Garth Ennis Presents Battle Classics Vol. 2 Kindle & comiXology

From 1975 to 1988, the UK weekly war comic 'Battle' featured work by the best British artists and writers that the industry had to offer at that time, including Pat Mills ('ABC Warriors', 'Slaine' etc), and John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra (co-creators of 'Judge Dredd') amongst many others, giving children such stories of quality and importance as 'Charleys War', 'Johnny Red' and 'Dark.i.e.s Mob' (note: Amazon rules wont allow me to spell the title of that book correctly, because even though its the name of the lead character and Amazon sell the book under that name, they consider it 'inappropriate'. Go figure!).Most of these great stories dealt with events of WWII ('Charleys War' was an exception in that it dealt with the trenches of WWI) and have already been collected in volumes of their own (all of which I highly recommend!), however with 'Fighting Mann' - the story that makes up the majority of the content of 'Garth Ennis Presents: Battle Classics Vol2', we have the very first time that a British comic book (in fact ANY comic book, I think) dealt with the topic of the Vietnam Conflict.First published in 1980, only five years after the fall of Saigon. It was a time when many Americans who lived through the period were still unwilling to confront the uncomfortable truths of what had become Americas longest war, where the mismanagement, dishonesty, ill-conceived strategy, murky underhand dealings and human rights abuses that symbolised it still leave physical, mental and social scars on the consciousnesses of both America and Vietnam to this day. Many Vietnam veterans were still too traumatised by what they had experienced to talk about it even to their own families, and we had not yet seen the mid-80's boom in popularity of movies dealing with the conflict. So it was perhaps a surprise that a British creative team (Alan Hebden and Cam Kennedy), in a British publication would be the first comic book creative team to tackle a conflict in which no Britons fought - but 'Battle' had always broken new ground, and they did it well!240 pages long, reprinted in the original UK magazine-style format, this beautifully presented hardback volume reprints the entirety of the 'Fighting Mann' story for the first time. Writer Alan Hebden used the conflict as a backdrop for the main characters mission, as 'Colonel Walter Mann Snr (Ret)' sets off to the South East Asian warzone in order to search for and discover the truth about his missing son - whose F4 Phantom fighter aircraft had disappeared under mysterious circumstances, seeing him classified as 'Missing in Action: Probably deserted' - and along the way uncovers a conspiracy. What is 'The Laotian Problem'?Manns journey takes him through North and South Vietnam, as well as Cambodia, and along the way he deals with all of the belligerants of the conflict from the US Army, Marines, Navy and Air Force, the NVA, the Viet Cong, South Vietnamese, Korean and Australian troops, the Khmer Rouge and even the Montagnard tribesmen of Vietnams central highlands.The story also deals with many of the facets of the conflict, from the ineptitude and confusion of those responsible for organising and executing the American war effort, to the desperate and sometimes abhorrent tactics of those intent on fighting against it, the effects of the war on the mental wellbeing of some of those who participated, corruption, the involvement of the CIA, the plight of POW's, torture, the battle on the land, air and waterways of South East Asian, even real life events such as the fire aboard the 'US Forrestal' which claimed 134 American lives.Then theres all the hardware - which as a young child reading this story for the first time in 1980 was what really drew me to the title - and artist Kam Kennedy reproduces all of the most famous weapons and fighting machines of the era wonderfully - from the ubiquitous M-16 and AK47 rifles, to AH-1 Cobra attack helecopters, Hueys, M113 APC's, gun boats, B52 heavy bombers - the works. Its a visual treat, with art so good that makes you want to scrutinise every last frame for the fine details.Its admittedly very heavy stuff for an early 80's boys comic book, but whilst some of the themes and content are very adult in nature, and it deals with a very mature topic, it remains at its core an entertaining and exciting boys-own style war adventure, that for the most part avoids being too dreary or depressing.In terms of criticisms there arent many. Its been highlighted that the story doesnt deal with some of the very most unpalatable aspects of the conflict such as in-field executions of officers thought inept (or 'fragging'), the racism that existed between some white and black US personnel - and that they sometimes showed towards the enemy - or the worst of the human rights atrocities that were known to have been perpetuated by both sides, such as the Mai Lai massacre. This is probably because of the need to create obvious 'good' and 'bad' guys, and because it WAS a comic for children afterall.Additionally, whilst the other factions involved are generally portrayed fairly accurately - the NVA and VC are shown as being brave, dedicated, but acting *appallingly* with regards some of their methods in fighting the war, and the Khmer Rouge are shown to be even worse - the Americans pretty much get a free ride, with the man in the field generally (although not always) being shown as highly skilled and courageous - although those involved at the higher echelons come accross as less so.Theyre petty complaints in reality however, and theres nothing here that would detract from the story getting the sort of five star review it honestly deserves. It broke new ground and paved the way for other similar stories that would follow like Marvel Comics 'The NAM', provided some powerful moments, but still provided a larger than life action thriller with terrific, period accurate art.The second tale in this book which rounds off this volume and takes us back to the more familiar 'Battle' territory of WWII is 'War Dog' - the story of a huge German Shepherd called Kazan working for the Luftwaffe who is exposed to rabies and is ordered destroyed, but instead his handler releases him into the wild. Think 'The littlest Hobo', but on the Eastern Front of 1941!

I used to read the old Commando, Action and Battle comics as a kid, it's good to see and read them again.

I think Garth sums up the pros and cons of the stories very well so I will avoid spoilers. I didn't read the strips in the original comic so I am unaffected by a rosy tinted bias, but admit that Fighting Mann probably read better in weekly snatches. Cam Kennedy's constant, gritty genius may have nudged this score to the level I chose.

Fighting Mann was a great strip. A little far fetched, but spanned lots of aspects of the Vietnam war and really gripped me as a kid. Lots of little gems like the fire on the USS Forrestal (sp) which actually happened.I got the digital version lately and I have to say I think this is some of Cam Kennedy’s best work - his gritty angular style suits the tension down to a tee and his rendering of the military hardware is simply amazing.War dog is a nice little tale too

A fantastic presentation of two of Battle comics regular features, comic book fans who have followed Cam Kennedy's career and distinct artwork will love this. This features two epic stories, Fighting Mann and War Dog from the 1980,s Battle comic published in the UK, both stories illustrated by Kennedy, who's technical accuracy is just superb. A great gift for comic fans, or anyone looking for nostalgic 1980's comic stories. The hardback format is a sturdy presentation for the bold black and white panels of stories within.

Very happy with this. One of my favourite story lines from the Battle comic. So glad to find it reprinted in hard copy. Hopefully they will do more including the Panzer G Man. Another classic comic strip where the hero was a good German, mainly fighting on the Russian front if i remember correctly

Massive Battle fan 'back in the day'. Great to see some of the strips being reprinted in their entirety. The 'Golden Age' of comics has sadly long gone, pity the children of today that they are deprived of that but at lest they can rejoice a bit by getting a glimpse of a better time through volumes like this.

An amazing collection from a series and artist often overlooked. Amazing artwork where each panel is perfectly rendered and is a work of art in its own right. Cinematic, dramatic and stylish, cam Kennedy is one of the best artists to hold a pen.