Book Review: Charley’s War – Author Pat Mills

Issue: Charley’s War (Vol. 8): Hitler’s Youth
Writer: Pat Mills
Artist: Joe Colquhoun
Publisher: Titan Publishing
Release Date: Oct. 2011
Pages: 112
Price: $19.95

“In this explosive new volume of never-before-collected comic strip, Charley comes face to face with a young corporal who will eventually change the face of the world as leader of the Nazi party: Adolf Hitler. The eighth action-packed volume of Charley’s War is rich in the detailed minutiae of the terror-punctuated existence of a Tommy.”

Dying Breath: 5.0 out of 5

What the hell is this and why have I never read it before!? Ladies and Gentlemen I can not go another sentence without saying that YOU, yeah you, need to read a Volume of Charley’s War right now. I’m not a big war comic book guy, but man I love a great war movie, and I will be damned if you try to tell me that the past hour I spent reading Vol. 8 I didn’t think I was watching a movie. So let’s start with the artwork. How have I never heard of Colquhon until now? His style is off the charts! Being a horror fan, I would die to see him do a horror comic. His artwork on this book is so cinematic, that every scene just plays out like a live movie in my head (notice I did not say a cartoon). The inks are so rich, the letters so spot on and the panels so perfect you can not say this is not visual comic perfection.

So seriously how can Pat Mills even compare to such amazing artwork? Simple he writes something that comic book writers dream of doing, a complete story. For people who don’t know this, Charley’s War was originally done as a 4 page “comic strip”, so when you get a story it is done in 4 pages, then continued in the next issue of Battle. What really shines, and I mean shines, is how the subject matter comes across. We all know about WWII in comics, but what about WWI? This series covers in, and in this 8th volume we take a look at 2 things. 1) We get a glimpse at the trenches and are treated to a version of what Hitler may have been like in this war vs. our heroes in the british army. 2) We getting a glimpse at the British pilots as they lived through the war. So the title maybe a little misleading as the Hitler aspect is not 100% there, but he is the villain anyways, since this is a British comic. I was sad when the story shifted from the Trenches to the Air, but after the 1st four pages of it, I didn’t care anymore. Summing this one up is so hard to do without just saying, YOU NEED TO READ IT. The history that is put into this, with the facts just moves it up 10 notches above anything else I have read when it comes to war comics. I cry every night when I realize I started this series on Vol. 8, so you better believe I will be getting Vol.’s 1-7. READ THIS SERIES!

Artwork: 5.0 out of 5 • Story: 5.0 out of 5

If you would like to buy or know more about Charley’s War (Vol. 8): Hitler’s Youth you can find it at http://titanbooks.com

Charley’s War (Vol. 8): Hitler’s Youth