I usually love Garth Ennis WWII stories, but this one fell flat for me, maybe because it is based on an old British comic book series I've never heard of or because the concept of a English expatriate leading a Russian fighter squadron during the Siege of Stalingrad seems farfetched. Ennis pumps it full of authenticity but the overly-complex plot still comes off as a lost adventure of DC's Blackhawks.

It doesn't help that the book features the Russian Night Witches, female bomber pilots, about which Ennis has already written a much. superior series of tales. Go find those books instead.

Finally, there is a modern-day framing sequence that has a tech billionaire researching Johnny's plane, and while it is supposed to give the audience a voice about the respect we should be showing our veterans, the structure is silly with predictable twists. ( )