Battlefields: The Night Witches #3

By Garth Ennis (writer) and Russ Braun (artist)

Chapter 3 (of 3)

The final chapter resolves Anna and Graf's stories. Anna finally gets an up close and personal look at the war but not before experiencing a personal tragedy. She is the focus of the chapter.

The ending wasn't quite as grim as I imagined it would be. Some of what I foresaw came to pass but the end result wasn't quite as dark as it could have been. One of the main characters is dead but it isn't the one that I thought it would be.

The final chapter did read a lot faster than the previous two. It felt more like a half chapter although all the loose ends did get wrapped up. Despite the fact that the ending contradicted expectations it probably isn't too surprising how it did wind up based upon who wrote it.

This was an excellent story. As should be clear from this accounting this is a complex story in which characters from both sides of the fight are portrayed as 3-dimensional characters, which makes it that much harder for someone who is reading the story with an open mind to easily empathize with one side and not the other. Highly recommended for anyone that likes grim and gritty stories.

Preview: Garth Ennis' Battlefields: The Night Witches #3

Battlefields: The Night Witches #2

By Garth Ennis (writer) and Russ Braun (artist)

Chapter 2 (of 3)

The Night Witches, the Russian female bomber pilots, are the heroes. The Germans are not. The Russians, both female and male, are portrayed as honorable. The Germans, with one exception, are not. It is very likely that before the end of chapter three the one honorable German will cross that line.

The more interesting story is the grimmer one: the story of the one honorable German soldier, Graf. Even though he is not one of the titular characters his journey involves more inner conflict and moments of character development. He is in the thick of the war in a way that Anna and the other Night Witches are not. He sees it and lives it much more vividly than they ever will until or unless they get shot down in enemy territory.

Cover: Battlefields: The Night Witches #2

Preview: Garth Ennis' Battlefields: The Night Witches #2

Battlefields: The Night Witches #1

By Garth Ennis (writer) and Russ Braun (artist)

Chapter 1 (of 3)

Make no mistake this is war, bloody war. This book doesn't pull any punches. Round one ends with what in another series might be a knockout. From all accounts the fighting between the Russians and Germans in World War 2 was some of the most deadly and dehumanizing. This book makes no attempt to disguise that fact. It puts faces and names to soldiers on both sides of the conflict as they kill and either get killed or survive only to see their compatriots killed before their eyes.

The Night Witches: the 599th Night Bomber Regiment was an all-female unit. They flew outdated biplanes which could only carry two bombs at a time. Their nickname was given to them by the Germans. This story is based on a real unit of the same name.

For more information on the real Night Witches wikipedia is as good a place as any to begin searching.

For more information on the fighting between Russia and Germany during World War II listen to the 4-part series produced by Hardcore History:

Ghosts of the Ostfront
Part 1 - An introduction to the subject and discussion of the causes and opening moves of Operation Barbarossa.
Part 2 - Looks at the attempt to take Moscow and the many compelling stories surrounding the momentous 1941 German offensive.
Part 3 - Looks at the situation in the U.S.S.R. during 1942 and early 1943, including the dreadful Battle of Stalingrad.
Part 4 - The horror story that is the Eastern Front descends into unimaginable darkness as vengeance is called down on Germany.

Cover: Battlefields: The Night Witches #1

Preview: Garth Ennis' Battlefields: The Night Witches #1