Authors: Frédéric Zumbiehl and Frédéric Marniquet; illustrated by Jean-Michel Arroyo
Age: 10 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages
Publication: February 2024
ISBN: 9781800441255
£8.99 incl VAT
https://www.cinebook.co.uk/buck-danny-classics-alert-p-4541.html
Buck and his friends have managed to recover the blueprints of the Soviet supersonic bomber, but they’re stuck on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain, with the entire Stasi hunting them. To maximise the chances of someone making it out, they decide to take different routes. But while Tumb and Sonny return to East Berlin with the blueprints, Buck chooses to go and destroy the existing prototypes on their base in Russia – what amounts to a suicide mission …
If there is one thing I have learnt over the years it is that if you go on a suicide mission the chances are you might not come back. Word. Look at The Dirty Dozen (I and II), look at The Magnificent Seven.... yeah. I really need to alter my meds.
Anyway, here we have it; part 2 of the story and things do look very bleak and grim -East Germany under the Communists was certainly not "Spaß heute Abend in der Altstadt! ("Fun time in the old town tonight"). One day I'll need to tell the story of how I was in a Landrover chased by the Vopos (Volks Polizei).... anyway, back to Buck Danny. Grim scenery, Stasi agents and a lot of gunplay and twists almost made me forget that this was, essentially, about air force pilots and that seems to have been a theme in these type of series including the legendary Dan Cooper.
The story maintains its pace and the art carries the whole thing along and I finally realised why the art seemed a tad familiar; there are touches that almost look like Ramona Fradon was involved. I have to mention, apologies I forgot last review, the superb colour work of Ketty Formaggio which makes it all pop. And Da Vinci style hang gliders! I admit that I was not expecting but based on history I should have!
Yep. I will call this a winner and you can buy both parts in one fell swoop. Please if you want to order this or any other Cinebook title go to their site because then they get the money and not a large percentage ripped off from them by other sellers. It helps keep a company going.
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