Rifle Brigade might be Ennis at his funniest (this first series anyway). He mixes absurdly graphic violence with constant humor here. There’s nothing going on but his attempt to get a laugh out of situations. He even takes the time to set up jokes, like the gay soldier trying to get a dying kiss out of his captain. But it doesn’t stop there, since the captain’s now suspicious.
Ezquerra’s artwork is fantastic stuff. He can make just an illustration worth laughing over (The Piper, for example, brings a grin whatever panel he’s in) but he’s also able to do all the action Ennis requires of him.
The joke of it–British bravado amped up–is particularly hilarious because Ennis doesn’t make them smart. They’re dumb, vicious and hilarious. Of course, having the Nazis as bad guys means being vicious isn’t going to make them unsympathetic.
It’s an utterly hilarious comic.
