Battle Action vol. 2
The first volume of this revival of the venerable British series “Battle Action” was an anthology spotlighting a wide swath of characters that featured in it over the years. All of the stories were written by Garth Ennis who also provided commentary on why each of them mattered to the magazine. To him as well as there was the distinct feeling that the writer was relishing the fact that he was able to engage with the characters that inspired him as a kid. He was aided by a selection of immensely talented artists that also helped showcase their appeal as well.
I was fine with it being a one-off, but it appears that the whole project was successful enough to warrant another go-around. Hence the “Battle Action” miniseries that was serialized last year. While Ennis returns to write the majority of the stories, he’s joined by other writers who have a similar interest in these characters. Rob Williams, Torunn Gronbekk, Dan Abnett, all contribute here, as does living legend of British comics John Wagner – co-creator of “Judge Dredd” and the only writer here who can say that they’ve contributed to the original “Battle Action.”
As for the stories everyone has contributed…
Johnny Red: The Falcon: Ennis writes with Keith Burns returning to illustrate their take on the British-born leader of a Soviet fighter squadron. This time they’re dealing with the twin threats of a German fighter who loves to take out pilots as they’re landing and… a pack of ducks that are hindering landings around the squad’s base in their own way. It may seem like part of this is being played for comedy, but it’s taken seriously enough to come off like the kind of craziness that actually crops up during wartime. If Ennis and Burns can’t do another full-length “Johnny Red” miniseries, then short stories like these are appreciated as the next best thing.
H.M.S. Nightshade: John Wagner returns to write a lost chapter from his and artist Mike Western’s story of the perilous journeys of the merchant ship Nightshade. Dan Cornwell fills in for the late Western and while he’s not on the same level, he’s good enough. Wagner shows he’s still got it, though, as the story manages a nice balance of “playing the hits” of the original series, while telling us the story of a gunnery duo on the ship that would’ve fit seamlessly into that run.
Crazy Keller Meets Hot Wheels: Ennis wrote a “Crazy Keller” story for the previous volume with Chris Burnham providing the art, and for this go-round he teams Capt. Kermit Keller and Cpl. “Aerial” Arkin with Yancey and Mule who drive “Hot Wheels” for the Red Ball Express. The four men get swept up in a last-ditch effort by some Nazi holdouts to get in one last victory for the Reich, and they’re not particular about who they have to involve here. Ennis featured the sole “Hot Wheels” story in the first “Battle Classics” volume and lamented about how it never became a longer series there. It’s a well-placed sentiment made all the more credible by how well Yancy and Mule mix with Keller and Arkin here. Maybe Ennis and Burnham will give us a proper “Hot Wheels” miniseries for the next volume?
D-Day Dawson: He took a bullet near his heart at Normandy and lived to take lots of incredible risks as he led his platoon in the Allied advance across Europe. Writer Dan Abnett and artist Phil Winslade show us that the appeal for this series probably lied in the kind of over-the-top action Dawson would get up to as he took incredible risks in combat believing he was already dead. Here, he takes on a detachment of German troops in a small French village while watching out for a mother and her son. While this was fine for what it was, I can’t imagine how this setup managed to sustain two runs in the magazine itself. This story also suffers from action that’s occasionally awkwardly staged and has some really off-putting eye positioning on the first page from the usually reliable Winslade.
Major Eazy: The Devil’s Garden: Writer Rob Williams and artist Henry Flint show us what the “war’s coolest soldier” looks like from the perspective of an awestruck private he saves in one encounter. It’s a story that crams in a lot of stuff into its fourteen pages – urban combat, desert combat, aerial attacks, desert minesweeping, sniping – without feeling overstuffed. That’s an accomplishment in itself. Still, your appreciation of this story is likely to hinge on how you feel about the title character, the living embodiment of the Rule of Cool during wartime. I can get the appeal, but I still can’t help but feel Williams and Flint were trying just a bit too hard here.
Dredger: O Mother, Where Art Thou? This is the most direct continuation of a story from the previous volume than any other in vol. 2. Still, you don’t need to know much more than rude government agent Dredger’s mother, who is also his boss, has been captured by some even more rude people. Of course Ennis is writing this and artist John Higgins returns as well with a story that’s arguably more crass, unruly, and violent than the previous one was. Which means it’s good fun all around.
Death Squad: Williams again, working with artist PJ Holden in glorious black-and-white for this story of a German punishment battalion who is tasked with rescuing a Field Marshal’s son from the Russians. This gets across the appeal of the series much better than the writer’s “Major Eazy” story as we get the same kind of narrative density featured there in service of a proper story with crackling action and clever twists over the course of its length. All this with Holden’s wonderfully gritty art that made me wish the rest of the stories had followed his colorless lead.
Cooley’s Gun: Ennis and artist Staz Johnson give us this resolutely professional story about expert machine-gunner Cooley and the greenish college boy who serves as his assistant. It’s their job to man a machine gun looking out over No Man’s Land in WWI and to take out any German soldiers who come their way. While most of the stories in this volume treat war as an adventure, this is the only one to really show it as the uncompromising grindhouse that it is. Ennis and Johnson really convey the desperation its characters feel as the Germans close in on their position and survival can only be guaranteed by whoever can be the most uncompromising in their brutality. It puts this story at odds with nearly every other one in this collection, but I think the contrast works in its favor here.
Nina Petrova and the Angels of Death: Night Will Fall: Ennis may have written the first solo story featuring the pilot who is every bit Johnny Red’s equal, but Torunn Gronbekk delivers this one with art from Patrick Goddard. It starts off looking like it’ll be a story about Nina butting heads with the squad’s new Commisar. While there’s a little bit of that here, Gronbekk takes the character in an unexpected direction while also showcasing the title character’s skills. Goddard also delivers some capable art in depicting the action when it happens.
Hellman of the Condor Legion: Ennis writes the last official story from the miniseries and shows us what Kurt Hellman was up to before he was part of the Hammer Force. The year is 1937 and Hellman and his squad are participating in the Spanish Civil War. It’s here that he meets a fellow soldier who shares his cynicism about the upper brass and teaches him what he needs to know about surviving a war. In ways that are both expected and not. I don’t know much about “Hellman” to say whether or not this functions as a proper prequel, but it at least feels right reading it here. Also, as the original artist of this series, Mike Dorey shows that he’s still got it.
Rat Pack: The Tough Way Out: Not part of the miniseries, but reprinted from a 2020 “Battle” special. Written by Ennis with art by Burns, this was a fun bit of action/comedy as the title group are called in to rescue an American general, and just about everything that can go wrong does. For the general. The writer keeps the pace brisk, making all of the shenanigans feel like a proper caper, while the artist shows that he’s also good with telling less serious stories than I’ve seen from him before.
Hellman: At the Twilight of the Reich: Ennis and Dorey again, showing how an encounter with three German siblings near the end of the war turns into a lesson about the nature of heroism for one of them. It has enough action and just enough depth to keep things interesting. Again, my knowledge of “Hellman” continuity is virtually nonexistent, but this works well enough on its own terms.
As far as anthologies go, this is better than most. There aren’t any genuinely terrible stories, with the worst bottoming out at “mediocre.” The best either make me want to look up collections of their original runs – “Johnny Red,” “Death Squad,” “Hellman” – or hope that they get modern-day incarnations at some point. I’m crossing my fingers for a “Hot Wheels” miniseries, but not holding my breath for it. This is all to say that if you liked what Ennis did in the “Battle Action Special” then it goes without saying that you’ll like what he and the other writers have to offer here. Probably more, even.