Johnny Red: Falcons' First Flight
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- Create Date：2021-05-31 10:55:08
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Joe Colquhoun
- ISBN：1848560338
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Summary
When pilot Johnny Redburn is discharged from the RAF for striking an officer， he is forced to join the Merchant Navy。 But a German sneak attack forces Redburn back into the air — in a stolen Hurricane！ Redburn aims for Russia， planning to save his plane and career， but on landing， meets the “Falcon Squadron” of the 5th Soviet Air Brigade， who are under German attack！ Redburn takes to the skies once more — to fight for Russia！
The classic series by Tom Tully （Roy of the Rovers） and Joe Colquhoun （Charley’s War） makes its explosive debut and includes a new introduction by comics legend Garth Ennis （The Boys， Preacher， War Story） and a feature on air combat！
The classic series by Tom Tully （Roy of the Rovers） and Joe Colquhoun （Charley’s War） makes its explosive debut and includes a new introduction by comics legend Garth Ennis （The Boys， Preacher， War Story） and a feature on air combat！
Reviews
Peter Adams
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3。5 stars
Jonny
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One of Battle's masterpieces， the story that started my love affair with Hawker's bruiser and educated a seven year old （insofar as it was possible） in the horrors of war and the Eastern Front。 Yes， it's from a kid's comic， yes it doesn't really stand up， and no the Hurricane couldn't really take that much punishment。 But it's an amazing piece of comic history， the art is just amazing and it was better than school history。 Well worth a look。 One of Battle's masterpieces， the story that started my love affair with Hawker's bruiser and educated a seven year old （insofar as it was possible） in the horrors of war and the Eastern Front。 Yes， it's from a kid's comic， yes it doesn't really stand up， and no the Hurricane couldn't really take that much punishment。 But it's an amazing piece of comic history， the art is just amazing and it was better than school history。 Well worth a look。 。。。more
Phrodrick
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This is the origins story of a British Comic book character that would have a respectable 13 year run。 The original target audience was preteen males who had not yet turned their imaginations from WWII to the newer techno based comic characters。Taken in just these terms the art work is very good when depicting military hardware and there is a fair variety of it displayed。 The plot is heavy on action， tensions are always high and characters tend to be noble warriors or craven behind the lines。。。 This is the origins story of a British Comic book character that would have a respectable 13 year run。 The original target audience was preteen males who had not yet turned their imaginations from WWII to the newer techno based comic characters。Taken in just these terms the art work is very good when depicting military hardware and there is a fair variety of it displayed。 The plot is heavy on action， tensions are always high and characters tend to be noble warriors or craven behind the lines。。。 what another generation and country would call garrison troopers， or garri-troopers。 At this level Johnny Red is about standard for this kind of material。What makes this comic unusual is the set-up。 Johnny Red is yet another misjudged loner forced out of his chosen role as a WWII RAF Pilot。 A set of highly unusual events， albeit ones with a historic precedence has him flying a Hurricane fighter plane that was catapulted from a Murmansk Run Cargo Ship （Such things existed） and landing in Russia。 （This did happen once）。 Johnny adopts or is adopted by a Russia Fighter squadron。 The balance of the stories is Johnny fighting invading Germans， learning to respect his Russian fellow fighters while staving off murderous and cowardly bullies from the Community Party NKVD or other "apparatchiks"。 These books would have come out towards the end of the Cold War。 England would have already abandoned much of it solidarity with America over the Viet Nam War， but the hideous crimes of Stalin would also have been common knowledge。This Johnny Red book plays out the refrain that the West had great respect for the Russian People， and very little for its then Communist Government。 If the art work makes this a graphic novel worth looking at; this pro Russians but not pro Soviet focus is worth at least this first book。 I am unlikely to look for the rest of the series。 I am content with this one。 。。。more
T。I。M。 James
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This is not the kind of graphic novel that I would normally read， but it was highly recommended by one of my favourite comic writers， Garth Ennis so I was prepared to give it a go。 （Ennis himself has just completed a limited series based on the character and I was intrigued enough to give it a shot。）Johnny Red was a strip that ran in the UK comic Battle and it ran for ten years。 Being part of an anthology title limited the number of pages per instalment to about four， so the story built up over This is not the kind of graphic novel that I would normally read， but it was highly recommended by one of my favourite comic writers， Garth Ennis so I was prepared to give it a go。 （Ennis himself has just completed a limited series based on the character and I was intrigued enough to give it a shot。）Johnny Red was a strip that ran in the UK comic Battle and it ran for ten years。 Being part of an anthology title limited the number of pages per instalment to about four， so the story built up over weeks and was aimed at kids。 It was a stable mate to 2000AD published by IPC， and was written by comics veteran Tom Tully with art by Joe Colquhoun。It is the story of 19 year old Johnny 'Red' Redburn， desperate to prove himself as a pilot during the second world war。 Unfortunately he and his superior officer don`t see eye to eye and in a moment of temper Redburn pushes the other severely injuring him。 He is accused of striking a senior officer and grounded， probably never to fly again。In a moment of crisis he secretly replaces pilot on a Hawker Hurricane and ends up lost in Russia， where he ultimately meets up with a broken down， worn out and under-equipped squadron， the Falcons。 He is able to motivate them， and get them back in the air， through guile and bravery get them resupplied and makes them a squadron of note again， despite interfering and the animosity of some Russian higher-ups。Despite being written predominantly for kids， the story holds up really well and was enjoyable for this adult。 The research is apparently excellent， the story fast paced and does not shy away from the brutality of war。 In some places it is told a little less deeply than a more modern strip would have been but it is not detrimental to the reading。 It does over repeat itself a few times， but this is probably down to it's original weekly format - reminding everyone of what has gone before。 The art is incredible especially the depiction of the planes and arial combat。The collection itself is beautifully presented from the dustjacket through to the cover itself。 The pages are on a high quality paper and the printing as a whole is good。 It is let down in places to fading in the art and lettering possibly due to the source material。I'm not sure whether it was a mistake or my mis-reading of something， but it seems that over the course of the story the officer struck by Redburn at the start goes from being injured to being killed， but this is a little quibble。All in all surprisingly excellent read。 。。。more
Ensley
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This is the first volume in a 3 volume collection of the recurring series "Johnny Red" from the 1970's British war comic Battle Action。 The story follows the eponymous hero， Johnny Red， a disgraced WWII RAF pilot who finds redemption and recognition as a pilot in and later the commander of a Soviet fighter-bomber squadron。 This review will stand for all three volumes of Titan's collections， which are beautifully bound in cloth hardcover， and include introductions by Garth Ennis in each book。This This is the first volume in a 3 volume collection of the recurring series "Johnny Red" from the 1970's British war comic Battle Action。 The story follows the eponymous hero， Johnny Red， a disgraced WWII RAF pilot who finds redemption and recognition as a pilot in and later the commander of a Soviet fighter-bomber squadron。 This review will stand for all three volumes of Titan's collections， which are beautifully bound in cloth hardcover， and include introductions by Garth Ennis in each book。This is probably as close to a realistic portrayal of the Russian Front as has ever been attempted in sequential art。 Granted the necessities of the story， the plot elements are occasionally more than a little far-fetched， but the misery， weariness， horror， and relentlessness of the war come powerfully through。 This is due in no small part to the artwork of Joe Colquhoun who creates some of the most visceral， detailed， and accurate images of aerial combat， and the brutal realities of war in the east in places like Leningrad and Stalingrad。 The heroes are ragged， dirty， unshaven， and threatened by enemies both within and without， and the almost hopeless bravery of a people who were often outnumbered， usually outclassed in terms of material quality， yet determined to fight until the invader had been hurled from their homeland is shown in gritty detail。 There is hate here， and courage， and cowardice， and friendship， and the sheer struggle for survival in Hell on Earth。One of， if not THE， finest war comics I have ever read。 。。。more
Emma Richler
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fun
John Kirk
，
I read this strip in Battle when I was young， although I came in "halfway through"， so it's interesting to see how it all started。 Taken on its own merits， it works fine， although the continuity is a bit shaky at the start， which implies that the writer was making it up as he went along rather than planning it in advance。The format of this book is very similar to the "Charley's War" reprints。 This book is almost entirely comics， whereas "Charley's War" is about 2/3 comic and 1/3 commentary， so i I read this strip in Battle when I was young， although I came in "halfway through"， so it's interesting to see how it all started。 Taken on its own merits， it works fine， although the continuity is a bit shaky at the start， which implies that the writer was making it up as he went along rather than planning it in advance。The format of this book is very similar to the "Charley's War" reprints。 This book is almost entirely comics， whereas "Charley's War" is about 2/3 comic and 1/3 commentary， so it may feel as if you get better value for money here。 However， "Charley's War" is far more substantial （and historically accurate）， so I'd recommend it to adults who've never read it before。 "Johnny Red" is much more for people who feel nostalgic， since it's easier to read than ancient comics。 。。。more
Craig
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