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Out of the Blue #1-2
Out of the Blue: The Complete Series
Both volumes of the WWII aerial combat classic now in one complete deluxe size hardcover edition!
A WAR IS A DIFFICULT THING TO KILL
The Second World War is almost over, but no one seems to have told the Germans – as Royal Air Force pilot Jamie McKenzie finds out when he’s assigned to deadly shipping strikes along the enemy coast. Flying the Mosquito fighter-bomber against heavily armed targets is dangerous enough at the best of times, but after incurring the wrath of his vengeful commanding officer, Jamie is assigned the most unpopular navigator in the unit- not to mention the least reliable aircraft. Worse still, the commander’s sights are firmly set on Jamie’s beautiful young wife, Beth.
Writer Garth Ennis (Preacher, The Boys) and artist Keith Burns (War Stories) re-unite after the success of their series Johnny Red, presenting another tale of World War Two aerial combat – featuring skies black with flak and enemy fighters, nail-biting low-level action, and the dark humor of men whose lives can be snatched away at any second… Out of the Blue.
A WAR IS A DIFFICULT THING TO KILL
The Second World War is almost over, but no one seems to have told the Germans – as Royal Air Force pilot Jamie McKenzie finds out when he’s assigned to deadly shipping strikes along the enemy coast. Flying the Mosquito fighter-bomber against heavily armed targets is dangerous enough at the best of times, but after incurring the wrath of his vengeful commanding officer, Jamie is assigned the most unpopular navigator in the unit- not to mention the least reliable aircraft. Worse still, the commander’s sights are firmly set on Jamie’s beautiful young wife, Beth.
Writer Garth Ennis (Preacher, The Boys) and artist Keith Burns (War Stories) re-unite after the success of their series Johnny Red, presenting another tale of World War Two aerial combat – featuring skies black with flak and enemy fighters, nail-biting low-level action, and the dark humor of men whose lives can be snatched away at any second… Out of the Blue.
- GenresComicsGraphic NovelsWar
152 pages, Hardcover
Published August 4, 2020
About the author
Garth Ennis
2,659 books3,228 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 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 22, 2022
Garth Ennis returns to a character he's used before, Jamie McKenzie, from Archangel in War Stories, Vol 2. McKenzie is a fantastic pilot but a bit of a schmuck who believes he's cursed. He begins his station at his new post by royally fucking up. Ennis has created an engaging supporting cast as well. His supportive wife, his boss that can't stand him, a communist mechanic who plans to kill him after the war ends. It's all interesting.
Burns's technical art is fantastic. Those planes never looked better in a dogfight. His facial features though were too cartoony though with long drawn out faces.
Garth Ennis continues his streak of fantastic war comics.
Received a review copy from Aftershock and NetGalley. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.
Burns's technical art is fantastic. Those planes never looked better in a dogfight. His facial features though were too cartoony though with long drawn out faces.
Garth Ennis continues his streak of fantastic war comics.
Received a review copy from Aftershock and NetGalley. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.
October 27, 2025
A good tale well told, and the side characters are wonderful, but the central conflict isn't resolved in either triumph or defeat, so a bit of an empty feeling is left in the reader.
UPDATE
Accidentally Re-read, Deja-vu was strong but I chalked it up to being a War Tale by Ennis.
UPDATE
Accidentally Re-read, Deja-vu was strong but I chalked it up to being a War Tale by Ennis.
April 15, 2022
Garth Ennis writes another fine World War II military drama, this one about Royal Air Force pilots of the De Havilland Mosquito fighter-bomber wreaking havoc on the Nazi navy during the latter half of the war. The protagonist, Jamie McKenzie, is a sad sack pilot who always whines about how nothing ever goes his way when he's on the ground -- like about how his new group captain unfairly hates him and treats him like crap -- but is a fierce and skilled combatant once he's in the air.
Since McKenzie is stationed at an air base in England and has moved his wife into a nearby cottage, we are given more domestic drama than Ennis usually has in his historical fiction -- and his shallow portrayal of an English housewife shows he'd be better off sticking to the action stuff in the future. Still, the downtime between exciting sorties gives us a glimpse into the relationships between pilots, command, and crew, touching on racism in the ranks and battle wounds both physical and mental.
Not Ennis' best, but another solid comic about the hell of war.
Since McKenzie is stationed at an air base in England and has moved his wife into a nearby cottage, we are given more domestic drama than Ennis usually has in his historical fiction -- and his shallow portrayal of an English housewife shows he'd be better off sticking to the action stuff in the future. Still, the downtime between exciting sorties gives us a glimpse into the relationships between pilots, command, and crew, touching on racism in the ranks and battle wounds both physical and mental.
Not Ennis' best, but another solid comic about the hell of war.
May 1, 2022
(Zero spoiler review)
It's not very often I come away from a Garth Ennis story thinking, well, that was alright, I suppose. And its a shame that it came to that, as there were definitely moments I was well and truly on board for this. Given my extreme apathy towards the subject matter, I really could care less about war time aviation, and had only bought it for Ennis' name alone. Despite the man's ability when it comes to crafting some rather effortless dialogue, the burden of what this book wasn't brought it down far more than what it was. The relationship between the main protagonist and his wife was the highlight of this book. She was a real pistol of a gal, and I would have liked to have some more of her. Your usual war tropes were all present and accounted for, and despite the odd stutter in places, I generally thought I was going to score this a mid 3, and bump it up to four stars overall, yet the ending just sought of appeared, right when I was expecting pages more, if not a whole other issue worth of material. I was lead to believe I was heading for a stirring, emotional conclusion. Yet the only thing stirring was my disappointment and frustration. Talking about going out with a whimper, rather than a bang. That said, despite Ennis not being on his A game, Keith Burns' artwork is stellar throughout, and really helped to sell the 'fight scenes'. Something which as stated earlier, I couldn't give a toss about, and expected to be thoroughly bored throughout. Narratively, it didn't do much for me, but it looked nice. Decent, but unfortunately disappointing. 3/5
OmniBen.
It's not very often I come away from a Garth Ennis story thinking, well, that was alright, I suppose. And its a shame that it came to that, as there were definitely moments I was well and truly on board for this. Given my extreme apathy towards the subject matter, I really could care less about war time aviation, and had only bought it for Ennis' name alone. Despite the man's ability when it comes to crafting some rather effortless dialogue, the burden of what this book wasn't brought it down far more than what it was. The relationship between the main protagonist and his wife was the highlight of this book. She was a real pistol of a gal, and I would have liked to have some more of her. Your usual war tropes were all present and accounted for, and despite the odd stutter in places, I generally thought I was going to score this a mid 3, and bump it up to four stars overall, yet the ending just sought of appeared, right when I was expecting pages more, if not a whole other issue worth of material. I was lead to believe I was heading for a stirring, emotional conclusion. Yet the only thing stirring was my disappointment and frustration. Talking about going out with a whimper, rather than a bang. That said, despite Ennis not being on his A game, Keith Burns' artwork is stellar throughout, and really helped to sell the 'fight scenes'. Something which as stated earlier, I couldn't give a toss about, and expected to be thoroughly bored throughout. Narratively, it didn't do much for me, but it looked nice. Decent, but unfortunately disappointing. 3/5
OmniBen.
September 12, 2022
Garth Ennis is well known and is usually a guarantee of a good read, however this book slipped under my radar. I discovered it quite by accident and was sold on the cover alone. A WWII story, with planes attacking ships, and the authors name on the front? I had to buy it. This is a rare breed. An adult graphic novel about the Royal Air Force taking on the Third Reich is a tough find. Equally, it would be a tough one to write and to appropriately illustrate.
The story features a Flight Lieutenant (The equivalent of a US Air Force Captain), Jamie McKenzie, who is assigned to a squadron during the waning days of the war. Unfortunately he and the Squadron Commander do not get on and the tension builds as he is assigned a jinxed aircraft, given an Indian navigator (Which is meant to be a slight but turns out to be a blessing), and finds out the commander has eyes on his wife. Not to mention there is a war on. While this may seem standard fare, it is the characters that make this story come alive. That and the brilliant art work.
In life we know there are no perfect people. Everyone has their foibles and often in stories like these the good guys can do no wrong. Not so here. There are lots of issues on display that the pilots have to contend with, not to mention Jamie's wife, Beth, who has to contend with a morose husband. These in depth characterizations make the story come alive. This is then complimented by an author who did his homework and gives shout outs not only to the aircraft being flown, but the courage of the men who flew them, including those not so lucky to emerge unscathed. (I was reminded of a scene from the 1969 movie, The Battle of Britain, that is given far more play in this book than the movie afforded)
As mentioned, the illustrations of this book bring the story to life and sink home the carnage that such conflict inflicts on both sides. Ian Kennedy did paintings for the cover breaks and they are works of art. accurately depicting the action to follow. Keith Burns had panels that made me stop and stare. The feeling of battle is so well portrayed this could have been a motion picture. Overall an apt example of all parts of the medium coming together to create a greater whole.
As you may surmise, I found this book to be excellent in all respects. It told a moving story dealing with conflicts in the lead character's personal life and in his professional one. It showed the comradery of men in service but also the horror of what they had to do. We are faced with the stark reality of death in an unforgiving ocean at the same time we see the joy of victory. All of these are well represented here and result in a marvelous story that I wish there were more of.
The story features a Flight Lieutenant (The equivalent of a US Air Force Captain), Jamie McKenzie, who is assigned to a squadron during the waning days of the war. Unfortunately he and the Squadron Commander do not get on and the tension builds as he is assigned a jinxed aircraft, given an Indian navigator (Which is meant to be a slight but turns out to be a blessing), and finds out the commander has eyes on his wife. Not to mention there is a war on. While this may seem standard fare, it is the characters that make this story come alive. That and the brilliant art work.
In life we know there are no perfect people. Everyone has their foibles and often in stories like these the good guys can do no wrong. Not so here. There are lots of issues on display that the pilots have to contend with, not to mention Jamie's wife, Beth, who has to contend with a morose husband. These in depth characterizations make the story come alive. This is then complimented by an author who did his homework and gives shout outs not only to the aircraft being flown, but the courage of the men who flew them, including those not so lucky to emerge unscathed. (I was reminded of a scene from the 1969 movie, The Battle of Britain, that is given far more play in this book than the movie afforded)
As mentioned, the illustrations of this book bring the story to life and sink home the carnage that such conflict inflicts on both sides. Ian Kennedy did paintings for the cover breaks and they are works of art. accurately depicting the action to follow. Keith Burns had panels that made me stop and stare. The feeling of battle is so well portrayed this could have been a motion picture. Overall an apt example of all parts of the medium coming together to create a greater whole.
As you may surmise, I found this book to be excellent in all respects. It told a moving story dealing with conflicts in the lead character's personal life and in his professional one. It showed the comradery of men in service but also the horror of what they had to do. We are faced with the stark reality of death in an unforgiving ocean at the same time we see the joy of victory. All of these are well represented here and result in a marvelous story that I wish there were more of.
February 24, 2024
É sempre um prazer ler Garth Ennis focado num tema que claramente o apaixona, a II Guerra. Recupera um pouco do espírito dos antigos comics de guerra, mas livra-se do simplismo para criar histórias complexas que não poupam o leitor enquanto cruzam história com ficção, sem medo da visceralidade da guerra. Para que este tipo de livro seja bem sucedido, é preciso um ilustrador à altura, capaz de equilibrar sentido estético com rigor histórico na representação das máquinas militares (é um pormenor importante nestes livros), e Keith Burns cumpre com rigor estes requisitos.
A história é um típico devaneio à Ennis, com um algo azarado e comedido piloto a ser colocado numa base na escócia, com a missão de pilotar Mosquitos em ataques às bases e navegação alemã na Noruega. Atrai a ira do comandante do esquadrão, que o coloca a pilotar o pior avião da base (ou, em bom rigor, o temperamental, aquele que está em condições perfeitas mas nos piores momentos avaria), tenta seduzir a sua esposa e emparelha-o com outro proscrito, um navegador indiano. Este, ácido e inteligente, odeia os ingleses mas sabe que se quiser que a futura Índia tenha uma força aérea credível, há que se alistar ao lado dos mais experientes nestas coisas. O ritmo da história passa-se entre arriscadas missões de combate, onde o comedido piloto se revela um combatente exímio, e as tensões entre este e um comandante que o tomou de ponta.
A história é um típico devaneio à Ennis, com um algo azarado e comedido piloto a ser colocado numa base na escócia, com a missão de pilotar Mosquitos em ataques às bases e navegação alemã na Noruega. Atrai a ira do comandante do esquadrão, que o coloca a pilotar o pior avião da base (ou, em bom rigor, o temperamental, aquele que está em condições perfeitas mas nos piores momentos avaria), tenta seduzir a sua esposa e emparelha-o com outro proscrito, um navegador indiano. Este, ácido e inteligente, odeia os ingleses mas sabe que se quiser que a futura Índia tenha uma força aérea credível, há que se alistar ao lado dos mais experientes nestas coisas. O ritmo da história passa-se entre arriscadas missões de combate, onde o comedido piloto se revela um combatente exímio, e as tensões entre este e um comandante que o tomou de ponta.
May 30, 2024
Ive been on a bit of a WWII kick recently so this has hit me at the perfect time. For lapsed and devout military history buffs alike, Out of the Blue will scratch a particular itch. Out of the Blue will definitely appeal to those with a fondness for Eagle, Action, or Commando but for everyone else, if you have even a passing interest in WWII or are looking for a fresh take on those glorified battles, its worth a look. The path their story takes is certainly well-trod, but it delivers exactly the retro, rah-rah combat glory found in the best war comics. If that's your cup of tea then this is certainly where you want to be.
January 26, 2021
Coming to this in two halves, I found the second half much more substantial – yes, some of that was the intrusion of slightly spurious side-issues, such as Indian Partition, and the like – but my memory of the first half as being the most inconsequential, done-in-twenty-minutes read was far superseded when I got to see the full thing. It might be a little uneven, then, but it's very well-drawn uneven, and the war comic aficionado will find much to like here.
November 29, 2022
An excellent WW2 fighter pilot comic.
If you're familiar with Ennis' shocking, irreverent style of writing, this is nothing like that. Instead it's much more sober and reflects on the realities of war and what it does to the characters in the book.
The art by Keith Burns is absolutely stunning and matches the tone of the book perfectly. There's a lot of action in here and the panel sequences are well laid out.
Pretty much exactly what I'd want out of a comic like this.
If you're familiar with Ennis' shocking, irreverent style of writing, this is nothing like that. Instead it's much more sober and reflects on the realities of war and what it does to the characters in the book.
The art by Keith Burns is absolutely stunning and matches the tone of the book perfectly. There's a lot of action in here and the panel sequences are well laid out.
Pretty much exactly what I'd want out of a comic like this.
October 3, 2022
Adequate but a less than engaging work by Ennis. The focus on domestic dramas really slowed the book down. Also the unrealistic nature of the drama itself. The art was good and got across the chaos and violence. To be honest Ennis has done a lot better in this genre than this.
January 9, 2026
Troppo poche tavole.
Garth Ennis e Keith Burns assieme sono strepitosi come sempre, ha la sola pecca di avere una conclusione un po' troppo aperta ma per il resto la storia tocca tematiche non banali e lo fa con grazia e dolcezza. Tra un duello aereo e l'altro, ovviamente.
Garth Ennis e Keith Burns assieme sono strepitosi come sempre, ha la sola pecca di avere una conclusione un po' troppo aperta ma per il resto la storia tocca tematiche non banali e lo fa con grazia e dolcezza. Tra un duello aereo e l'altro, ovviamente.
April 11, 2022
Garth Ennis' WWII books are always satisfying.
Read
June 24, 2022I like this graphics. The story follows a pilot in the war. Random exerts from his time. Good.
October 20, 2022
Neat little story about a troubled mosquito squadron. Would recommend for the beauty of the machines alone.
November 5, 2022
3/5 - Graphic Novels
4/5 - War
2/5 - Art
3/5 - Story
3/5 - Rating
4/5 - War
2/5 - Art
3/5 - Story
3/5 - Rating
October 24, 2023
A true sign of a gifted writer is getting me to enjoy a genre I'm normally completely uninterested in.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews