Not an ordinary merchantman though. This is a CAMship carrying a catapult -launched Hurricane fighter.
When the convoy comes under attack the pilot is killed and Redburn takes his place, savaging the German bombers. But with fuel running low and nowhere to land he heads South in hopes of finding an airfield.
Forgotten by the Soviet High Command, beat-up and demoralised, the men of Falcon Squadron have lost all hope.
And then a strange new plane touches down, bringing an English pilot to join their ranks.
Russians and Germans alike will soon give John Redburn a new name.
The Red Devil.
Johnny Red was one of the more successful strips ever to feature in "Battle", running for almost ten years and these two volumes are hopefully the first of many more.
In keeping with the darker tone of the era, the war fought by the Red Devil and his comrades was a brutal one.
Granted there were still improbable heroics and Johnny Red could climb into anything with wings and fly it like an ace but the butchers bill was always high, mercy was a weakness and the strain kept mounting up...
Look over at the two book covers at the top of the page. The one at the top shows John Redburn at the start of the series - clean-cut and confident, a standard British comic hero. The cover underneath shows what The Red Devil became. Scruffy, scarred and bordering on the insane.
A suitable hero for the Russian Front.
This is a war where Allied pilots murder German flyers dangling from parachutes.
This is a war where Soviet Commissars machine-gun their own fleeing troops
This is a war where starving civilians try and rip a man apart so they can steal his clothes.
This is a war where the men of Falcon Squadron hate their German enemies so much they are willing to ram them in mid-air.
Little savage that I was, I lapped up the blood and guts but even then the message that War is a hateful, hateful thing managed to get through.
Over the years Johnny Red would slaughter his way through half the Luftwaffe and the occasional Allied pilot after his head, lead his Falcons over the burning city of Stalingrad and even, briefly, find himself flying for the RAF. He would also find that rarest of things in British boys comics, a badass female character in the shape of "Night Witch" bomber pilot Nina Petrova.
This is all to come. These two handsomely-presented volumes present the early days and are well worth a read.
I genuinely believe that British comic artwork is highly underrated and the work of Joe Colquhoun is among the best. His aircraft are flawless, his faces rich with expression and his battle-scenes bloody and compelling.
Praise is also overdue for write Tom Tully who created one of the most memorable characters in British comic history and by and large managed to steer clear of the "Plucky Brit" cliches.
Sadly both men are now dead but "Falcon's First Flight " and "Red Devil Rising" are not a bad tribute.
Volume 3 comes out next year. I hope there's plenty more to come.
If you want more info on these books, The Falcons and the creative team then there's an extensive fansite, including a generous library of scans.
http://www.falconsquadron.sevenpennynightmare.co.uk/
Look over at the two book covers at the top of the page. The one at the top shows John Redburn at the start of the series - clean-cut and confident, a standard British comic hero. The cover underneath shows what The Red Devil became. Scruffy, scarred and bordering on the insane.A suitable hero for the Russian Front.
This is a war where Allied pilots murder German flyers dangling from parachutes.
This is a war where Soviet Commissars machine-gun their own fleeing troops
This is a war where starving civilians try and rip a man apart so they can steal his clothes.
This is a war where the men of Falcon Squadron hate their German enemies so much they are willing to ram them in mid-air.
Yes, this happened in real life.
Little savage that I was, I lapped up the blood and guts but even then the message that War is a hateful, hateful thing managed to get through.
Over the years Johnny Red would slaughter his way through half the Luftwaffe and the occasional Allied pilot after his head, lead his Falcons over the burning city of Stalingrad and even, briefly, find himself flying for the RAF. He would also find that rarest of things in British boys comics, a badass female character in the shape of "Night Witch" bomber pilot Nina Petrova.
This is all to come. These two handsomely-presented volumes present the early days and are well worth a read.
I genuinely believe that British comic artwork is highly underrated and the work of Joe Colquhoun is among the best. His aircraft are flawless, his faces rich with expression and his battle-scenes bloody and compelling.
Praise is also overdue for write Tom Tully who created one of the most memorable characters in British comic history and by and large managed to steer clear of the "Plucky Brit" cliches.
Sadly both men are now dead but "Falcon's First Flight " and "Red Devil Rising" are not a bad tribute.
If you want more info on these books, The Falcons and the creative team then there's an extensive fansite, including a generous library of scans.
http://www.falconsquadron.sevenpennynightmare.co.uk/
You must excuse for never having laid hands on Johnny Red while I still could! Guess its late in the day to start on that. But that was a refreshing review. Adventures, drama, heroic exploits dipped in blood and close to life unlike Superman et al.
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