War Picture Library 85 Break-Through

Not the worst war picture library ever written but it could win an award for being the most tedious.

There just isn't any emotional energy in this story as it just plods along going from one incident to the next. There's nothing wrong with the background to the story as desperate attacks and counterattacks follow each other and the narrative is never too far away in reminding the reader about the harsh cost of war in human lives. The main characters have all the right attributes for a good story; two of them are front line veterans, another is the tough but fair athletic military policeman and in a supporting role there is an immoral and treacherous coward.

All the fragments are there for a reasonable if not good story but they just don't come together. It would require some exceptional artwork to lift Break-Through to an acceptable level - but sadly it isn't there. However on a positive note the charging Tommy on the cover is ready defeat the Hun with a yell and blinding blaze of white webbing is pretty damn good.

The cover alone however cannot save Break-Through. This is one of those stories that makes it into the "er not the best" catergory. The more I read Break-Through the more I found myself turning each page in desperation waiting for something dramatic to happen. I think I uttered "AAAAGH!" out of absolute frustration more times than I would like to admit.


You're accused of eating all the cream buns...

This is supposed to be a tough detention camp. The man on the extreme left appears to be singing a song and the two on the extreme right are having a good old chat while checking out each other's thighs.

Another game of Risk! in progress.

Funny isn't it? They'll charge at enemy machine guns, run headlong at enemy tanks and fight in deadly hand to hand combat. But step on one sharp stone and all of a sudden its "ouch!"

His troops call him the Mexican.

If one of your comrades was killed by two escaping prisoners wouldn't you administer Rule 303? Or in the German's case Rule 7.92.

Why not now? Or in four days? Or how about a week from Thursday?

That would have to be the worst armoured car ever produced. With designs like that it just goes to show why the Germans lost the war.












Curiously the Man of Lamancha poster survived the inferno and is now available on eBay.