by Randy Lander

WAR STORY: NIGHTINGALE Highly Recommended (10/10) DC Comics/Vertigo imprint Writer: Garth Ennis Artist: David Lloyd Letters: Clem Robins Editors: Tony Bedard & Will Dennis Price: $4.95 US/$8.25 CAN Ennis has bounced around in War Story through various perspectives, starting with the German and moving through the English and the American. For Nightingale, however, he returns to the English perspective, namely that of the Royal Navy, for a moody and haunting story about the H.M.S. Nightingale and her battles with the German navy in the Arctic ocean. Lloyd's artwork, less photo-realistic than the preceding War Story artists, is perfect for the moody atmosphere of the tale, and Ennis seamlessly combines the honor codes of military men in general and seamen in particular for what is without a doubt the best of the War Story tales thus far. The best World War II stories are the ones that educate as they entertain, that give you a very real feeling of what it might have been like to be there. Whether this atmosphere is completely true-to-life or not, I don't know, but Ennis definitely makes it feel real. The camaraderie of the crews, separated by miles of ocean and communicating through semaphore, comes through quite clearly, as does the sense of sometimes strange rules of honor and loyalty that these crews live by. Ennis also gives a great sense of the distant and paranoid nature of ship-to-ship warfare in World War II with some terrific sequences of submarines hunting the big ships. The notion of an invisible and deadly opponent is universally frightening, all the more so when it is based on a real threat rather than some fictional bogeyman. Though the H.M.S. Nightingale and her crew are unremarkable in that they are simply another part of a large navy, there is a definite feeling that they earn their place as the heroes of this story. The devotion of the crew to one another and to the Navy, and the proficiency they show with their equipment and tactics, marks them as a notch above, heroes among heroes. That the story focuses on a disgrace brought upon them by poor orders makes an excellent complication in light of that, and to the surprise of no one at this point, the story does feature a tragic if heroic ending. Lloyd's work on this book is fairly incredible, particularly his depiction of the massive cruisers, destroyers and aircraft that make up a lot of the action. We get the sense of their size, their lumbering and powerful construction, but there's also a sense of vulnerability to them when they are destroyed. At no time does the crew feel like it is safe from harm, which helps to make the story more exciting. And the emotions that rule the men in the battles come through quite clearly as well. While books like Fury and Punisher have been fun, they really do read like Ennis on autopilot. War Story is the real deal, and although Ennis is still playing with themes and ideals that have become very familiar in his work, the lessened exaggeration and humor has served to highlight the other skills that he brings as a writer. That he has paired in these stories with some of the best artists in the business is icing on the cake. Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.