A great - if very partisan - comic strip - Rated 
I know lots of people rightly wax lyrical about this long-running strip. The artwork and the writng are first-class, and the duo behind Charley's War deserve full marks for getting such an 'anti-war' strip into a boys pro-war comic.
However, there's the rub. While masses of historical research went into it, the strip is definitely written from a left-wing perspective. If you've seen the play or film version of 'Oh What a Lovely War' you'll know what I mean.
Officers are almost always upper-class toffs - who dine on good food in comfortable dugouts or billets while their men shiver in the trenches. The few good officers there are, are either cut down by the Germans - or end up ruthlessly sacrificed by the 'political-military' elite. Clearly that's how some people still see World War 1. There is no light or shade...
The trouble is, if you read the diaries of soldiers at the front (and I don't mean the World War 1 literature from the late 20s/early 30s like Rupert Graves "Goodbye to All That") you'll see a much richer and diverse picture.
Many ordinary soldiers felt at the time that the war had to be fought. Many officers in the British army actually came up from the ranks - sorry I know the strip would like to tell you all officers were toffs - but it just wasn't so. Soldiers in the main felt they were fighting for their country, because however appalling the war was - it had to be won.
Was it a disaster for European civilisation that the war happened? Of course it was. Were the huge sacrifices wasted by the country they come home to? Yes the were. After all, Britain had to go to war with Germany again 20 years later. But - and this is an important point - had the Kaiser's Germany been allowed to walkover Belgium and northern France that would have been a far greater disaster.
The British Army in 1914-18 was Britain's biggest-ever military endeavour - and in the last 3 months of the war the British army won its greatest every military victory. If you don't believe me -- add up the number of German divisions the British (and Canadian, Australian and empire and commonwealth) troops faced in 1918 - and then compare that with the much smaller number of divisions the British faced in 1944-45.
People often compare the casualties from WW1 with those of WW2 and conclude that it meant the generals in WW1 were stupid. However, in the first war the British were engaging the enemy's main army -- in the second they weren't - the Russians were (and look at their casualty figures).
Oh yes and while I am at it - those 'chateau-based' generals of WW1. In 1914-18 58 British generals (those of brigadier-general rank or above) were killed in combat or died of wounds. In 1939-45 the British army had around 3 generals killed. Enough said I think.
And chateaus or other such buildings impressed into military service were often the correct paces to be. Generals needed to be able to be somewhere they could keep in touch with all the units under their command - and be able to be in a building which could accommodate their staff. Generals who spent too much time in the front line were on occasion thought of by their juniors, as NOT doing their job properly - because by being in one section of the front -- they wouldn't be able to keep an eye on other sections of the front.
Enjoy the cartoon - it is an amazing work -- but it is very particular about what it says, and what it doesn't say - about the British army in World War 1.
Stormtrooper Raid ! - Rated 
The third volume in the fabulous reprint of the story of legendary Battle comic first world war hero, Charley Bourne & the fantastic quality evident throughout the first two volumes continues here.
This time Charley & his comrades are facing German stormtroopers, veterans of the war in Russia. What ensues is a stunning recreation of the misery of warfare & in particular, trench warfare.
A truly marvellous third volume, you really do have to treat yourself!!
A true classic of British comics - Rated
This collection is the third volume in the excellent First World War strip that appeared in Battle Action of my youth.
This volume continues the story of seventeen year-old Charley Bourne, now a seasoned veteran, having survived the disastrous opening day of the battle.
The offensive is reaching it's bloody climax and the story picks up from the end of the second volume where a crack German battalion have reached Charley's trench and threaten to annihilate them.
This volume is possibly the darkest part of the story so far.
Great artwork and fantastic writing. The fourth volume is already on the cards and promises to be a treat, as this will deal in part with the French experience at Verdun.
My only criticism is that Titan have not kept the colour pages that appeared in the original. I am not sure if this is a cost issue or a quality one, but the b/w scans of colour inked originals don't really translate so well.
Small quibble aside, great stuff, and let us hope the fourth volume begats a fifth.
Stunning - Rated
About 20 years ago I used to read "Battle" comic. Looking back on it now, my memories of the majority of the stories have merged into a generic war mush with the usual lantern-jawed tough heros, forgettable daring-do plots with the usual last minute escape against the odds and the wholesale extermination of hundreds of anonymous enemy forces... with the exception of "Charley's War". I always read it first.
The quality of the writing, the detail of the drawings and obvious level of research undertaken elevated it above the other stories in the comic. When I heard that the series was being published I felt that I wanted to read it again. I don't collect comics, or graphic novels. I haven't read (or probably ever will read) the Batman Dark Knight or Watchmen novels. However Charley's War is stunning. I have bought all three of the Titan books and hope that they will continue to publish the rest of the series, which I believe takes Charley up to WW2. I will be buying the next books as and when they are published.
The greatest strip ever produced. - Rated
I have just recieved the third installment of the masterpiece that is Charley's war and I now realise as an adult that this story was wasted on me as a child. The writing by Pat mills surpasses anything in comics before or since, never has a story had so many characters that you truly felt were people you knew and if they were real you would love to have them join you for a pint in your local obviously the characters like Captain Snell is excluded. As a child Joe Colquhoun was my hero and I spent hours copying his work and only now nearing fourty do I realise what a master artist he really was. In his notes in this third installment Mr Mills picks a certain frame and says it is the perfect movie image, well I agree but I also think you can pick any frame and apply the same idea so incredibly detailed is Mr Colquhoun's work.
Truly the writing and it's attention to historical facts and the artwork and it's incredible attention to detail surpass anything in my opinion that has ever been published in comics.
If you have never experienced Charley's war do yourself a favour and buy parts 1, 2 and three today.
|
