Customer Reviews

Warren Ellis Crecy

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Crecy just goes to show you that Warren Ellis is a true master of the comic book/graphic novel medium. Told from a soldier's perspective during the Battle of Crecy, Ellis manages to inject so much information in terms of historical weapon uses and battle techniques that you'll be turning the pages just to see what else you can learn alone. There is an engaging parallel to this generations-ago battle and the current war in Iraq (read Crecy's book description alone to get that), and Ellis' own dark humor is apparent as well. What's even more worth noting about Crecy is the ultra detailed, black and white artwork of Raulo Caceres, whose minor little details in faces and backgrounds are stunning to say the least. If there's any downsides to Crecy, it's that it is very short, and you'll be finished it in no time. Despite that though, there is something about Crecy that leaves a lasting impression, and for Warren Ellis fans, you already know that Crecy is worth picking up.

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)

Well, there really isn't too much to say about Ellis' Crecy, other than it's along the lines of his other offerings in terms of it's ability to grab hold of you.
However it also has an interesting way of telling the story, I especially liked the Narrator's way of explaining the reasoning behind things. Some nice little history lessons in there.

So I may just be a bit of a fanboy, but I have to say that this is a cheap read, well worth picking up and adding to your collection.

A fun story about the battle of Crecy. I especially liked the extra information that was thrown in about dirty fighting.

I just got this comic and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I learned a lot of interesting history and factoids while reading it and the artwork was awesome. I wish Ellis would make a whole series of comics like this covering different battles through history.

I'm not and Anglophile by any means, having a lot of issues with the history of England. But I dislike France more. Yet, I love Warren Ellis' stuff, great writer. The tale is ancient, yet with Ellis' style and the amazing art in this one-shot, you can't go wrong.


Do yourself a favor,go get this, and get it from this seller. Great packaging, super fast delivery.

It won't disappoint.

One of the best military history lessons I've ever had and quite enjoyable.

As other have mentioned the language is only for readers mature enough to understand the context, similar to the show Deadwood.

William Ellis' Crécy takes the reader into the field on the side of the English during the Battle of Crécy (1346) in the Hundred Years' War. The narrator, an English long-bowman named William of Stonham, discusses many aspects of war and tactics with the reader during the English trek to Crécy. He briefly mentions the differences between the various English folk (Welsh, Cornish, Iceni, etc.) and his xenophobia is apparent. More interesting, however, is his education on warfare - how the long-bowmen came to be and their tools, methods and tactics. After all, the Battle of Crécy was one of the most important battles that revolutionized warfare.

Crécy is interesting, educational, humorous, and - perhaps most important - very gripping. Ellis has written a wonderful graphic novel and Raulo Caceres' illustrations are exactly what one would expect for the time period. Caceres is able to bring detailed, well-drawn illustrations to the story without being fancy. However, with how well-written and illustrated Crécy is, many readers may be left wanting as it is a very short volume (48 pages). But for a measly $6.99, this volume can't be beat.

Another great experiment from Apparat - Ellis retells the Battle of Crecy. One of England's finest hours, and therefore ripe for the gritty, ultra-earthly Ellis treatment.

Ellis also specializes in science-based fiction - exploring a new idea or concept to a dramatic fictional conclusion (see: Iron Man - Extremis, his work on the Ultimate Fantastic Four, Ocean, etc...). In this case, he applies that skill towards the revolution in medieval technology and tactics. This isn't science fiction about light speed travel - it is science fiction about the longbow.

There are no characters as such, but Crecy is still infused with a certain emotional depth - part national pride, part pure gutsiness.

A good, fast, cheap read - Ellis and Apparat have paired together to produce some great work, and this is one of their best.

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.