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Johnny Red
Johnny Red: The Hurricane
Legendary British comics character Johnny 'Red' Redburn returns once more as commander of the Falcons - a Russian fighter squadron battling the Nazis in the skies over Stalingrad - in this all new series by legendary comics writer Garth Ennis. An exciting war-time story with beautiful artwork by Keith Burns, who was recently inducted into the RAF Guild of Aviation Artists.
208 pages, Paperback
First published November 30, 2016
3 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
Garth Ennis
2,644 books3,211 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 - 27 of 27 reviews
June 16, 2018
Garth Ennis revives an old British war comic in Johnny Red. Johnny has gotten himself stuck in Russia and is leading the Falcons and Night Witches in the support and defense of Stalingrad in some of the worst fighting in all of WWII. When the rest of his squadron is sent on a secret mission, Johnny recognizes something is off and heads out after his boys. This is where the plot gets really interesting. Ennis pulls out all of the stops here in an ingenious idea for a war comic. I won't get into it anymore so as not ruin anything. I'll just say the second half of this book was brilliant.
January 14, 2021
I usually love Garth Ennis WWII stories, but this one fell flat for me, maybe because it is based on an old British comic book series I've never heard of or because the concept of a English expatriate leading a Russian fighter squadron during the Siege of Stalingrad seems farfetched. Ennis pumps it full of authenticity but the overly-complex plot still comes off as a lost adventure of DC's Blackhawks.
It doesn't help that the book features the Russian Night Witches, female bomber pilots, about which Ennis has already written a much. superior series of tales. Go find those books instead.
Finally, there is a modern-day framing sequence that has a tech billionaire researching Johnny's plane, and while it is supposed to give the audience a voice about the respect we should be showing our veterans, the structure is silly with predictable twists.
It doesn't help that the book features the Russian Night Witches, female bomber pilots, about which Ennis has already written a much. superior series of tales. Go find those books instead.
Finally, there is a modern-day framing sequence that has a tech billionaire researching Johnny's plane, and while it is supposed to give the audience a voice about the respect we should be showing our veterans, the structure is silly with predictable twists.
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January 29, 2024Ennis takes on the classic* comic in which a rogue British Hurricane pilot fights uneasily alongside the Soviet air force in the Second World War, forming an unshakeable bond with his misfit squadron even as he butts heads with the monstrous system at their backs. It's as thoroughly researched as any Ennis war comic, though the plot takes a surprising turn away from the generally acknowledged facts of history which I don't necessarily expect from him - still, it's one that works, and even makes a terrible kind of sense. Burns' art has just the right grubby nobility, and I don't mind admitting the conclusion brought a tear to my eye.
*Though I never really got on with it myself - the terrible lettering really emphasised the clunkiness of the scripts, meant I couldn't glide over them like I could in otherwise similar series.
29/1/2024: I hadn't planned to reread this when the Megazine reprinted it, but it would take a different temperament to mine to successfully skim past all that Keith Burns art. With hindsight, this feels like a pointer to where Ennis was headed - obviously he already had plenty of war comics to his name, even discounting the ones in varying degrees of other genre mufti, but here he gets one of the British war comics heroes he'd loved as a kid and, while always respectful of what came before in a way he really isn't with superheroes, took things that little bit further. Not least in moving further from the legacy of 'Uncle Joe' sentiments and emphasising that Stalin was really just as much a piece of shit as Hitler - something which has of course attained horrible new relevance since 2017, what with the imperial dreams of his ghastly little fanboy. Plus, I'd completely forgotten that little wrinkle in the ending! Wonderful stuff.
*Though I never really got on with it myself - the terrible lettering really emphasised the clunkiness of the scripts, meant I couldn't glide over them like I could in otherwise similar series.
29/1/2024: I hadn't planned to reread this when the Megazine reprinted it, but it would take a different temperament to mine to successfully skim past all that Keith Burns art. With hindsight, this feels like a pointer to where Ennis was headed - obviously he already had plenty of war comics to his name, even discounting the ones in varying degrees of other genre mufti, but here he gets one of the British war comics heroes he'd loved as a kid and, while always respectful of what came before in a way he really isn't with superheroes, took things that little bit further. Not least in moving further from the legacy of 'Uncle Joe' sentiments and emphasising that Stalin was really just as much a piece of shit as Hitler - something which has of course attained horrible new relevance since 2017, what with the imperial dreams of his ghastly little fanboy. Plus, I'd completely forgotten that little wrinkle in the ending! Wonderful stuff.
July 11, 2017
Johnny Red is a WW2 flying ace, an intrepid British fighter pilot leading a squadron of stalwart Soviets in the defense of Stalingrad against the Nazi menace. Outnumbered and outgunned, Johnny Red always completes his mission.
This was an odd experience. I very much liked every component of The Hurricane: the detailed, wintry illustrations, the excellent conversational dialogue, the general thrust of the plot... But I'm ambivalent about the whole. I was just plain bored through the first half of the book, and while the second half gained focus and captured my interest, it still left me feeling like I'd finished a slog.
Maybe I just didn't like the wrapper, in which a dot com millionaire learns the story of Johnny Red while restoring an old Hurricane fighter plane. Or maybe my friend was right when he called this book "overwritten".
This was an odd experience. I very much liked every component of The Hurricane: the detailed, wintry illustrations, the excellent conversational dialogue, the general thrust of the plot... But I'm ambivalent about the whole. I was just plain bored through the first half of the book, and while the second half gained focus and captured my interest, it still left me feeling like I'd finished a slog.
Maybe I just didn't like the wrapper, in which a dot com millionaire learns the story of Johnny Red while restoring an old Hurricane fighter plane. Or maybe my friend was right when he called this book "overwritten".
February 26, 2018
Great book. One of Ennis' best war books, and that's saying something. He clearly has a love for this character; it shows. The plot is one of his strongest yet, and damn if I didn't think every few pages how this would be an amazing movie or mini-series. He's got a great partner in Keith Burns, who obviously has a love for the genre. I'm glad they're planning on making more.
April 6, 2020
Not your typical Ennis Graphic novel. Interesting plot involving an English pilot serving in Russia during the siege of Stalingrad. Ennis is known for his graphic almost taboo breaking ideas, sadly this was a the PG version.
November 27, 2017
Pretty cool war book, and it looks at the Eastern front of World War II--an area of history completely ignored by the general American public, so it's really fresh material--and featuring an old English comics character.
Good action, enough detail to be plenty realistic and real, human characters. The equation doesn't vary enough for those elements to result in anything less than a good comic.
Good action, enough detail to be plenty realistic and real, human characters. The equation doesn't vary enough for those elements to result in anything less than a good comic.
May 8, 2020
An excellent read. Plenty of action and excellent pictures
November 21, 2018
I feckin loved Johnny Red, the tough British fighter pilot in the Russian squadron at mauling edge of the Eastern Front, fighting every day to survive the best efforts of both the Germans and the Russian armies to kill them, a classic war comic set-up of plucky warriors surviving the guns of the enemy and the schemes of their own officers with ingenuity and determination. If there was a wish list for the writers you'd want to get to handle the loving restoration of an old war-horse like that, it was probably exactly one name long, and they got him: Garth Ennis, none better with his in-depth knowledge and over-riding affection for grunts doing their best to get through the grim brutality and horror of it all with body and soul intact. So Johnny Red takes to the sky once more, irrepressible and unbeatable, with all the stalwarts of Falcon Squadron bringing death to the Nazis.
May 16, 2020
I really enjoyed this graphic novel which brings back to life the character of Johnny 'Red' Redburn, who originally featured in Battle Picture Weekly.
Unwanted by the British after striking his commanding officer, Johnny Red finds himself commanding the Falcon squadron, a ragtag bunch of Russian fighter pilots. Flying in his trusty Hurricane, he must lead them into battle against the odds, time and time again.
The aerial battle scenes here were incredibly done, keeping you on the edge of your seat, whilst the story twists and turns enough to keep you fully engaged.
I believe Titan have also published the original stories from Battle Picture Weekly and I think I will be keeping an eye out for them to see how this stands up alongside them.
Unwanted by the British after striking his commanding officer, Johnny Red finds himself commanding the Falcon squadron, a ragtag bunch of Russian fighter pilots. Flying in his trusty Hurricane, he must lead them into battle against the odds, time and time again.
The aerial battle scenes here were incredibly done, keeping you on the edge of your seat, whilst the story twists and turns enough to keep you fully engaged.
I believe Titan have also published the original stories from Battle Picture Weekly and I think I will be keeping an eye out for them to see how this stands up alongside them.
December 25, 2024
This is an excellent World War 2 adventure that resurrects '70s comic book hero Johhny Redburn, aka "Johnny Red". Writer Garth Ennis clearly loves the source material and has crafted a new story that both pays homage and adds to the original.
The framing device sees the discovery of our hero's old Hurricane fighter. A rich young American has it restored and delves into its history. This was a neat way to recap for new readers and long-time fans should enjoy this new tale of Soviet/Nazi double cross, authentic history and explosive action.
It's poignant, superbly rendered by Keith Burns, and sheds light on a campaign often overlooked in the West. Stalin & Hitler are rightly portrayed as twin devils. Point dropped as I sometimes found it tricky to work out what was happening in scenes that sprawl over pages in a glorious kaleidoscope of blood and bullets.
Glad to see this team has re-united for further adventures. Count me in!
The framing device sees the discovery of our hero's old Hurricane fighter. A rich young American has it restored and delves into its history. This was a neat way to recap for new readers and long-time fans should enjoy this new tale of Soviet/Nazi double cross, authentic history and explosive action.
It's poignant, superbly rendered by Keith Burns, and sheds light on a campaign often overlooked in the West. Stalin & Hitler are rightly portrayed as twin devils. Point dropped as I sometimes found it tricky to work out what was happening in scenes that sprawl over pages in a glorious kaleidoscope of blood and bullets.
Glad to see this team has re-united for further adventures. Count me in!
September 19, 2025
Ennis really excels in telling war stories and this is one of his better efforts. Johnny "Red" Redburn is an English pilot who winds up stuck on the Russian front, leading a ragtag squadron of Falcons and Night Witches, doing his best to keep everyone alive during the siege of Stalingrad. When his squadron is tasked with a secret mission and Johnny is left behind, he follows surreptitiously and stumbles on a major surprise. The art's good and it really helps to have a bit of color (a lot of these collections have been just black and white). Definitely worth the read.
July 25, 2024
It should be said that I am a bit of a WWII history buff, really not anything new there I realize…there is loads of men who feel the same way. I have spent countless hours flying planes on my computer. From yaks to 109s to mustangs to hurricanes. So that could be the reason, but I loved this story. While obviously far fetched this story was the perfect amount of action and adventure. I’ll be coming back for more of this from Mr. Ennis. Off to find more war story comics!
July 30, 2022
Really well done. The story's a bit OTT (arguably no more than The Flying Gun) but the feel is 100% right. Reading this straight after the Titan reprints of the original strips, it's seamless. Swearing and the modern sensibility in the artwork don't detract from the authenticity, they merely add a bit more colour. Really, Ennis and Burns have worked magic here.
August 27, 2023
Fantastic revival set as a modern day retelling of the tale of British classic comics character Johnny 'Red' Redburn, ace fighter pilot who, leaving the RAF in disgrace, flies under the Russian banner during WW2. Exquisitely written by the ever excellent Garth Ennis, whose knack for telling wartime stories has, in my opinion, no better wordsmith.
April 2, 2024
Excellent series (I read the 8 individual issues), fantastic artwork throughout, interesting and informative afterwards each issue - though I did have some problems reading the photo captions, due to their size and color.
August 25, 2017
Ottimo questo libro a fumetti di Ennis e Burns. Ben scritto, ottimamente narrato per immagini, non posso che consigliarlo a chiunque ami le storie di guerra (ma anche no) e le belle storie.
September 2, 2018
A fresh update of 60/70s British war comics (Battle, Commando, War Picture Library, etc.) with a charming hero in a charming plane
January 5, 2019
Staggeringly good, one of the best Garth Ennis stories I have ever read.
May 19, 2019
So good. Anything by Ennis is good but I especially enjoy his world war 2 work. This did not disappoint.
August 1, 2019
Great revision of a classic storyline from my youth - would be great to see a few more in this series.
July 1, 2024
Real scope, tension that reaches down into your socks
September 17, 2024
Ennis once again captures the heart and soul of fighting men, this time on the oft ignored Eastern Front.
October 12, 2019
Blast from the past
Fantastic return to the world of Johnny Red. Grew up reading the series in the 80s with Battle and the storyline / graphics brought me back completely. Be aware, you might want to start reading at a reasonable hour as you will not be able to put down.
Fantastic return to the world of Johnny Red. Grew up reading the series in the 80s with Battle and the storyline / graphics brought me back completely. Be aware, you might want to start reading at a reasonable hour as you will not be able to put down.
June 19, 2021
This comic uses some of the themes from Garth's War Stories: the catapulted fighters, the Night Witches. Sadly, it's not funny or engaging, it doesn't have anything to make you like the characters and root for them. It has no heart. Even Hitler's presence is less impressive than you would expect. Oops, spoiler. Whatever.
Tony Iverson wants to restore a badly damaged Hurricane fighter plane. The mechanic hired to restore the fighter has some information about it from RAF records and a Russian named Rodimitz has more from when he worked as a mechanic on that very craft during the war. And he personally met one of the most skilled pilots ever, a Brit they called Johnny Red.
Johnny was a disgraced British pilot who ended up on the Russian front where he joined the Falcon squadron. Given his success during missions he raised the morale of his wingmen and was voted squadron leader. The squadron's success didn't go unnoticed when the NKVD took an interest. Falcon squadron was assigned a new task deep behind enemy lines, but Johnny was booted for not being Russian. Still, he didn't stand idly by when there were still krauts to put in the ground.
Tony Iverson wants to restore a badly damaged Hurricane fighter plane. The mechanic hired to restore the fighter has some information about it from RAF records and a Russian named Rodimitz has more from when he worked as a mechanic on that very craft during the war. And he personally met one of the most skilled pilots ever, a Brit they called Johnny Red.
Johnny was a disgraced British pilot who ended up on the Russian front where he joined the Falcon squadron. Given his success during missions he raised the morale of his wingmen and was voted squadron leader. The squadron's success didn't go unnoticed when the NKVD took an interest. Falcon squadron was assigned a new task deep behind enemy lines, but Johnny was booted for not being Russian. Still, he didn't stand idly by when there were still krauts to put in the ground.
Read
February 5, 2026Johnny Red is a classic British comics character, a discharged RAF cadet who flies a stolen plane to Russia where he serves with a group of Russian pilots for the remainder of the war. Those pilots make up Falcon Squadron, with whom Johnny forges a strong bond as he leads them on Eastern Front missions. Ennis and Burns’ reboot of the character is terrific. They craft a rather brilliant story where Falcon Squadron is sent on a secret mission without Johnny, leaving the Brit to investigate. What follows is tense war espionage that explores nobility and authority. Ennis knocks this one out of the park. The dialogue and emotions soar, and the pacing is totally on point - the reveal halfway through made me audibly gasp. Burns’ sketchy, rugged art suits the story quite well, his dogfight scenes standing out in particular (he's an aviation artist by trade). The way he draws the squadron makes their camaraderie believable, too.
Another fantastic war comic by Garth Ennis. Not to be missed.
Another fantastic war comic by Garth Ennis. Not to be missed.
April 29, 2017
Ennis and Burns crafted a perfect war story.
This tale will haunt me for some time to come.
This tale will haunt me for some time to come.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews