Comments on: John Seavey’s Storytelling Engines: Enemy Ace

By: John Seavey

John Seavey — Thu, 22 May 2008 11:36:20 +0000

It’s definitely collected, Alvin–all of the entries in the ‘Storytelling Engines’ series share as a common factor the fact that they’ve been printed either as part of Marvel’s “Essentials” series, or as part of DC’s “Showcase Presents” series. (Or, in the case of ‘Savage Sword of Conan’ and ‘Savage Dragon’, in equivalent format from Dark Horse or Image, respectively.) So if I talk about it, you can assume it’s available in that format (as the Indestructible Man also mentioned.)

“Unique” probably was a bit of hyperbole, but I do think that ‘Enemy Ace’ is very rare among war comics for its views on the nature of warfare; certainly, most of DC’s war comics focus on black-and-white struggles between heroic American GIs and sadistic Nazis. ‘Enemy Ace’ belongs more to the tradition of literary war stories…you mentioned ‘Slaughterhouse Five’, but I think the most obvious inspiration is ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’, a novel about German trench soldiers in World War I.

And last but not least…shoot. I could have sworn I’d looked up those dates. One of these days, I’m going to go back through all these columns and correct all those little niggling errors, I swear. Maybe if someone was paying me to do this.

By: The Indestructible Man

The Indestructible Man — Wed, 21 May 2008 19:27:48 +0000

DC just released a Showcase Presents Enemy Ace a few months back — along with Haunted Tank and Unknown Soldier, it was one of my favorite volumes of the reprint series!

By: Alvin

Alvin — Wed, 21 May 2008 16:46:10 +0000

I think I’m as blown away today when I read an Enemy ace story as I was as a kid, could be I just like them. For those people who might be interested in giving the Ace a try he appeared in “Our Army at War” “Star Spangled War Stories” and “Showcase” . The only actual books named Enemy Ace I believe were a “DC Special” (reprints), ” E.A. War Idyll” & ” E.A. War In Heaven” I’m not sure if there are any collections.

By: mr clam

mr clam — Wed, 21 May 2008 16:24:58 +0000

I don’t think it’s fair to say this comic was unique because “war is portrayed as merciless and capricious, a killer of the just and unjust alike regardless of which side youâ€™re on. ” There is a lot of literature with this same viewpoint–Slaughterhouse Five is a good example. It’s not even unique to comics. Harvey Kurtzman’s war comics from the 1950′s (Frontline Combat, Two Fisted Tales) were often told from the perspective of the “enemy.” He showed there can be heroism on both sides, and also showed that good people are killed just as often as “the bad guys.” I’m not knocking Enemy Ace, just saying that it part of a larger tradition.

By: S Shapiro

S Shapiro — Wed, 21 May 2008 15:16:52 +0000

You can sum Enemy Ace in one word — Honour.

That was what I liked about it as a kid. Enemy Ace — like Steiner in Pekinpah’s Cross of Iron — was a man of honour. War is hell and men are treacherous and the universe (‘the killer skies’) is indifferent to it all. But Enemy Ace has his bloody honour.

By: Bernard the Poet

Bernard the Poet — Wed, 21 May 2008 13:19:43 +0000

Graeme, I’m very surprised to read that Enemy Ace was created in 1965. I had always assumed that it was was written in response to films like The Blue Max (1966) and the Red Baron (1971). That it pre-dates them (and many other war films with German protagonists) is really impressive.

By: Graeme Burk

Graeme Burk — Wed, 21 May 2008 11:36:19 +0000

(which Garth Ennis famously suggested was a figment of his imagination.)

Actually, George Pratt got there first with that suggestion in his excellent (and now sadly overlooked) graphic novel Enemy Ace: War Idyll

By: Graeme Burk

Graeme Burk — Wed, 21 May 2008 11:32:59 +0000

â€˜Enemy Aceâ€™ came along towards the end, in the mid-to-late 1970s

There’s a typo here– you mean the 1960s (Enemy Ace debuted in 1965)