It’s another war issue and it’s a good one. Burns and McCrea continue to do excellent work; one knows Ennis can handle a good war comic, but the artists stepping up is nice to see. He wasted them on the goofy Boys stuff.
Hughie is still listening to Mallory tell his story, only there’s nothing for Hughie in this issue. You can always tells what subject Ennis actually wants to explore and here it’s World War II. There are the superheroes, and they’re analogues of a lot of the Golden Age guys, but Ennis doesn’t really spend any time with them. He doesn’t even go for jokes because the comic’s too serious for them.
Except for one Hawkman joke. But its punch line isn’t funny.
Ennis’s plotting is so strong, his narration for Mallory so good, it takes until after the issue’s over to realize it’s such a fast read.
CREDITS
Barbary Coast, Part Two; writer, Garth Ennis; artists, John McCrea and Keith Burns; colorist, Tony AviƱa; letterer, Simon Bowland; editor, Joseph Rybandt; publisher, Dynamite Entertainment.