War Stories by Garth Ennis

This book may be my favorite piece of fiction about soldiers in war that I have ever come across. With four separate stories contained in this volume, Ennis tells stories that are well researched, often horrifying and most of all human. This book definitely transcends any perceived limitations of the medium of the comic book to tell a masterfully constructed tale of men in wartime. There are no John Wayne heroics or black and white scenarios at play here, and anyone expecting this will be sorely disappointed.

Johann's Tiger, the opening story, shows the panic and horror of the final days of the eastern front. A German tank crew fights to stay alive and ahead of the Soviet advance across Europe, while facing the realities of what they have done. Another story, D-Day Dodgers shows the Allied troops of the Italian front and the deadly struggle that took place while the eye of the world was on the invasion of Normandy.

Every story in this book is brilliantly told, and I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone who has an interest in war fiction. I would definitely place this on the same level as Joe Haldeman's classic The Forever War.  Ennis followed this work with a second volume of War Stories, as well as another series published by Dynamite comics titled Battlefields that continues the style set in this work.