Ensley F. Guffey is an author and pop-culture historian. He has published academic papers on Breaking Bad, Babylon 5, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Farscape, and Marvel’s The Avengers. His latest academic work is co-editing (with Samira S. Nadkarni) the collection War in the Whedonverses: Essays on Warfare and military Studies in the Works of Joss Whedon. Ensley is also the co-author (with K. Dale Koontz) of Wanna Cook? The Complete, Unofficial Companion to Breaking Bad, and Guffey and Koontz are currently at work on their next book, Dreams Given Form: The Unofficial Companion to the Universe of Babylon 5. Ensley has been reading comics since he could reach the spinner-rack, has presented and lectured on war comics in general and Sgt. Rock in particular, and was the curator of Four Color Culture: Comic Books and American History, 1938 – 2014 at the Reece Museum in Johnson City, TN. In his spare time, he continues to gather material for the perfect Sgt. Rock cosplay.
Despite a somewhat wobbly start, the first Rebels trade collection is a welcome addition to this correspondent’s war comics library, and features engaging writing, dynamic art, and masterful...
Wold of Tanks: Roll Out! promotional cover. Art by Isaac Hannaford. Dark Horse Comics will team with Wargaming to produce a five-issue limited series scripted by Garth Ennis (Preacher, War Stories,...
Cover for Our Army at War 113. Art by Joe Kubert On 4 May 1961, thirteen people, seven African Americans and six whites embark on a bus ride through America’s Deep South to force the federal government...
Dreaming Eagles #4 joins issues 1 – 3 in being a serviceable war comic, but not at all an outstanding one, a judgement that – barring some drastic changes in the final two issues – will likely apply to...
Titan Comic’s Johnny Red #4 was a highlight of February’s pull list, and continues to be the best war comic on the market, with Ennis (w), Burns (a), and Wordie (c) consistently performing at the highest...
Pitching and then writing a regular column on war comics naturally begs the question “Why?” so I thought I would try and answer that this week – at least in part. First and foremost, war comics hold a...
Dreaming Eagles #1 is off to a rough start. Ennis, Coleby, and Kalisz too often seem to be working against each other, and that’s a shame, because the story of the Tuskegee Airmen is one that deserves to...
White Death is a true classic of the war comics genre, and a beautiful example of the power of comics as an art form capable of telling stories that bring history to immediate, visceral life no matter how...
Johnny Red #2 is an "end of the beginning" comic, and tends to feel like the second half of issue 1, ending just as the main storyline begins. Still, the stage is now nicely set, the actors properly placed,...
2015 was a banner year for war comics, and marks a resurgence of the genre as a whole in the market. With 2016 just around the corner, it’s a good time to look back at some of the amazing collections and...