The A-Team: War Stories (2010)

The A-Team: War Stories (2010)

Authors: Chuck Dixon / Erik Burnham | Illustrators: Hugo Petrus / Casey Maloney / Guiu Vilanova / Alberto Muriel | Page Count: 104

"And, no I don't see it as unrealistic. Maybe impractical. but impractical just takes a little longer..."

Four individual stories, one for each member of The A-Team, collected together into a handy TPB. It's a prequel, so they aren't technically The A-Team herein, but the essence of each character as we'll come to know them later in their life is present and identifiable.

They're all set during the Gulf War but aren't connected in any way, and there's no crossover shenanigans, so you're free to read them in whichever order you choose.

I started with Hannibal's, then moved onto B.A, then Murdock, and finally Face. Structurally, they give each man a single objective or goal, which in three of the four cases is to retrieve/extract something from a potential war zone. The fourth is similar, except it's to procure something, an item that's almost impossible to find at short notice. Neither operation goes exactly to plan, of course, but thanks to the participants' skills and ingenuity things tend to work out in the end.

They're all quick reads, fun but ultimately forgettable, the kind of thing that could be enjoyed while on a short bus or train ride, and then easily put down when the destination is reached.

The art style of each is generally complementary to its tone or character, both inside the panels and outside, too (i.e. page gutters changing from airy white to moody black).

Each one unfolds in the same time and location that it's set, with the exception of Murdock's, which stands out from the others because it takes place after the wartime event that it depicts. The pilot's story uses both a first and third person narrative style, with the former being a story told by a 'madman', playing around with the unreliable narrator device in a basic but fun way.

In fact, I'm guessing 'fun' was part of the goal that the authors were striving for. If so, then it was a success, at least for the brief time that it takes to read each one.

The book collects together all four of The A-Team: War Stories one-shots.