The Lion & The Eagle

The year is 1944 and Japan still has control of most of East Asia.  They’re planning to control more of it as British Intelligence has learned that an offensive into India via Burma is in the offing.  However, the Allied Forces have a plan.  They’re going to air drop the largest force they can behind enemy lines, effectively capturing the opposing army in a pincer maneuver.  It’s a plan that Lieutenant Colonel Keith Crosby thinks can work, and will provide him and his friend, Doctor Alistair Whitamore, the chance to exorcize the demons plaguing them following their own retreat from Burma two years go.  No plan survives initial contact with the enemy, though, and what seemed brilliant on paper may wind up being the biggest nightmare either of them has encountered.

While I’ve yet to read a truly bad war comic from Garth Ennis, there’s been a trend creeping through his most recent efforts in the genre that has made them less enjoyable than they used to be.  That would be the writer’s focus on being as true to the events of the wars in question as possible as opposed to telling an actual story with memorable characters.  As Ennis notes in his afterword, while “The Lion & The Eagle” isn’t one person’s story, just about everything that occurs in this story happened to someone.  Chances are that someone is likely more interesting than any of the characters here, who mostly come off as mouthpieces for the writer’s thoughts on the events at hand.  I appreciate Ennis’ commitment to historical accuracy, but I’m not going to recommend this over his “War Stories.”

Still, this tale is more engaging than what we’ve seen lately from the writer in the genre.  That’s partly down to how the obscurity of the conflict makes for its details to surprise and horrify the reader in equal measure.  From the badassness of the Ghurkas to the atrocities committed by the Japanese, to one moment where the jungle’s inhabitants take center stage, there are a lot of moments that will stick with you, moreso if you believe the writer’s claim that they actually happened.  P.J. Hogan illustrates them all with a no-fuss style that’s focused on telling the story, yet still filled with plenty of detail to catch your eye.  While all this means “The Lion & The Eagle” is another one for people who are already fans of the creators, they’ll want to pick this up sooner rather than later:  It’s another publication from Aftershock, so there’s no telling how much longer it’ll remain in print.