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Albion
Battler Britton
Garth Ennis , the writer of the best-selling thought-provoking series PREACHER tells a an exciting tale of World War II in this riveting new graphic novel. In October, 1942, Allied forces are on the run from the unrelenting forces of the Nazis in North Africa. Wing Commander Robert "Battler" Britton of the Royal Air Force and his squadron are dispatched to an American airstrip to spearhead a joint action against Hitler's war machine. Now they must survive taunts, threats, and assaults ... and that's just from the Yanks!
120 pages, Paperback
First published May 2, 2007
About the author
Garth Ennis
2,642 books3,208 followersEnnis began his comic-writing career in 1989 with the series Troubled Souls. Appearing in the short-lived but critically-acclaimed British anthology Crisis and illustrated by McCrea, it told the story of a young, apolitical Protestant man caught up by fate in the violence of the Irish 'Troubles'. It spawned a sequel, For a Few Troubles More, a broad Belfast-based comedy featuring two supporting characters from Troubled Souls, Dougie and Ivor, who would later get their own American comics series, Dicks, from Caliber in 1997, and several follow-ups from Avatar.
Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.
Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.
Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.
While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.
Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.
After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.
In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.
Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.
In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis
Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.
Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.
Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.
While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.
Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.
After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.
In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.
Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.
In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
May 22, 2019
A RAF member and a fairly repulsive Yank must work together to survive as they take to the skies over Africa in 1942. Not really my kind of thing, but on the whole I thought this was pretty well done. If you're looking for lots of dogfight action, this book has got it in spades.
September 30, 2017
By a WWII enthusiast for WWII enthusiasts.
In either case, another disjointed story ridden with plot holes and lame character development.
In either case, another disjointed story ridden with plot holes and lame character development.
March 27, 2013
Battler Britton is a top notch war comic written by Garth Ennis in fine form. Ennis is a great writer, but over the last several years he's has a bad habit of letting his vulgar, uncultured adolescent alter-ego run rampant through his writing, but not here. This is rock-solid Garth, giving us a new take on a classic British comic book character most of us Yanks have never heard of. And it's a WWII setting, so Garth is dealing with a genre he loves. Colin Wilson's art is easily some of the best I've seen from him and suits the story perfectly. Battler Britton> is a surprise all around and a satisfying intro/revival of the classic character. It's too bad there was only the one volume. I'm ready to sign up for another mission.
November 15, 2016
El talento y experiencia de Garth Ennis traen de vuelta a viejo héroe de las historietas británicas en una aventura que -aun siendo respetuosa- añade nueva savia a sus andanzas. El escenario de África del Norte y la complicada relación con un escuadrón estadounidense condimentan una aventura que no decepcionará a los fieles lectores.
March 9, 2017
Garth Ennisin "Battler Britton - Hiton hieno savotta" (Egmont, 2007) tarjoaa nimekkään brittikäsikirjoittajan näkemyksen ikonisen lentäjäsankarin seikkailuista. Sotasarjakuviahan Ennis osaa kirjoittaa (siitä esimerkkinä mm. mestarilliset War Stories -albumit) ja niinpä lopputulos on tälläkin kertaa varsin viihdyttävää siipien suihketta El Alameinin yllä, olkoonkin että hahmoja on välillä hieman vaikea erottaa toisistaan.
March 26, 2018
It's an Ennis war comic, so it's good. American pilots are joined by British pilots, under the command of Robert "Battler" Britton, in the North African campaign. It's not Ennis's best war comic - but he does a nice job playing up the tensions and burgeoning respect between the British and American pilots.
The action's all well done, credit Wilson's excellent layouts. I had some trouble distinguishing some of the characters, however.
Overall, if you dig Ennis and/or war comics, it's worth reading. It's no War Stories, but Battler Britton's still a fun and interesting book.
The action's all well done, credit Wilson's excellent layouts. I had some trouble distinguishing some of the characters, however.
Overall, if you dig Ennis and/or war comics, it's worth reading. It's no War Stories, but Battler Britton's still a fun and interesting book.
June 21, 2022
More great story telling from Mr Ennis. It’s never a pointless action adventure with him, there’s always a very grounded, human element undergirding everything. This time it’s the uneasy relationship between the British and American pilots, and whether they can find common ground in a common enemy.
June 10, 2025
A nice revamp of the old world war 2 air combat comics. The writing is fine but hampered by being a bit too true to the style of the original. The characters are rather indistinctive in tone. The art is generally good throughout.
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February 22, 2024RAF Commander Robert “Battler” Britton is the best in the business. Since the start of the war, he’s earned his reputation as a sterling leader and expert flier. But when Britton's squadron is dispatched to an American airstrip in Egypt to contain the Afrika Korps, his leadership skills are put to the test as he works to unite reluctant and distrustful allies.
Garth Ennis delivers another enjoyable war story with Battler Britton. The character was a staple of Golden Age British comics, and Ennis reckons this is his first story in 30 years. It’s less a brutal showcase of the horrors of war than a simple tale of soldiers learning to work together. On the fourth page of issue one, Britton punches American pilot Tex (bit on the nose for a Yank name, innit?), and the rest of the book sees them get over their differences as more and more precarious situations present themselves. A familiar narrative, sure, but Ennis’ always strong dialogue and Colin Wilson’s realistic art give the story genuine pathos and excitement. I’m not overly familiar with the North Africa campaign, so I learned some things about that history of the war as well. All in all, this is well worth checking out for fans of Ennis’ war comics, and a worthy (if minor) addition to the man’s impressive catalogue.
Garth Ennis delivers another enjoyable war story with Battler Britton. The character was a staple of Golden Age British comics, and Ennis reckons this is his first story in 30 years. It’s less a brutal showcase of the horrors of war than a simple tale of soldiers learning to work together. On the fourth page of issue one, Britton punches American pilot Tex (bit on the nose for a Yank name, innit?), and the rest of the book sees them get over their differences as more and more precarious situations present themselves. A familiar narrative, sure, but Ennis’ always strong dialogue and Colin Wilson’s realistic art give the story genuine pathos and excitement. I’m not overly familiar with the North Africa campaign, so I learned some things about that history of the war as well. All in all, this is well worth checking out for fans of Ennis’ war comics, and a worthy (if minor) addition to the man’s impressive catalogue.
August 27, 2015
I like Garth Ennis' writing in general, but he sometimes loses me when he gets into his war stories. This collection, reinventing a British Airman in World War 2, is one of those times. The story's okay, and some of the characters have strong personalities, but the dogfighting sequences don't seem clear enough to me to make sense of, and that causes a lot of the story to lose its resonance. The challenge of the British and Americans working together is interesting, and does raise the stakes a bit, but ultimately this doesn't have anything distinctive enough to make it more than a middle-of-the-road war story, which really isn't my kind of story.
July 23, 2013
A one-off series bringing back a famous British character from years gone by, Garth Ennis is writing this one to give a whole new generation a look at a character that he enjoyed growing up. I enjoy most WWII stuff, and this was no exception. Good strong characters, great art, stiff upper lip Brits and some impressive dogfights make for a fun little book here. It's a shame nothing more came of this, but it's an enjoyable stand-alone here, for War fans, and for those who like Ennis with a little more PG sensibilities.
March 26, 2011
Fantastic storyline, not the usual cynical vile writing I've come to love from Ennis. Not just an homage to his beloved Battler stories from youth, but an honest-to-god page-turner that kept me reading long after I'd planned to stop.
The layouts were a tad confusing for a non-war-historian like myself - couldn't always tell who was who (planes, men) but I followed well enough.
The layouts were a tad confusing for a non-war-historian like myself - couldn't always tell who was who (planes, men) but I followed well enough.
April 20, 2009
While the American + Brits WWII story is fairly standard and doesn't really step outside the genre, the art by Colin Wilson is fantastic.
December 10, 2011
Hyvin suoraviivainen,kirkasotsainen ja niin Korkeajännityksen hengessä tehty uusio-Battler Britton.
Enkä minä koskaan ole pitänyt Korkeajännityksistä tai Battler Brittonista.
Enkä minä koskaan ole pitänyt Korkeajännityksistä tai Battler Brittonista.
April 24, 2013
I love Garth Ennis and have a soft spot for war comics but this left me disappointed. Oh well I picked it up for £2
May 26, 2015
I mean, really, it's a Garth Ennis war comic. I'm pretty much always going to like it. But Wilson's art really helps sell it, and it's a taut, tense story. Great stuff.
May 22, 2024
Spin-off de Albion o remake del clásico inglés de los 50s. Pensé que había salido en la misma colección que Albion pero veo que se publicó directamente en tomo aparte.
October 20, 2013
Average
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews