In Review – World 3

By Antony Esmond on March 30, 2015

Written by Neil Sambrook
Art by Ari Syahrazad, Earl Geier and Tim Sundt
Published by Fly Comics

I was lucky enough to meet the writer and driving force behind Fly Comics, Neil Sambrook, at Nottingham Comicon a couple of years ago and really enjoyed his grind-house buddy cop book Warr and Peace. World 3 (also excellent) is a whole other kettle of fish. I reached out to him about his new war anthology and this what he came back with, interesting stuff indeed.

“After starting off writing in comics with a slightly ambitious (read: delusions of grandeur) five issue mini series, I decided to challenge myself to construct shorter, self-contained strips that would find a home in an anthology of some sort. Inspired by my fondness of British war comics of the 70s and 80s, I decided to pay respect to the era by re-imagining the world wars but set pretty much in the here and now, imagining that conscription was reinstated and the effect that it would have on a modern society. Once the world was constructed on paper, I found myself enjoying the challenge of creating shorter strips and the World 3 anthology is the result of the first three strips I created.”

This is a three strip (and one text piece) war anthology comic, set in a present day/near future fictional war. It deals not with the heroics of war but with the realities, but does this with real heart and some great pacing. Although it’s not for the younger crowd, it’s poignant and brutal in one dose.

‘The Notepad’
Written by Neil Sambrook
Art by Ari Syahrazad

A soldier finds a notebook next to the body of a dead man and decides to wander the area and note down his thoughts, and has a moment of realisation, possibly through being shell-shocked, at what he is involved in and what he has done.

“Those whose escape conveniently coincided with the loss of their life?”

As the soldier walks he ponders on the reason he is in the war and what violence he has committed. It’s written with real and genuine personal moments, like a diary of a soldier from any war in any part of the world these days. It actually only takes place over a short period of time but has truth and grim poetry in every step. Like a cross between Starship Troopers and Siegfried Sassoon it cuts to the basics, reasons and brutality of war.

The art by Ari Syahrazad is breathtaking in capturing the existential nature of the thoughts of the soldier. The colour and quality of line remind me hugely of Richard Corben – it’s that good.

The Deserter
Written by Neil Sambrook
Art by Ari Syahrazad

Two best friends are fighting a trench warfare battle. They confide in each other – and one admits he is thinking of deserting. His friend makes him promise to take him with him and the pair run. They fight their way across the countryside….

Once again Neil and Ari deal with personalities before bullets. The backdrop of the war has huge influences on the friendship of these two men. They rely on each other in a way that can only become important in the last page of the story. No spoilers.

It’s another impeccable piece of comics by this pair. True to the theme of the anthology, it deals in thought and emotion.

It also has a wartime pragmatism to it’s narrative. It’s hard to explain the full impact of a tale like this without ruining its last page. I can only suggest that you get a copy yourself.

The Laws
Written, Coloured and Lettered by Neil Sambrook
Pencils and Inks by Earl Geier

This story in postulates what would happen if robots were introduced into war as humanoid infantrymen. How would this change the course of the war and more importantly how would this affect human combatants?

This story takes a step closer to 2000AD territory and ups the near future setting a little more. It’s still a personal tale (with a little twist) and remains a perfect stablemate to the previous two stories.

The art by Earl reminded me a little of Chris Weston or John Severin in the figure drawing and facial expressions. Really nicely realised.

Overall, World 3 is a book that was created with real care and an eye to detail. Neil does a lot of UK Conventions and I highly recommend you grabbing a copy while you can.

• Pop over to www.flycomics.co.uk or follow Neil on Twitter @fly_comics

• You can find Earl Geier at www.earlgeier.devianart.com

Many thanks for reading.