiles, who assumes the rank of sergeant throughout the rest of the book. And, of course, it’s the Tankies (nickname for the Royal Tank Regiment) that remain constant too. In the course of this series, Stiles leads his men from the battle for Normandy to the Nazi heartland; from the end of World War II to the killing fields of Korea. Did you ever read Sgt. Rock comics? Sgt. Rock was a DC Comics staple, created by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert. I think there’s a bit of that vibe here. Of course, Ennis is well steeped in all sorts of military comics from across the pond, namely, Battle Picture Weekly and War Picture Library. This has led to many fine war comics stories from Ennis with The Tankies as a prime example.

THE TANKIES!

These stories will also appeal to you if you enjoy learning about world history. Ah, yes, through the marvel that is comics, you will quickly pick up numerous nuggets of insight all thanks to the tireless research done by Ennis. It is through the comics medium that you can absorb facts by the fistful. The Tankies provides the reader will a gripping narrative while all the time giving the reader a remarkable sense of time and place. The Brits, or “Tommy,” as the Germans mockingly called them, were at a major disadvantage with relatively inferior tanks compared to the sleek and virtually impenetrable Nazi counterparts. Within these pages, the reader will come to fully appreciate what an act of courage it was to climb into a relatively subpar Sherman or Churchill tank to do battle with such Nazi dragons as the Panther and the Tiger. It will send shivers down the spine. And it will have the reader rooting for Stiles and his men.

Boys will be boys.

A good war story, just like a good Western, is dependent upon a sense of authenticity and flesh and blood characters you can believe in. Without a doubt, Ennis delivers on both counts. Couple this stirring narrative with the exquisite art by Carlos Ezquerra (1947–2018) and you have an all-out winning combination of amazing storytelling. War comics, in general, are beloved by fans not only for their grit but just as equally for their humanity. Ezquerra literally puts a face to the action. If you are new to the genre or a seasoned aficionado, you find there is much to love in this collection. You will gain a better sense for World War II and the Korean War as well as the old adage that “war is hell.” So, take the journey with Stiles and his honorable men.

War comics at their best.

Be sure to visit Dead Reckoning, publisher of The Tankies as well as other Garth Ennis titles: The Stringbags and The Night Witches. All three of these titles add up to an outstanding showcase of war comics by Garth Ennis. As any comics and pop culture fan already knows, Garth Ennis is known for such titles as Preacher and The Boys. Well, it will delight fans of these titles to dig deeper, if they haven’t gotten the chance already, and learn the sort of history that you probably were not exposed to in high school and maybe not even in college. As for The Night Witches, this is an in-depth exploration of World War II from the Russian perspective and the view from the female Russian aviator at that! Also featuring bi-planes is the gripping story of The Stingbags. You will find out how antique planes do battle in a new generation’s war. This is war comics at its best.