Dreaming Eagles #3
Publisher: Aftershock
Writer: Garth Ennis
Artist: Simon Coleby
Colorist: John Kalisz
Cover: Francesco Francavilla
A story that features the Tuskegee Airmen is most likely one that will get my attention. So it’s nice to see that Dreaming Eagles has been a must read story since the first issue. Starting with the father/son conflict which is the catalyst for the elder Reggie Atkinson to have a talk with his son, Lee. It’s the 1960s and he and his son aren’t seeing eye to eye on the actions of Martin Luther King and Lee is confused and angry that his dad isn’t with him in his support of Dr. King. Reggie has is own reasons but he’s been unable to actually talk to his son so at the request of his wife he sits the young man down and begins his own story.
This issue in particular spends most of it’s time in the past but the moments it’s brought back to Lee and his father are superb. They are brief sequences but you see the change happening between the two men. Whether it’s Reggie attempting to describe a flying technique or his when son decides to forgo a bathroom trip to hear about his dad’s first kill these are subtle but powerful moments. When Ennis takes us back to wartime there’s so much detail in the dialogue but it’s not over your head for the layman who may not know much about aviation. When dealing with the racial tension and outright disrespect these men are receiving Ennis makes sure that it’s genuine but it doesn’t overtake the story or what Reggie is trying to do.
As detailed as Ennis’ dialogue is, the art from Simon Coleby is just as fine and dazzling to look at. The areal dogfights are large and just pull you into the action happening in the panels. He nails both time periods expertly and you’ll find yourself looking at the backgrounds just as much as the characters. Combined with the colors provided by Kalisz the entire issue just looks as strong as any title on the shelves.
Dreaming Eagles is what you should be reading whether you’re a history buff or not. The storytelling and art work sync up to deliver one of the best comics currently on shelves right now. So if you have yet to give this a shot then go and find the first two issues and get into this as soon as possible.
Infinite Speech
infinitespeech@comicattack.net
