LION & THE EAGLE

I liked this presentation of the fighting in India. The only issue I had with the overall purchase (not the fault of anyone, just an oops) was that some of the pages were reprinted, so it was a bit confusing at first. Once I figured out the misprint issue, I was able to read it all right.

Meticulously researched and superbly told by all involved, as we've come to expect from all Ennis and his artist partners' historically-based war books. I was completely absorbed by the story, and learned a great deal along the way.I had a great uncle who fought in Burma in WW2 - though not in the Chindits - and still regret the fact that I was too young and callow while he was still alive to encourage him to talk about it a little more. I knew it had been one of the most vicious theatres of the whole war (yet also one of the most neglected), but little more than that.Fred was one of the kindest men I ever knew, and yet even in his seventies any mention of Japan made him set his jaw for a moment and mutter "bastards" as he was forced to remember for a second the cruelty he'd seen inflicted there. I think those occasions were the only time I ever heard him swear, in fact. Perhaps he'd have preferred not to talk about it even if I'd asked, but I wish I'd least tried. I still have his campaign medals from his service in Burma, which came to me when he died.Holden's art is not self-consciously flashy, but has the much more important virtue of rock-solid storytelling. Even in a story with a large cast of men dressed in near-identical uniforms, you're never in any doubt of who's who or what is happening from panel to panel. If you were an admirer of Steve Dillon's work with Ennis on Hellblazer and Preacher,you'll find many of the same strengths here. Tim Bradstreet's four photo-realistic covers, each built round portraits of the main characters, are excellent too.It's such a shame that more people who'd be fascinated to read such a story would never consider this particular book simply because it's in comics form and they've no notion of what the medium can achieve when done this well.

Reasonable read

A fine graphic novel, well presented with excellent illustration throughout. Definitely one for mature readers as it doesn't pull its punches. Garth Ennis never disappoints but he seems to have gone the extra mile with this one.

I do enjoy reading a good comic book.