3 out of 5

War, indeed, is hell, something which Garth Ennis has shown us – effectively – time and time again, and this maybe reboot of a classic property is, surprisingly, one of Garth’s more distilled versions of this tale.  And even though it’s written under the Marvel MAX banner, something about the book being here instead of, say, Vertigo or Dynamite, maybe gave the writer a good dose of limitations; his War Stories, while varied between meh and moving, sometimes had that slight Ennis taint of overkill which is pleasingly lacking here.  Not for complete lack of trying, though, with some vomit and pubic lice and intestines, but it feels a bit more hemmed in.  Especially as the
tale wanes on and Garth warms up to (and warms us up to) the initially naive and grating Karl Kaufmann – the man who would become Phantom Eagle.  This shift from boffin mishaps to something more serious is handled maturely, and one of the few instances where Ennis actually flip-flops us on a character (his characters are always flawed, but Kaufmann starts out as the clod type Ennis loves to tear apart; it’s rare that he makes us sympathize with one).

So narratively, War Is Hell is pretty strong.  Nothing new, but a good spin on a Garth tale.
The art is a different story.  I know Chaykin is “classic,” but his modern art, with all of its computer linework, is just… well, somewhat ugly to look at.  I get no sense of space from his panels – people are always shifting around a vague setting, or we’re cropped way too close to always-square faces – and every single goddamn person looks like Flagg.  Maybe from a side view they’re potato shaped and have a mustache, but we’re certain to get a straight-on shot and it’s Flagg again.  Thus, ever character gives off that vibe, despite the dialogue that’s written.  And it drove me nuts that there’s continual references to a bartender off-panel whom, sure, I suppose Garth didn’t specify he needed to be in panel, but combined with Chaykin’s already lame sense of setting, it’s almost humorously surreal, always acknowledging a character who (almost) never appears.

A rather drab color scheme (Brian Reber) does us no favors, nor does the common problem in war comics of differentiating between characters who all look the same when suited up and in planes.  I normally won’t knock a book too much for the art, but in this case, it’s a significant affect upon the reading experience.

Buuut… if you’re hungry for more Ennis war stuff, I’d actually rate this higher, overall, than Battlefields or the War Stories ongoing.