Writer – Garth Ennis, John Wagner
Artist – Keith Burns, Dan Cornwell
Colours – Jason Wordie, Len O’Grady
Letters – Rob Steen

The Falcon is the latest Johnny Red adventure as chronicled by Garth Ennis and Keith Burns and it, much like his previous adventures, turns out to be just as exciting and slightly humorous as the rest. In this particular story, the team faces two threats. One is a pilot named Dieter who comes out at dusk and finds that time of day quite conducive to killing his enemies, of which Johnny Red and his men happen to be. The other threat they face is quite fowl, namely the ducks of a neighbouring lake. Both are deadly in very different ways and both can kill a pilot at any given notice. Thankfully, Johnny has a plan for both of them, it only remains to put them in place and await the results. The second story to be featured in this issue is by none other than John Wagner and Dan Cornwell and stars the H.M.S. Nightshade, a Flower Class corvette. Along with some other ships, they look to defend themselves against an enemy submarine with a string of luck in bringing down the British ships. Wagner’s tale is a story as much about one man as it is about the Nightshade and its crew and it is both a thrilling and moving tale of courage and brotherhood. With this latest book, Battle Action continues its run of providing readers with what they love most about the title and about war comics in general. That, in essence, is good storytelling by its writers and artists, all of whom do what they do best. Ennis loves Johnny Red and one can see it in every tale that the character appears in. That easily translates to the page and makes it a joy to read both in terms of story and character. The audience feels like Johnny could be one’s brother, so familiar is the man. As for the H.M.S. Nightshade, it seems like it is a one-and-done adventure though that is not to say that Wagner or some other writer could not give readers other tales of this brave ship and its fearless crew. Of the two, it is hard to say which is the better for both are quite good and different in so many ways and it would be unfair to rate one over the other. Altogether, this was a great issue that delivered on every front. If the rest of the series follows in these footsteps, it should make for some incredible reading.

4 out of 5