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Sunday, 7 June 2020

Been reading: The Stringbags (2020) by Garth Ennis& PJ Holden


Stringbags review

 "Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan and Fascist Italy began World War II with aircraft that could devastate enemy warships and merchantmen at will. Britain's Royal Navy squadrons went to war equipped with the Fairey Swordfish.  A biplane torpedo bomber in an age of monoplanes, the Swordfish was underpowered and undergunned - an obsolete museum piece, an embarrassment. Its crews fully expected to be shot from the skies. Instead they flew the ancient  "Stringbag" into legend. "

  "The Stringbags" is the story of a likeable but not particularly lucky Sworfish crew who find themselves involved in some of the operations that made the Swordfish an everlsting aprt of Naval Aviation history.
  I am, as I've stated before, a big fan of WW2 stories from Garth Ennis and a lot of his trademarks are here: dry humour, bewildered junior officers, war-hardened superiors, understated heroism, bloody action and the occasional punch right to the feels.

    Heroes Archie, Pops and Ollie are easy to identify with; they aren't crack "aces" and they know it but still trying to do their bit, all the while  hoping it won't get them killed.   If you liked the old "Commando" books but want characters that are a bit more "real" I think this particular crew are for you.

 The artwork is more than decent, being equally good at quiet dialogue and battle scenes.


  The book itself is not cheap: I paid £17.99 but for that I gt a handsomely bound hardback on nice paper and a story that stuck with me afterwards. Well worth it.




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