Warren Ellis' Crecy Paperback – August 7, 2007

Damn, this slim graphic novel was amazingly good. Okay, not amazing. After all, it was written by Warren Ellis, who probably couldn't write badly if he tried. (His novel, Crooked Little Vein, just came out and is also a good read--though utterly different from this.)Ellis's telling of fascinating and revealing details (such as the longbowmen dipping their arrowheads in the latrine so that wounded targets would die of some 'orrible medieval excremental disease) reminds me a bit of the wonderful book, An Underground Education.The soldier's-perspective narrative brings the ugly 14th century to life and effectively puts the reader right there in the midst of the action.Okay, look, it's 1:00am here in Austin and I've had a couple of shots of vodka, so I'm not going to attempt to convey any details. Just BUY this book and enjoy it (in the not-always pleasant sense of "enjoy"). A guy who can write Crecy *as well as* Ultimate Galactus, Fell, The Authority, Planetary, and Orbiter (to name just a few), is not one whose latest svelte and svperb work you should miss.

Spine was slightly warped but was able to get that straightened out.Would've otherwise been 4 stars but was generous on account of the few people giving 1 stars because they failed to read the first line of the product description where it states this is a graphic novel and not some academic historical text.

Entertaining and informative, but all-too brief, Warren Ellis' "Crecy" is a salty retelling of a 14th Century battle which helped pave the way towards the modern doctrine of total warfare. Narrated directly to the reader by a ribald, cheerfully bigoted English archer, "Crecy" tells the tale of when an English raid into Northern France was met with a powerful French counterattack, and yet the English won the day, through a combination of luck, ruthlessness and French overconfidence. It's a fascinating (and fun) history lesson, but the ending is a bit abrupt. It'd be nice to see more of this from Ellis - perhaps a historically-oriented anthology book, along the lines of Jack Jaxon and Spain Rodriguez? As is, this volume will instantaneously pull you in, but may leave you a bit flat at the end. (ReadThatAgain book reviews)

An archer of the English army recounts his knowledge of the battle of Crecy, life as an Englishman and soldier, and why the English hate the French. His voice, Ellis’ own with the benefit of time, is clear and insightful. A stand-alone story that is beautifully illustrated in a woodblock print style. Language is bloody Ellis all over, so maybe skip this one for the kiddies.

If you arew looking for vile language and the story of Agincourt instead of Crecy, this is the rag for you. Not only is the filth quoted by the characters a really questionable historical fact, the social attitude and the basic facts of the battle are a mile-off-probable, too. This has as much similarity to fact as "300".

This is one of my favorite periods of history and I enjoyed the facts and backstory dropped into this telling of the amazing English victory at Crecy. It somehow skipped the details of the outcome (capture of the French king and many of the aristocracy), but a fun little history lesson of the power of the yew now during this period. The black and white illustrations were a bit difficult, especially in scenes that included rain in the forests with so many men in the scene--just too many details to discern on a small screen. But still fun.

When I buy a graphic novel, I figure I get a two-on-one deal - I love art, and I love story, and this way i get both. I love history as well, so yeah - and I'm glad I got thisIf you brought this for the gory bits, you'll be disappointed how much time is spent talking about arrows.If you brought this for ye olde and splendide tale of medieval times, you'll be disappointed by the gory bits.If you brought this because you've interested in *real* history, you've got a winner. Yeah, real history isn't pretty - it's about people, what they were and did, are and do, going to be, and going to be.It's about war, so there's blood. It's about soldiers, so there's profanity. It's about where *that* guesture with the fingers comes from. All washed down with Warrn Ellis humor - what keeps you smiling through the gore and profanity anyway.The narrator is one William from Suffolk. He cheerfully hates the French, the Welsh, and the Scott's, but he'll never boring, and he'll be fun to meet in a pub. "1066 - the English royal line died with an arrow through its eye, so we call the French snail-eating c****s and they can f******g like it .... in English, c****t is pronoucition."This first remark harks forward to the last page, when William looks over the battlefield. History not only looks back, it looks forward. Not just about *that* guesture, but where Englishmen, high, low, Suffolkmwn, Cornishmen, even (cough) Welshmen, stood together united against overwhelming odds... and won.

Great use of the comic book/graphic novel as a medium for sharing history. This really is such an underutilized medium.

La batalla de Crécy se produjo el 26 de agosto de 1346 y es un hito para los ingleses al representar la primera de las tres grandes victorias frente a Francia en la guerra de los cien años. Según los historiadores, supuso la irrupción de nuevas técnicas de combate y el principio del fin de las normas de la caballería. El contingente inglés, de aproximadamente 12.000 hombres, estaba comandado por el rey Eduardo III, quien dirigía una expedición en terreno galo como represalia por anteriores incursiones francesas.

Soy un gran fan tanto del guionista como del dibujante. El nivel de detalle en la narración es propio de un catedrático de historia y el tono humorístico contrasta con la épica de una batalla que redefinió la guerra moderna y dio origen al conocido gesto con el dedo indice y el corazón.

good

Warren Ellis nimmt den Leser mit auf eine Reise während der Schlacht von Crécy 1346. Aus der Perspektive eines englische Langbogenschütze namens William von Stonham erzählt, werden viele Aspekte des Krieges und der Taktik mit dem Leser während des Marsches nach Crécy vermittelt. Interessanter ist jedoch, seine Ausbildung auf die Kriegsführung - wie es ist als Langbogenschützen seinen Dienst zu leisten und Zeigt Werkzeuge, Methoden und Taktiken. Wie es ist als Gemeiner in einen Krieg für seinen Lehnsherren zu ziehen. Aus der Sicht des Bauern ein weiterer Krieg der für das Landvolk weder von bedeutung ist, viel mehr nicht im Regen zu marschieren, in der Kälte unter dem nächtlichen Himmel zu schlafen. Auf Beute die wartet und die Angst vor den berühmten Söldner-Armbrustschützen der Genueser , die von den "Frogs" ( Slang für Franzossen) angeworben wurden. Kurz um, die Schlacht von Crécy war einer der wichtigsten Schlachten, die die Kriegsführung revolutioniert. Humorvoll, mit Hintergrund und. - Vielleicht am wichtigsten - sehr packend geschrieben. Ellis hat somit einen wunderbaren Comic-Roman geschrieben und Raulo Caceres Abbildungen sind genau das, was man für den Zeitraum erwartet.Klasse !!!

Cet opus s'adresse soit aux fans d'Ellis qui ont déjà tout de lui, soit aux historiens amateurs... soit aux 2 ! En ce qui me concerne, je suis dans la 1ère catégorie et en prime je viens de me taper la révision de la guerre de 100 ans avec ma fille (classe de CM1)... l'occasion était donc trop belle. Cours et cru, dense et renseigné, technique et nationaliste (anglais), ces quelques pages sanglantes et dures content la bataille la plus significative de ladite guerre. Les amateurs de stratégie apprécieront également, mais il faudra qu'ils parlent anglais.