Tag: world war two

WWII Royal Navy military history graphic novel – “The Stringbags” – (Dead Reckoning, 2020) – Garth Ennis interview

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Garth Ennis is a successful and prolific writer whose best known works are with such comic books as the Preacher and The Boys. However he’s also written many war comics. His latest work is The Stringbags which focuses on a WWII aviation arm of the British Royal Navy. The crews flew in archaic machines to do the jobs that needed to get done. We spoke about this Fairey Swordfish unit, his graphic novel, and a bit about war comic book history.

(The audio player is at the bottom of the post.)

0:44 – Garth talks about writing war comics and reading them when he was a kid in Northern Ireland.

3:34 – Garth talks about his interest in WWII and other conflicts.

4:33 – Garth talks about the development of his writing.

5:47 – Garth explains why he wrote about the Stringbags.

14:00 – Garth talks about how he created the characters that conducted the historical operations.

15:56 – Garth talks about the operation against the Bismark.

17:34 – Garth discusses the thematic focus of his graphic novel.

20:15 – Garth talks about the types of pilots who flew the Swordfish.

22:58 – Garth talks about where the Swordfish flew from and technical details about the plane.

25:46 – Garth talks about how much the Stringbags are celebrated in the UK.

27:20 – Garth talks about Swordfish loses in WWII.

29:56 – Garth talks about the manufacture of the Swordfish and the Albacore.

31:52 – Garth talks about the armament and the radar of the Swordfish.

34:55 – Garth how he did his research for the graphic novel.

37:02 – Garth talks about the additional research he’s done for the novel.

40:50 – Garth talks about the first air museum he saw Ireland.

45:19 – Garth talks about his revival of the war comic Johnny Red and how he helps the reader differentiate between fact and fiction.

48:58 – Garth talks about his surprise that men flew in the Swordfish against much more modern weaponry.

50:51 – Garth talks about the German praise for the Swordfish crews.

53:46 – Garth talks about the promotion of war comics in comic book stores.

56:29 – Garth talks about pitching the revival of the comic book Enemy Ace.

58:55 – Garth talks about the historical accuracy of his war comics and The Stringbags.

1:01:16 – Garth talks about the support the Naval Institute Press gave to the novel.

1:01:55 – Garth talks about the war projects he’d like to write about going forward.

1:05:18 – Garth can be found by looking for him on Amazon, Marvel, DC, Dynamite, Avatar, and Aftershock.

 

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/2XdDsj2

https://www.deadreckoning.org/book/the-stringbags/

https://www.amazon.com/Garth-Ennis/e/B000APF7BM/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Guests: Garth Ennis

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, graphic novel, war comic, Stringbags, Ireland, war comics, Vietnam, Alan Muir, Swordfish, torpedo bomber, Royal Navy, British, Taranto, Bismark, Channel Dash, Tuskeegee Airmen, Tirpitz, aviator, strike arm, torpedo, Charles lamb, Fairy Swordfish, WWII, world war two, world war 2, deflection shooting, Grumman Avenger, Albacore, radar, Taranto, Lancaster Bomber, Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, Hastings, Charnhorst, DC comics, Enemy Ace, Preacher, Dynamite Entertainment, Aftershock, Avatar, TKO, Night Watches, Axis

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/2XdDsj2

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Ancient Greek warfare military history book – “Who Really Won the Battle of Marathon?” – (Pen and Sword Books, 2020) – Constantinos Lagos interview

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Check out this book here https://amzn.to/2y56tEs

Dr. Constantinos Lagos is a Greek historian who teaches at the Hellenic Air Force Academy in Greece. He’s written two books on Greece in World War II but he has also recently co-authored a book on the very famous ancient Greek battle of Marathon. The book offers a reappraisal of the location, details and political outcomes of the battle. We spoke about the book and what it took to write it.

0:57 – Constantinos talks about his early studies in ancient history.

3:03 – Constantinos talks about how he breaks down the book and it’s analysis of the battle and discusses the Persians.

6:04 – Constantinos talks about previous errors of reconstructing the battle of Marathon and why the errors were made.

10:37 – Constantinos talks about the marsh phase of the battle.

12:43 – Constantinos talks about the battle and the strengthening of democracy.

14:39 – Constantinos talks about the site where people think the battle took place.

18:38 – Constantinos talks about other differences between established thinking and new findings about the battle.

22:12 – Constantinos talks about the archaeological discoveries they applied to their analysis.

25:17 – Constantinos talks about the Greek military camp at issue in the book.

29:33 – We discuss established versus new archaeological ideas and the archaeologists who studied Marathon.

35:52 – Constantinos talks about the archaeological evidence related to the battle of Marathon.

40:47 – Constantinos addresses the question of Persian records of the battle.

41:55 – Constantinos talks about the events before the battle and the discoveries made during the research.

He also touches on the ancient terrain at the time of the battle.

47:53 – Constantinos talks about the German scholars who studied classical Greece.

51:33 – Constantinos talks about his desire for archaeologists to excavate the battle and the marsh in the area.

58:35 – Constantinos gives mroe details about the Greek camp he found and the connection he felt with ancient Greece.

1:05:53 – Constantinos talks about what the weather [would] might have been like during the battle.

1:08:54 – Constantinos remarks about how many people have written about the battle over the centuries.

1:16:36 – Constantinos can be found on the web by googling his name “Constantinos Lagos” or by checking the book out at Pen & Sword Books.

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/2y56tEs

https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Who-Really-Won-the-Battle-of-Marathon-Hardback/p/16501

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Guests: Dr. Constantinos Lagos

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, marathon, persia, darius, athens, greece, democracy, Attica, cavalry, hoplites, Platea, ostracism, thetis, demos, platea, Persian Wars, archaeologist, classical, archaic, fort, bronze, arrowheads, acropolis, british museum, geologist, Pericles, world war two, WWII, Philip of greece, duke of edinburgh

Check out this book here https://amzn.to/2y56tEs

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Cold War military history book – “Rough Draft” (Cornell University Press, 2019) – Amy Rutenberg interview

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Check out this book here https://amzn.to/3dHHiZ6

Dr. Amy Rutenberg studies gender history. Her first book is about the US draft during the Cold War, especially during the Vietnam War. We discussed the book.

0:56 – Amy talks about how she got into writing on the US draft of the early 20th century.

2:08 – Amy talks about the focus of the book on why it became socially acceptable for men to avoid the Vietnam War.

4:01 – Amy talks about how the draft was applied to various social classes in the US.

10:26 – Amy talks about what the active duty thought about DoD draft policies.

13:42 – Amy talks about when the draft was in place and when it was used.

14:30 – Amy talks about how the book is broken down. It goes chronologically starting with WWII.

15:32 – Amy talks about the idea of masculinity and the draft and enlistment.

18:35 – Amy talks about protests against the Vietnam War and draft changes.

19:51 – Amy talks about the ideas of nuclear war and the strategic goals of the draft.

22:27 – Amy goes into detail about the Selective Service Boards.

23:40 – Amy explains the interaction between the Selective Service and the draft.

26:20 – Amy talks the use of soldiers in testing nuclear weapons.

27:31 – Amy describes how the services requested draftees.

29:06 – Amy talks about the pros and cons versus being drafted versus enlisting.

31:49 – Amy talks about how she researched the book. She also goes into detail about

draft counseling and conscientious objection.

37:03 – Amy talks about the tension between supporting wars but not volunteering to go.

38:10 – Amy talks about new things she discovered about the draft during WWII and how people approached it.

40:22 – Amy talks about deferments.

43:02 – Amy discusses some of the issues women faced with the draft.

45:00 – Amy goes into details about conscientious objector deferments.

47:20 – Amy discusses who were getting these deferments created and changed.

55:57 – Amy can be found on twitter @amyjay401.

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/3dHHiZ6

https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501739583/rough-draft/#bookTabs=1

https://twitter.com/amyjay401

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Guests: Amy Rutenberg

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, gender, world war two, WWII, draft, deferment, STEM, McNamara, cold war, vietnam war, project one hundred thousand, infantry, selective service, US Congress, conscription, Carter, Afghanistan, National Archives, draft counseling, Lewis Hershey

Check out this book here https://amzn.to/3dHHiZ6

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.