Source Point Press 2018
Story & Edits by TonyDoug Wright
Written by Frank T. Allen
Illustrated by Joseph Haemmerle
Lettered by MaGnUs
Pvt. Donnie Smith is a paratrooper in the British Army and has experienced the horrors of war. Donnie has kept his cool and sanity due to his beloved comics, especially Colonel Joe Monroe and His Freedom Brigade. It is a dream of Donnie's to one day be a great soldier like Colonel Joe Monroe. Sgt. Freddie Hayes doesn't share Donnie's love of comics and wants Donnie to break free of his childish fantasies and become a true soldier.
I find myself on the fence when it comes to war stories. Some are bloody well fabulous and others seem more a diatribe so I’m never really sure what I am going to get. What I wasn’t expecting however was this kind of slice of life, coming of age, growing up kind of story that still allows for dreams to remain in the midst of war. There is something about the way that Frank tells this that strikes a chord with the reader as it resonates and leaves the kind of impression that I am sure is fully expected.
The opening here is great as the Para’s are on board the plane getting ready to deploy and the brief conversation that we get before the jump is a precursor for what’s to come. There are only five men in this group and because it’s so long ago no women and no men of colour and if you are one of those likes to be full of outrage then skip this will ya and pull your Nappy up and go about your own business because this represents the era.
Throughout the book the characterisation that we get is pretty damn good and strong. I mean Sarge, Freddy, to me seems like he speaks in that Scottish brusque voice while he’s yelling and in turn you can picture the way each character speaks by the way they are represented and that for me I was doing that, imagining in my not speaking aloud, just goes to show strong it really is and how much of comes through. This goes right along side the way that the story is structured and how we see the whole ebb & flow of the story take shape.
I am very much enjoying the work that Joseph does on the interiors here. The utilisation of page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows off a solid eye for storytelling. I am particularly fond of the use of the page outside the panels being utilised so that it gives an extra look at the backgrounds which expand the story beautifully. His style is such that it almost has this really subtle feel to it where the linework is deceptively complicated. The shapes of noses, Thornberry’s anyone, and faces with their expressions are a good measure of someone’s talent, skill and ability so keep that in mind as your read this one.
I like that this story took a few very unexpected and drastic turns. That right up until the end we were treated to something that we couldn’t have seen coming. While it is most assuredly war time and the men fight bravely against overwhelming odds I should have known right from the start something was amiss. Why because that storm with it’s lightning, which by the way is beautifully shown, and the winds knocking the para’s off course was something that they hadn’t anticipated.
I really felt like this might take one of the horror turns but instead it kind of went straight up through to it’s natural conclusion and if by some chance the mysterious entity we meet was real and not a figment then well I will even more appreciative credit Frank’s way. With strong writing, pacing and story development alongside some seriously good interior artwork Source Point Press shows once again why I continue to read and cover their books.