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The Night Witches
As the German Army smashes deep into Soviet Russia and the defenders of the Motherland retreat in disarray a unique new squadron arrives at a Russian forward airbase. Like all night bomber units they will risk fiery death flying obsolete biplanes against the invader--but unlike the rest these pilots and navigators are women. In the lethal skies of the Eastern front they will become a legend--known to friend and foe alike as The Night Witches.With casualties mounting and the conflict devouring more and more of her comrades Lieutenant Anna Kharkova quickly grows from a naive teenager to a hardened combat veteran. The Nazi foe is bad enough but the dreadful power of her country's secret police makes death in battle almost preferable. Badly wounded and exiled from her own people Anna begins an odyssey that will take her from the killing fields of the Second World War to the horrific Soviet punishment camps--and at the top of the world high above the freezing Arctic Ocean the Night Witch finds she has one last card to play.
256 pages, Paperback
First published March 13, 2019
2 people are currently reading
566 people want to read
About the author
Garth Ennis
2,622 books3,174 followersEnnis began his comic-writing career in 1989 with the series Troubled Souls. Appearing in the short-lived but critically-acclaimed British anthology Crisis and illustrated by McCrea, it told the story of a young, apolitical Protestant man caught up by fate in the violence of the Irish 'Troubles'. It spawned a sequel, For a Few Troubles More, a broad Belfast-based comedy featuring two supporting characters from Troubled Souls, Dougie and Ivor, who would later get their own American comics series, Dicks, from Caliber in 1997, and several follow-ups from Avatar.
Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.
Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.
Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.
While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.
Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.
After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.
In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.
Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.
In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis
Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.
Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.
Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.
While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.
Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.
After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.
In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.
Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.
In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
March 13, 2019
Collects the three Night Witch stories from Battlefields. The Night Witches were these incredible women pilots who bombed the Nazis invading Russia at night with biplanes of all things. Ennis writes incredibly powerful and tenacious women willing to sacrifice just as much as the men during WWII all while also dealing with misogyny and general male douchebaggery of the time. Russ Braun and Tony Avina deliver a 1, 2 knockout punch with the art and coloring. The book looks absolutely amazing.
Received a review copy from Dead Reckoning and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.
Received a review copy from Dead Reckoning and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.
May 22, 2019
Though the main characters in The Night Witches are a work of fiction, Garth Ennis based them on real-life women, the female-Russian aviators who flew for their country during WWII. Their older airplane engines were too loud and alerted the Germans before their aerial night attacks, so the aviators developed a technique of cutting the engines and gliding over their targets before dropping their bombs.
"You know what it's like when a P.O.-2 comes along, if you're on the ground you can hear it for miles, that pop-pop-popping the engine makes... Two more missions like that and we'll all be done with, unless we can magically stop them from hearing us coming."
Their method of attack was unique and terrifyingly effective at robbing the invading troops of sleep and peace of mind. The Germans called these pilots, because they were women and attacked at night, "Nacht Hexen" or the "Night Witches".
This graphic novel is filled with violent warfare, rape, loss, heartache and other dangers the women faced during their service, including male counterparts who didn't want their help. But Russians were so hard-pressed in their fight against the Nazis, that they had no choice.
"I think the notion of women aircrew is a joke; I think women combat fliers are a worse joke; I think women assigned to this base alongside my fighter squadron are the worst joke of all."
It is a sad but true chapter of history. The Russians lost more troops than any other country in the conflict, a staggering twenty seven million dead.
They didn't have time to properly train or equip the people they were throwing at the Germans. It was a bloodbath. But the women flew and fought all the same. They were the most decorated female combat unit of WWII and their service is worth being remembered.
Recommended for adult readers who enjoy military history and aviation.
Thank you to the publisher for a free copy of this book for review purposes.
If you're interested in more non-fiction information about the Night Witches, check out The History Guy's video "The Night Witches and World War II":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F_po...
"You know what it's like when a P.O.-2 comes along, if you're on the ground you can hear it for miles, that pop-pop-popping the engine makes... Two more missions like that and we'll all be done with, unless we can magically stop them from hearing us coming."
Their method of attack was unique and terrifyingly effective at robbing the invading troops of sleep and peace of mind. The Germans called these pilots, because they were women and attacked at night, "Nacht Hexen" or the "Night Witches".
This graphic novel is filled with violent warfare, rape, loss, heartache and other dangers the women faced during their service, including male counterparts who didn't want their help. But Russians were so hard-pressed in their fight against the Nazis, that they had no choice.
"I think the notion of women aircrew is a joke; I think women combat fliers are a worse joke; I think women assigned to this base alongside my fighter squadron are the worst joke of all."
It is a sad but true chapter of history. The Russians lost more troops than any other country in the conflict, a staggering twenty seven million dead.
They didn't have time to properly train or equip the people they were throwing at the Germans. It was a bloodbath. But the women flew and fought all the same. They were the most decorated female combat unit of WWII and their service is worth being remembered.
Recommended for adult readers who enjoy military history and aviation.
Thank you to the publisher for a free copy of this book for review purposes.
If you're interested in more non-fiction information about the Night Witches, check out The History Guy's video "The Night Witches and World War II":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F_po...
April 6, 2020
The Night Witches (Nacht Hexen) is what German WW2 soldiers would call a squadron of female Russian pilots who would attack them during the night, after switching off their engines and silently gliding towards their encampments.
Garth Ennis tells the story of these extraordinary women through the character of Anna Kharkova, a fictional amalgamation of real life accounts. It's a moving story that shows the double battle these brave women had to fight, between the German front and their misogynist male comrades. While they quickly prove their mettle, they are basically set up to fail by the interfering and controlling NKVD, the previous incarnation of the KGB.
There are more than a couple of flights of fancy (pun unintended) to make the drama flow more, but the book is most interesting outside of battle - a lot of deeper themes are discussed, without the whole ever becoming leaden.
When there are dogfights, I did have trouble following the action - everyone is wearing pilot hats, I have no eye for the mechanical details, so that's probably on me.
I wasn't a huge fan of the art, until I saw the sketchbooks in the back of the book (which also shows artist Russ Braun's origin as a Disney animator), which are beautiful. I think it has more to do with the colouring - where the colourist creates highlights on faces and objects, that give the whole an overly smooth, plastic-y feel.
That shouldn't stop anyone interested in this part of WW2 history, for whom this book should be an interesting starting point.
3.5 stars
(Received a review copy through Netgalley)
Garth Ennis tells the story of these extraordinary women through the character of Anna Kharkova, a fictional amalgamation of real life accounts. It's a moving story that shows the double battle these brave women had to fight, between the German front and their misogynist male comrades. While they quickly prove their mettle, they are basically set up to fail by the interfering and controlling NKVD, the previous incarnation of the KGB.
There are more than a couple of flights of fancy (pun unintended) to make the drama flow more, but the book is most interesting outside of battle - a lot of deeper themes are discussed, without the whole ever becoming leaden.
When there are dogfights, I did have trouble following the action - everyone is wearing pilot hats, I have no eye for the mechanical details, so that's probably on me.
I wasn't a huge fan of the art, until I saw the sketchbooks in the back of the book (which also shows artist Russ Braun's origin as a Disney animator), which are beautiful. I think it has more to do with the colouring - where the colourist creates highlights on faces and objects, that give the whole an overly smooth, plastic-y feel.
That shouldn't stop anyone interested in this part of WW2 history, for whom this book should be an interesting starting point.
3.5 stars
(Received a review copy through Netgalley)
August 15, 2020
If the Western Front in WWII is the story of determination and the triumph over evil, the Eastern front is the story of everything that is wrong with humanity. Totalitarianism, casual disregard for human life, putting principles over human decency, and the triumph of the small minded politically powerful. Through it all, the uplifting and sad story of women aviators in the Soviet Union is told through the (unrealistic as writer Garth Ennis admits) exploits of Lieutenant Anna Kharkova. Kharkova is a sunnier and less bitter (even when she is incredibly biter) character than I'm used to from Ennis, and she is truly memorable and a great contrast to the utterly horrible events taking place on the Eastern Front. Misogyny and authoritarianism make a terrible combination, and Ennis' piece can be read both as an affirmation of what is good in humanity and as a stark warning of all of the evil we are capable of.
**Thanks to the author, artist, publisher, and NetGaelly for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
**Thanks to the author, artist, publisher, and NetGaelly for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
May 18, 2020
Powerful. Lost track of time while reading The Night Witches.
Before reading this, I knew nothing about The Night Witches and now I need more badass women in my life.
Beautifully drawn.
Review copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Before reading this, I knew nothing about The Night Witches and now I need more badass women in my life.
Beautifully drawn.
Review copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 4, 2019
Wow! I know Ennis has done his fair share of war comics. I’m kicking myself for not checking them out sooner. This book is some impressive work.
Originally published as three miniseries, The Night Witches tells the story of Anna Borisnova Kharkova, initially one of the infamous Night Witches, an all female group of pilots who conducted night bombing runs against the Germans in World War II. Equipped with outdated biplanes, their tactics involved switching off their engines, gliding in to drop their payload, and powering back up for the getaway. As Ennis points out in his afterword, it can be argued how much physical damage they actually caused--for instance, their planes were not equipped with bomb sights--but they unquestionably took a psychological toll. The rattled Germans were the ones who came up with the “Nacht Hexen” designation.
The book follows Anna’s adventures during the war and beyond. The ending nearly brought me to unexpected tears just from the sheer perfection of the moment (I think that's sufficiently vague to avoid spoilers.)
I would say that this is one of the best, most satisfying books I’ve seen from Ennis in a while. He’s always been very much at home with military themes, and having an actual war comic to write really brings out his best. Russ Braun’s art is perfect, being alternately as beautiful and as horrible as the story requires.
If you're curious about Garth Ennis, but are put off by the sheer length of Preacher and/or The Boys, do give this one a try. Highly recommended!
Originally published as three miniseries, The Night Witches tells the story of Anna Borisnova Kharkova, initially one of the infamous Night Witches, an all female group of pilots who conducted night bombing runs against the Germans in World War II. Equipped with outdated biplanes, their tactics involved switching off their engines, gliding in to drop their payload, and powering back up for the getaway. As Ennis points out in his afterword, it can be argued how much physical damage they actually caused--for instance, their planes were not equipped with bomb sights--but they unquestionably took a psychological toll. The rattled Germans were the ones who came up with the “Nacht Hexen” designation.
The book follows Anna’s adventures during the war and beyond. The ending nearly brought me to unexpected tears just from the sheer perfection of the moment (I think that's sufficiently vague to avoid spoilers.)
I would say that this is one of the best, most satisfying books I’ve seen from Ennis in a while. He’s always been very much at home with military themes, and having an actual war comic to write really brings out his best. Russ Braun’s art is perfect, being alternately as beautiful and as horrible as the story requires.
If you're curious about Garth Ennis, but are put off by the sheer length of Preacher and/or The Boys, do give this one a try. Highly recommended!
May 25, 2020
I don't think I liked a single thing about this book
February 22, 2019
As a history buff, I know a little about the Night Witches. But I have to tell you, this book surprised me. The story and art quality are top notch, espeically for a historical graphic novel. The historical accuracy is strong, but with the author's notes in the back help clear up any issues. It is a fiction story but one can still grab lots of information from it. It's for the more mature audience due to the violence, themes, and language. But for those high school history buffs or those with an interest in the military, it should be a must read. It takes a real look what happen during WW2, good and bad. Finally, for those looking for historical graphic novels fiction or nonfiction, you need to have this one your shelf. It will be one you will pick up time and time again, just reread.
October 23, 2019
This book is awful. Terribly paced with jumps in scenes that make no sense. Most importantly, this book is definitely a man writing about a woman. The female characters were vapid and boy crazy. Leave it to a man to diminish the contributions of women in the world’s most dire time of need.
November 18, 2019
If you would like to check out more of my reviews please head on over to beforewegoblog.com
Women's roles in war are always played down or seen as insignificant. Even though, often, women played a huge role in major battles or information gathering. During world war II, women took over major industrial roles typical staffed by men. Women built ships, armaments, and trucks. They took over massive equipment operation, and difficult hard labor. For the US, women staffed over 400,000 support staff positions assisting in the war effort of US militaries. They are essential, but often their stories are not told. Enter Garth Ennis of Preacher and The Boys fame. Plus, about twenty other as great series. He is known for his deep storytelling, and no holds barred dialog. Pretty much anything goes when it comes to an Ennis novel. This is an important point to bring up because The Night Witches is based on a real squadron of female fighter pilots during World War II. Ennis had to mix his gritty storytelling and balance it against any accurate details he can glean from actual true-life events. Ennis quotes John Keegan's shocking dismissal of women as fighter pilots or even as fighters in general with "'Warfare is ... the one human activity from which women, with the most insignificant exceptions, have always and everywhere stood apart ... [women] never, in any military sense, fight men.'"[1] Little is known specifically about The Night Witches, the soviet government has set to downplay its reliance on female personnel. But much can be guessed from the few personal histories that survived.
In response, Ennis has created a character that is a composite of the available information about female fighters at the time in the form of Anna Kharkova[1]. The premise of the story is disjointed, and I found it challenging to follow, but loosely it is about a group of women, named The Night Witches or Ночные ведьмы or in German, die Nachthexen. (The Germans dubbed them their moniker.) They flew nighttime bombing raids and supported Russian defense and offense. Anna flies everywhere and in all sorts of battles. She has love affairs, loses friends, kills people, and as the story progresses, you can tell that little bits of her soul dies. I think that it is the chaotic and disjointed nature of the story that makes it confusing. I liked Anna as a character, I enjoyed her fierce nature, and even though she is tiny, she is big in life and personality. Those who seek to underestimate her, do it only once. But I did not connect with her as a character except the little snippets of dialog that resonated with me.
Graphically, Russ Braun and Tony Aviña's artwork shine. It is gorgeously done with massive air gun battles and vivid war scenes. The artwork is almost reminiscent of World War 2 recruitment and propaganda posters. You feel like you are there in the scenes.
This story is a hard one to judge because, on the one hand, the artwork and war scenes are some of the best I have read. Snippets and vignettes of Anna's trials as a fighter pilot and on into POW camps are poignant and masterfully done. But as a whole, the story is too disjointed for me to care about Anna genuinely. Or understand the gravity of her actions at the end. I recommend it for the artwork and because it is Ennis because even bad Ennis is still a cut above most other storytellers, but I don't think this is his best work.
[1] https://www.npr.org/2019/03/16/698736...
Women's roles in war are always played down or seen as insignificant. Even though, often, women played a huge role in major battles or information gathering. During world war II, women took over major industrial roles typical staffed by men. Women built ships, armaments, and trucks. They took over massive equipment operation, and difficult hard labor. For the US, women staffed over 400,000 support staff positions assisting in the war effort of US militaries. They are essential, but often their stories are not told. Enter Garth Ennis of Preacher and The Boys fame. Plus, about twenty other as great series. He is known for his deep storytelling, and no holds barred dialog. Pretty much anything goes when it comes to an Ennis novel. This is an important point to bring up because The Night Witches is based on a real squadron of female fighter pilots during World War II. Ennis had to mix his gritty storytelling and balance it against any accurate details he can glean from actual true-life events. Ennis quotes John Keegan's shocking dismissal of women as fighter pilots or even as fighters in general with "'Warfare is ... the one human activity from which women, with the most insignificant exceptions, have always and everywhere stood apart ... [women] never, in any military sense, fight men.'"[1] Little is known specifically about The Night Witches, the soviet government has set to downplay its reliance on female personnel. But much can be guessed from the few personal histories that survived.
In response, Ennis has created a character that is a composite of the available information about female fighters at the time in the form of Anna Kharkova[1]. The premise of the story is disjointed, and I found it challenging to follow, but loosely it is about a group of women, named The Night Witches or Ночные ведьмы or in German, die Nachthexen. (The Germans dubbed them their moniker.) They flew nighttime bombing raids and supported Russian defense and offense. Anna flies everywhere and in all sorts of battles. She has love affairs, loses friends, kills people, and as the story progresses, you can tell that little bits of her soul dies. I think that it is the chaotic and disjointed nature of the story that makes it confusing. I liked Anna as a character, I enjoyed her fierce nature, and even though she is tiny, she is big in life and personality. Those who seek to underestimate her, do it only once. But I did not connect with her as a character except the little snippets of dialog that resonated with me.
Graphically, Russ Braun and Tony Aviña's artwork shine. It is gorgeously done with massive air gun battles and vivid war scenes. The artwork is almost reminiscent of World War 2 recruitment and propaganda posters. You feel like you are there in the scenes.
This story is a hard one to judge because, on the one hand, the artwork and war scenes are some of the best I have read. Snippets and vignettes of Anna's trials as a fighter pilot and on into POW camps are poignant and masterfully done. But as a whole, the story is too disjointed for me to care about Anna genuinely. Or understand the gravity of her actions at the end. I recommend it for the artwork and because it is Ennis because even bad Ennis is still a cut above most other storytellers, but I don't think this is his best work.
[1] https://www.npr.org/2019/03/16/698736...
December 21, 2023
The 'night witches' were a corps of Russian women aviators who fought the German invaders with low tech "sewing machine" bombers. To surprise their targets they would cut their engines and glide in from 7km out. At night.
Ennis depicts the personal toll on Anna, a (fictional) gifted pilot who watches her beloved navigator, her lover(s), her friends, and a parade of unprepared, untrained girls get fed to both the Nazis and the mindless, voracious Communist political machine.
A withering view of the horrors of war, the strategic hopelessness of the Russian position--they were technologically and tactically outmatched and compensated by throwing millions of their own citizens into the German meat grinder--and the self-cannibalizing emptiness of Soviet ideology.
It's good, but it doesn't live up to Ennis's best war story work. A bit of goofy The Boys-style depravity sneaks in from time to time and feels out of place.
------------------------------------
SECOND READ
Ye gods what a grim fate this hero suffers. Ennis treats Russians in this book with nothing but respect and the Soviet Union with nothing but contempt.
Russ Braun's bright, mischievous style worked for his collaboration with Ennis on The Boys, but it mostly feels out of place here.
Ennis depicts the personal toll on Anna, a (fictional) gifted pilot who watches her beloved navigator, her lover(s), her friends, and a parade of unprepared, untrained girls get fed to both the Nazis and the mindless, voracious Communist political machine.
A withering view of the horrors of war, the strategic hopelessness of the Russian position--they were technologically and tactically outmatched and compensated by throwing millions of their own citizens into the German meat grinder--and the self-cannibalizing emptiness of Soviet ideology.
It's good, but it doesn't live up to Ennis's best war story work. A bit of goofy The Boys-style depravity sneaks in from time to time and feels out of place.
------------------------------------
SECOND READ
Ye gods what a grim fate this hero suffers. Ennis treats Russians in this book with nothing but respect and the Soviet Union with nothing but contempt.
Russ Braun's bright, mischievous style worked for his collaboration with Ennis on The Boys, but it mostly feels out of place here.
December 10, 2019
Rating: 3.5 stars
November 4, 2019
I literally just finished this graphic novel and I'm about to flip back to page one and read it again. That isn't to say it was perfect--it wasn't--but I know that in my hurry to read it, I missed a lot of important details. Now that I know Anna Kharkova's story, I can take my time and chew it over.
I'm struggling with where to start my review because there's so much I want to say and most of it is more suited to a discussion than a review.
Depicting the story of a fictional female Soviet fighter pilot in WWII, The Night Witches is horrifying but important. The Soviet Union had a group of female bombing crews who only flew at night. They flew noisy little planes that were easy for the Germans to prepare for because they could be heard from a great distance. The Soviet pilots quickly learned to cut their engines at an appropriate distance so they could glide over their targets in silence and drop their bombs on the unwitting Germans. The Germans called them The Night Witches.
After bravely serving their country in almost every military capacity, the Soviet women were told at the end of the war, "Do not talk about the services you rendered, let others do it for you. That will be better." And their service was almost forgotten. Books like this help us honor and remember the brave women who helped save their country and who paved the way for greater freedoms for the generations of women following them.
I'll avoid spoilers and only say that the timeline of the book covers the war and decades of life in the Soviet Union afterward. Anna's life isn't easy and the book itself could be a trigger for some, with very graphic depictions of war violence, war wounds, and almost unspeakable war crimes.
As I mentioned before, the book does have some problems. I lost track of the number of men who almost immediately fell in love with Anna. The first third of the book, the section that's also entitled "The Night Witches," alternates Anna's story with the story of a German soldier, Kurt Graf. I found Kurt's story particularly confusing. I couldn't understand which soldiers were fighting for which country and what the heck was going on. That's probably my fault for not paying more attention to uniforms or something, but I was pretty lost.
I felt that the relationships between Anna and the other women around her were pretty spot-on. They were very loyal to their friends, harsh to those they didn't like, and pretty blunt when checking out some of the men around them. There are no idealized "proper ladies" to be found here.
I particularly enjoyed the historical notes Ennis wrote at the end. I read a lot of WWII fiction, but I tend to read books set on the Western front that focus on civilians or concentration camp prisoners. I honestly had no idea that 27 million--you read that right, 27 million--Soviets died in the war. There are a lot more facts and figures that I didn't know, but they might get spoiler-y, so I'll stop there.
The group of women known as the Night Witches deserve to be honored and remembered, so, despite some flaws, I highly recommend this graphic novel for those who don't mind the raw violence it contains.
I'm struggling with where to start my review because there's so much I want to say and most of it is more suited to a discussion than a review.
Depicting the story of a fictional female Soviet fighter pilot in WWII, The Night Witches is horrifying but important. The Soviet Union had a group of female bombing crews who only flew at night. They flew noisy little planes that were easy for the Germans to prepare for because they could be heard from a great distance. The Soviet pilots quickly learned to cut their engines at an appropriate distance so they could glide over their targets in silence and drop their bombs on the unwitting Germans. The Germans called them The Night Witches.
After bravely serving their country in almost every military capacity, the Soviet women were told at the end of the war, "Do not talk about the services you rendered, let others do it for you. That will be better." And their service was almost forgotten. Books like this help us honor and remember the brave women who helped save their country and who paved the way for greater freedoms for the generations of women following them.
I'll avoid spoilers and only say that the timeline of the book covers the war and decades of life in the Soviet Union afterward. Anna's life isn't easy and the book itself could be a trigger for some, with very graphic depictions of war violence, war wounds, and almost unspeakable war crimes.
As I mentioned before, the book does have some problems. I lost track of the number of men who almost immediately fell in love with Anna. The first third of the book, the section that's also entitled "The Night Witches," alternates Anna's story with the story of a German soldier, Kurt Graf. I found Kurt's story particularly confusing. I couldn't understand which soldiers were fighting for which country and what the heck was going on. That's probably my fault for not paying more attention to uniforms or something, but I was pretty lost.
I felt that the relationships between Anna and the other women around her were pretty spot-on. They were very loyal to their friends, harsh to those they didn't like, and pretty blunt when checking out some of the men around them. There are no idealized "proper ladies" to be found here.
I particularly enjoyed the historical notes Ennis wrote at the end. I read a lot of WWII fiction, but I tend to read books set on the Western front that focus on civilians or concentration camp prisoners. I honestly had no idea that 27 million--you read that right, 27 million--Soviets died in the war. There are a lot more facts and figures that I didn't know, but they might get spoiler-y, so I'll stop there.
The group of women known as the Night Witches deserve to be honored and remembered, so, despite some flaws, I highly recommend this graphic novel for those who don't mind the raw violence it contains.
March 27, 2022
Thank you, Literature, for reminding me of the horrors of war. Most movies and television shows avoid dwelling on the human suffering by moving quickly from one scene to another. Reading a book allows the reader to absorb some of the impact.
Garth Ennis is a creative, entertaining storyteller whose book drifts a little into historical fantasy. In comic book style, he keeps drama at the forefront, highlighting both the human compassion and the inhuman brutality taking place during and after the war. This book is beautifully illustrated. Russ Braun, while skillfully depicting war action, keeps the faces in focus as he conveys the tenderness of emotion through his drawings. The panels appear perfectly colored by Tony Aviña, and Simon Bowland's lettering is exquisite.
I really enjoyed reading this compendium, despite the rough language and some sexual content. On the strength of the artwork, I rate the novel 4 stars.
Garth Ennis is a creative, entertaining storyteller whose book drifts a little into historical fantasy. In comic book style, he keeps drama at the forefront, highlighting both the human compassion and the inhuman brutality taking place during and after the war. This book is beautifully illustrated. Russ Braun, while skillfully depicting war action, keeps the faces in focus as he conveys the tenderness of emotion through his drawings. The panels appear perfectly colored by Tony Aviña, and Simon Bowland's lettering is exquisite.
I really enjoyed reading this compendium, despite the rough language and some sexual content. On the strength of the artwork, I rate the novel 4 stars.
March 28, 2022
"The Night Witches" is a historical fiction comic loosely based around the female Russian aviators of WW2. The comic is not great, but not terrible either. You get pages and pages of story that are focused on creating sympathy for nazi's. The author can't decide on how to characterize his female MC. The story and plot are somewhat interesting while also being outrageous enough to break my suspension of disbelief. I would be more critical of this if it wasn't a comic book.
Ultimately I think it would be more worth your time to just read about the historical Night Witches then read this.
Ultimately I think it would be more worth your time to just read about the historical Night Witches then read this.
January 7, 2026
This was really fantastic. I cried during the final encounter. Theres also an 11 page essay at the end by Ennis that gives more historical context and where he explains when he took fictional liberties, when characters or events were based on plausible versions of the reality, and when he was as accurate to the historical record as he could be.
I picked this up at the library thinking "Heck yeah, Garth Ennis. The Night Witches are rad. This will be a fun time." and instead I'll probably think about Anna forever.
I picked this up at the library thinking "Heck yeah, Garth Ennis. The Night Witches are rad. This will be a fun time." and instead I'll probably think about Anna forever.
November 6, 2022
I like this concept, Garth Ennis playing out the small aspects of WWII by inventing characters to take us through them. It's like having a memoir about something we might not be able to read a memoir about. It makes things more personal than "And on this day, they did this, which moved the line this direction, which was good/bad, and here's some troop numbers just to show you we did a bunch of research."
I'd pose that a high school history class would leave the students knowing a lot more if they just picked like 5 memoirs from/about historical figures and let the students go to town on it. At least they'd learn SOMETHING. I mean, Teapot Dome Scandal? What the fuck is that? Why do I remember that...okay, I looked it up. Boring.
Schools, you're welcome to use my curricula suggestion. For a very small fee. The Derk Education Framework is something I worked really hard on (just now), and I'd prefer to be compensated. What's that you say? This fee could deny an entire generation of students an improved education? Eh, I didn't get it. And I'm fine. Hell, I'm inventing educational systems over here.
I'd pose that a high school history class would leave the students knowing a lot more if they just picked like 5 memoirs from/about historical figures and let the students go to town on it. At least they'd learn SOMETHING. I mean, Teapot Dome Scandal? What the fuck is that? Why do I remember that...okay, I looked it up. Boring.
Schools, you're welcome to use my curricula suggestion. For a very small fee. The Derk Education Framework is something I worked really hard on (just now), and I'd prefer to be compensated. What's that you say? This fee could deny an entire generation of students an improved education? Eh, I didn't get it. And I'm fine. Hell, I'm inventing educational systems over here.
June 16, 2025
A graphic novel of the Night Witches, Soviet women to took to the skies to fight the Nazis. I enjoyed the first two chapters during the war, but the final chapter about the gulag and stealing a jet was more fanciful than I was expecting.
October 11, 2021
at first i was like "meh--a war comic?" but then i started reading & LOVED it. granted i am fascinated by russian history...& russian women are pretty kick ass.
October 7, 2022
"We liberated Europe from fascism, but they will never forgive us for it"
- Georgy Zhukov
- Georgy Zhukov
May 28, 2021
Good art and compelling story.
August 13, 2025
Ennis doesn’t miss.
I found out about Nacht Hexen from an article in an old MHQ quarterly journal when I was 12, and never expected to come across a lovely work of fiction about them. Great stuff, aside from how Ennis fridges every male character he can.
4/5.
I found out about Nacht Hexen from an article in an old MHQ quarterly journal when I was 12, and never expected to come across a lovely work of fiction about them. Great stuff, aside from how Ennis fridges every male character he can.
4/5.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 19, 2020
Find this and other reviews at: http://historicalfictionreader.blogsp...
My first thought on Garth Ennis’ The Night Witches was a question. Would the story fall closer to Kate Quinn’s The Huntress or Aimie K. Runyan’s Daughters of the Night Sky? My second thought was to chastise myself for assuming the three-volume collection would resemble either, but I suppose such comparison should be expected when one reads as much as I do.
Ennis’ The Night Witches is comprised of three volumes: The Night Witches, Motherland, and The Fall and Rise of Anna Kharkova. These books were initially released as standalone volumes 1, 6, and 8 in Ennis’ Battlefields Series and follow the experiences of their fictional heroine from 1942 to 1964. I am not familiar with the series, but I was delighted to discover Anna’s collective story published in a single release. Graphic novels often appear in segmented installments, but I felt this formatting allowed me to understand and appreciate Anna’s character development in a way I wouldn’t have if I’d been forced to track down each of the stories independently.
That out of the way, I caution readers from assuming the collection centers on the famed female Night Bomber Regiment. The first volume of the collection covers the tactical bombing techniques employed by the unit, as well as the impact of PTSD on both sides of the conflict. It is the most graphic of the collected volumes and presents fascinating questions about retaining humanity amid the carnage and violence of war. That said, it is the only volume to center on the Night Witches as Anna’s story extends beyond the unit’s existence.
Volume two tackles advances in both aircraft technology and warfare as well as sexism in the military. The impact of personal loss and PTSD also played a role in this volume, and I liked how it picked up on the themes of its predecessor. Though the story is very much centered on Anna, I found myself drawn to Colonel Golovyachev, Zoya, and Mouse. The supporting characters of volume one were interesting, but Ennis branches out in this installment, allowing the supporting cast to develop genuinely compelling arcs of their own.
Though I appreciated both volumes one and two of this collection, I admit volume three my favorite. Anna’s capture allowed Ennis to take the story to a Nazi prison camp, a detail I would have liked anyway but loved for its introduction of Chris Cohen, a character who singlehandedly expanded the political scope of the entire collection. Anna’s subsequent treatment by Soviet counterintelligence is equally illuminating, and I liked the political fluidity this episode illustrated between WWII and the Korean War. I admit that Anna’s return to captivity in a Siberian punishment camp during the finale scenes of the volume made hard reading, but even here, I was touched by what this chapter revealed about both Anna and Mouse.
My first thought on Garth Ennis’ The Night Witches was a question. Would the story fall closer to Kate Quinn’s The Huntress or Aimie K. Runyan’s Daughters of the Night Sky? My second thought was to chastise myself for assuming the three-volume collection would resemble either, but I suppose such comparison should be expected when one reads as much as I do.
Ennis’ The Night Witches is comprised of three volumes: The Night Witches, Motherland, and The Fall and Rise of Anna Kharkova. These books were initially released as standalone volumes 1, 6, and 8 in Ennis’ Battlefields Series and follow the experiences of their fictional heroine from 1942 to 1964. I am not familiar with the series, but I was delighted to discover Anna’s collective story published in a single release. Graphic novels often appear in segmented installments, but I felt this formatting allowed me to understand and appreciate Anna’s character development in a way I wouldn’t have if I’d been forced to track down each of the stories independently.
That out of the way, I caution readers from assuming the collection centers on the famed female Night Bomber Regiment. The first volume of the collection covers the tactical bombing techniques employed by the unit, as well as the impact of PTSD on both sides of the conflict. It is the most graphic of the collected volumes and presents fascinating questions about retaining humanity amid the carnage and violence of war. That said, it is the only volume to center on the Night Witches as Anna’s story extends beyond the unit’s existence.
Volume two tackles advances in both aircraft technology and warfare as well as sexism in the military. The impact of personal loss and PTSD also played a role in this volume, and I liked how it picked up on the themes of its predecessor. Though the story is very much centered on Anna, I found myself drawn to Colonel Golovyachev, Zoya, and Mouse. The supporting characters of volume one were interesting, but Ennis branches out in this installment, allowing the supporting cast to develop genuinely compelling arcs of their own.
Though I appreciated both volumes one and two of this collection, I admit volume three my favorite. Anna’s capture allowed Ennis to take the story to a Nazi prison camp, a detail I would have liked anyway but loved for its introduction of Chris Cohen, a character who singlehandedly expanded the political scope of the entire collection. Anna’s subsequent treatment by Soviet counterintelligence is equally illuminating, and I liked the political fluidity this episode illustrated between WWII and the Korean War. I admit that Anna’s return to captivity in a Siberian punishment camp during the finale scenes of the volume made hard reading, but even here, I was touched by what this chapter revealed about both Anna and Mouse.
August 21, 2020
Let's get out of the way that I'm a big fan of Garth Ennis and have been for a long time. I'm also firmly convinced he's the best current writer of war comics and that he's well worthy of being mentioned along with such greats as Harvey Kurtzman, Archie Goodwin and Pat Mills.
Here, Ennis and Russ Braun give us a look at the Russian female pilots that were dubbed The Night Witches by their Nazi adversaries. The story is told through the eyes of Anna Kharkova, a young pilot and follows her through the war in the South, to Poland and ultimately to the dark days after the war of Stalinist purges. Obviously this is fictionalized. And Ennis is writing for a largely American audience of comic book readers. I don't know the actual history here well enough to call him out about inaccuracies or to praise him for historical accuracy. And that's really the point. Ennis is giving his audience something that they likely don't know much or anything about. I'm pretty well versed in the history of World War II. But I can honestly say that I knew nothing about the Night Witches before reading this work. Which may say something American's failure to appreciate the Soviet Union's part in the second World War.
So while I find this to be a very well done comic, with fabulous art by Braun, it also can act as a jumping off point to look at some portions of history that not everyone has explored.
My thanks to Net Galley, the publisher and the author for a preview copy in exchange for my reviews.
Here, Ennis and Russ Braun give us a look at the Russian female pilots that were dubbed The Night Witches by their Nazi adversaries. The story is told through the eyes of Anna Kharkova, a young pilot and follows her through the war in the South, to Poland and ultimately to the dark days after the war of Stalinist purges. Obviously this is fictionalized. And Ennis is writing for a largely American audience of comic book readers. I don't know the actual history here well enough to call him out about inaccuracies or to praise him for historical accuracy. And that's really the point. Ennis is giving his audience something that they likely don't know much or anything about. I'm pretty well versed in the history of World War II. But I can honestly say that I knew nothing about the Night Witches before reading this work. Which may say something American's failure to appreciate the Soviet Union's part in the second World War.
So while I find this to be a very well done comic, with fabulous art by Braun, it also can act as a jumping off point to look at some portions of history that not everyone has explored.
My thanks to Net Galley, the publisher and the author for a preview copy in exchange for my reviews.
April 23, 2020
"Undetected, unexpected / Wings of glory, Tell their story / Aviation, deviation / Undetected, Stealth perfected"
Sabaton, Night Witches.
I was quite excited when I started the reading of The Night Witches. I already know the exploits of this all-female Soviet airplane regiment during World War 2, so I can say I know what I could like from this opera. I was not disappointed.
The history follows our Heroine, Anna Kharkova, from her humble beginning in an obsolete airplane till the end of the war and beyond, to my surprise. The character development is really well done, not only for the main character but also for all the other cast, from the first to the last. Even more, I like the approach the author chose for the most "technical parts", such as airplane's name and tactics. These are explained in a simple way, accessible to people who are unfamiliar with these technicalities while still enjoying for airplane enthusiast (like myself).
While the colouring is good (stark contrasts, muddy palette and so on), I'm not very sure about the drawing. Don' get me wrong, is a superb job (I know the struggle of Graphic novelists), but I did not quite like some parts (especially some of the more crowded panels with lots of planes and some characters faces).
What I did not like tough was the first part of the opera, with the costant shifting between the Soviet and German perspective. While it has its use for the narration, I find the implementation a little confusing, like it was a completely different Graphic Novel.
So, Shall I recommend it? Well, I can't for my classroom (the entire Opera deals with really mature subject, togheter with some strong visual), but it's still a really good opera. I could even see it adapted for a Hollywood movie, it will be awesome!
Sabaton, Night Witches.
I was quite excited when I started the reading of The Night Witches. I already know the exploits of this all-female Soviet airplane regiment during World War 2, so I can say I know what I could like from this opera. I was not disappointed.
The history follows our Heroine, Anna Kharkova, from her humble beginning in an obsolete airplane till the end of the war and beyond, to my surprise. The character development is really well done, not only for the main character but also for all the other cast, from the first to the last. Even more, I like the approach the author chose for the most "technical parts", such as airplane's name and tactics. These are explained in a simple way, accessible to people who are unfamiliar with these technicalities while still enjoying for airplane enthusiast (like myself).
While the colouring is good (stark contrasts, muddy palette and so on), I'm not very sure about the drawing. Don' get me wrong, is a superb job (I know the struggle of Graphic novelists), but I did not quite like some parts (especially some of the more crowded panels with lots of planes and some characters faces).
What I did not like tough was the first part of the opera, with the costant shifting between the Soviet and German perspective. While it has its use for the narration, I find the implementation a little confusing, like it was a completely different Graphic Novel.
So, Shall I recommend it? Well, I can't for my classroom (the entire Opera deals with really mature subject, togheter with some strong visual), but it's still a really good opera. I could even see it adapted for a Hollywood movie, it will be awesome!
May 11, 2020
“Who coins the name is a mystery. Night Witches. And we are children, lost in the woods.”
Iam not much of a history buff so the topic of the graphic novel wasn’t one I happened to be intimate with. The Night Witches was what the Germans called the all female Soviet bomber squadron during World War II. The graphic novel’s main character, Anna Borisnova Kharkova, was a member of this squad.
At first glance, the cover is quite striking. This was what drew me in initially. The second was that the writer was Garth Ennis. As an on-again-off-again comic book reader, his name was not unfamiliar to me. I’m a fan of some of his other works although I was not aware he wrote several history related graphic novels as well. Of course, a comic isn’t quite a comic without its artist and Russ Braun did a fantastic job with this one.
War is brutal—it’s something that should not be forgotten. This graphic novel did not sugarcoat it; as well it shouldn’t. It is bloody and graphic and depressing. But it tells a story based in history that is not so well known and presents it in a way that may be easier to consume than say a textbook. While the comic’s novels are not real people, the point is more that the story itself is not too far from the truth.
I found that Ennis’ afterword to be very insightful. It was actually one of my favorite parts of the entire volume. A peek at his research and his decisions in the story. I love hearing about an author’s process in any way.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dead Reckoning for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Iam not much of a history buff so the topic of the graphic novel wasn’t one I happened to be intimate with. The Night Witches was what the Germans called the all female Soviet bomber squadron during World War II. The graphic novel’s main character, Anna Borisnova Kharkova, was a member of this squad.
At first glance, the cover is quite striking. This was what drew me in initially. The second was that the writer was Garth Ennis. As an on-again-off-again comic book reader, his name was not unfamiliar to me. I’m a fan of some of his other works although I was not aware he wrote several history related graphic novels as well. Of course, a comic isn’t quite a comic without its artist and Russ Braun did a fantastic job with this one.
War is brutal—it’s something that should not be forgotten. This graphic novel did not sugarcoat it; as well it shouldn’t. It is bloody and graphic and depressing. But it tells a story based in history that is not so well known and presents it in a way that may be easier to consume than say a textbook. While the comic’s novels are not real people, the point is more that the story itself is not too far from the truth.
I found that Ennis’ afterword to be very insightful. It was actually one of my favorite parts of the entire volume. A peek at his research and his decisions in the story. I love hearing about an author’s process in any way.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dead Reckoning for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.
July 11, 2020
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy for review.
I don't usually write reviews for graphic novels, but here we go. First off I love the subject of this graphic novel. The Night Witches were a badass group of Russian women during WW2 that joined the fight, became fighter pilots, and terrorized the hell out of Germany. These women were insanely brave. They had old fighter planes so in order to avoid early detection they had to CUT THE ENGINES, glide into position, drop bombs, and then hightail it out before they were shot down. When all this was done Russia was all "Thanks, but also don't talk about this." These women are highly decorated veterans, and there is little to no attention paid to them. The authors did a great job of telling their story through characters loosely based on actual women.
The Night Witches follows. the rise and fall of Anna Kharkova. She joins up as a teenager, and quickly rises through the ranks. The authors do a great job of showing the camaraderie between the women, and their fight to be recognized. I liked the way they showed Anna go from a naive teen, to a battle scarred woman. The artwork is just amazing. I also liked that at the end they included a lot of their research and just more information on these women. I absolutely loved this, and if you have any interest in WW2, or the premise of women fighter pilots I definitely recommend picking this up.
I don't usually write reviews for graphic novels, but here we go. First off I love the subject of this graphic novel. The Night Witches were a badass group of Russian women during WW2 that joined the fight, became fighter pilots, and terrorized the hell out of Germany. These women were insanely brave. They had old fighter planes so in order to avoid early detection they had to CUT THE ENGINES, glide into position, drop bombs, and then hightail it out before they were shot down. When all this was done Russia was all "Thanks, but also don't talk about this." These women are highly decorated veterans, and there is little to no attention paid to them. The authors did a great job of telling their story through characters loosely based on actual women.
The Night Witches follows. the rise and fall of Anna Kharkova. She joins up as a teenager, and quickly rises through the ranks. The authors do a great job of showing the camaraderie between the women, and their fight to be recognized. I liked the way they showed Anna go from a naive teen, to a battle scarred woman. The artwork is just amazing. I also liked that at the end they included a lot of their research and just more information on these women. I absolutely loved this, and if you have any interest in WW2, or the premise of women fighter pilots I definitely recommend picking this up.
May 3, 2020
Set in World War 2 and following a group of female aviators who fly at night. This story highlights the sexism and oppressiveness of that era on women and the assumption that women will 'just get in the way' in times of war.
Prior to reading this, I wasn't aware of the Night Witches and I found this story informative and now have an awareness and respect for what these women did and how they contributed to the fight against the Nazis.
The dialogue in the beginning felt a bit clunky and disjointed, but quickly improved as the story progressed.
This comic does a great job of translating the seriousness and stark reality of war. It pulls no punches when it comes to the artwork which is brutal, violent and gory and what you would expect for a graphic novel featuring WWII. It reveals a truth that war breeds hatred and violence.
This comic really champions these women and what they had to endure as women in the soviet union during this time. I found it very educational, emotional and it has stayed with me and I think changed my perspective.
I would definitely recommend this graphic novel and give it 3 and a half stars.
Prior to reading this, I wasn't aware of the Night Witches and I found this story informative and now have an awareness and respect for what these women did and how they contributed to the fight against the Nazis.
The dialogue in the beginning felt a bit clunky and disjointed, but quickly improved as the story progressed.
This comic does a great job of translating the seriousness and stark reality of war. It pulls no punches when it comes to the artwork which is brutal, violent and gory and what you would expect for a graphic novel featuring WWII. It reveals a truth that war breeds hatred and violence.
This comic really champions these women and what they had to endure as women in the soviet union during this time. I found it very educational, emotional and it has stayed with me and I think changed my perspective.
I would definitely recommend this graphic novel and give it 3 and a half stars.
February 15, 2020
I think this was pretty good, but I also think that a comic format just wasn't the right choice for how this story was told. There's just so much going on here and so much history to get through. I get what Ennis was trying to do and I appreciate him trying to do it, but I also wish he just stuck to a single story-line rather than try to write a fictitious autobiography. And I think he somewhat understood this because he included a pretty long essay at the end of the comic explaining why he did what he did, but I dunno.
I did like it though, and it was entertaining and hard to read and pretty accurate.
The Night Witches were fucking badasses and I wish more people knew about them. When I first learned about them in college (yeah, I took a bunch of Japanese and Russian history classes), I couldn't believe I'd never heard of them before.
Seriously, though, if the Russians weren't on "our" side during WWII, we woulda been fuuuuuucked big time. Thank god that they saw comrades as both men and women and allowed women to fight during this war.
I did like it though, and it was entertaining and hard to read and pretty accurate.
The Night Witches were fucking badasses and I wish more people knew about them. When I first learned about them in college (yeah, I took a bunch of Japanese and Russian history classes), I couldn't believe I'd never heard of them before.
Seriously, though, if the Russians weren't on "our" side during WWII, we woulda been fuuuuuucked big time. Thank god that they saw comrades as both men and women and allowed women to fight during this war.
January 6, 2021
In Summary
The Night Witches is the fictional account of a female Soviet pilot during World War II. This book is not fodder for the lighthearted; it’s graphic in its depiction of World War II atrocities and the brutalities of the Soviet government. While the conclusion is improbable, the first two-thirds of the book is grounded in actual events and pays tribute to women’s achievements in the face of discrimination and incompetent leadership.
The Review
History, and war chronicles in particular, tend to omit or diminish the contributions of women. In recent years, there’s been a push to bring to light the forgotten stories of women in the military. Thus, we have The Night Witches, a graphic novel about female Soviet pilots who fought the Germans in World War II. The Night Witches, as Dead Reckoning Press presents it, is a collection of three 3-chapter graphic novels, all of which focus on the Soviet pilot Anna Kharkova. Like many historical works set to this era, Anna’s experiences aren’t based off those of a single person but are a compilation of the exploits of several individuals.
A word of warning. The Night Witches has no rating, but it is definitely in the 18+ category. The creators have not shied from showing war’s awfulness, so the pages contain graphic depictions of violence, disembowelment, and rape.
And a slightly different word of caution. The graphic novel offers no background for what’s happening. It simply begins with a German squad inside Russian borders, and Anna and her fellow female newbies arriving on a Soviet air base. Except for a couple date stamps, the text is entirely dialogue with a bit of internal monologue. Meaning we are limited to the knowledge and viewpoints of the characters. Thus, readers are expected to know who’s invading whom, the toll to date, and the political and social forces at work as a matter of course. They’re also expected to know war slang as well as weapons by nickname and name, and only rarely does the narrative hint at the broader scope of the conflict.
In short, if you’re not a World War II nerd, this graphic novel probably isn’t the best place to start learning about Soviet female pilots. However, if you’ve got at least some history under your belt, The Night Witches will bring to light lesser-known facets on historical events.
The first of the three works, The Night Witches, focuses on the parallel journeys of two new recruits, the German infantryman Kurt Graf and the Russian pilot Anna Kharkova. Although the two don’t meet until the third chapter, they’re constantly interacting throughout as Anna’s bomber regiment is tasked with harassing the German forces of which Kurt’s squad is a part. On Anna’s side, the creators do a pretty good job depicting the prejudices against the women and how their ingenuity allows them to hold their own despite their woefully obsolete equipment. The storytelling’s much more muddled on Kurt’s side. His squad members are introduced as a lengthy list of names applied to an indistinguishable group of men. When Kurt interacts with squad individuals during the story’s progression, I can’t recall who’s who. But while the German cast’s confusing and largely forgettable, the horrors and atrocities Kurt witnesses are not.
The second work, Motherland, begins with a now battle-hardened Anna transferring from her bomber unit to a fighter squad just before the Battle of Kursk. The Soviet strategy boils down to throwing soldiers at the Germans to overwhelm them by numbers, and that’s clearly illustrated by the pitifully young and untrained pilots assigned to Anna and the arrogant commissars who bear no compunction about sending poorly equipped soldiers to certain death. There is a lot of discussion about different aircraft in this arc, and because my knowledge of German and Russian planes is nil, most of this went over my head. Additionally, action in the massive ambush on Anna’s squad is very difficult to follow, although the illustrations do convey the battle’s epic scope.
The final installment, The Fall and Rise of Anna Kharkova, “lacks any direct historical precedent” (as admitted by the writer), and the latter half of its third chapter “very nearly qualifies as fantasy.” Although individual Russians certainly suffered as prisoners of war, stood before counterintelligence tribunals, supported North Koreans in the Korean War, and got condemned to punishment camps, it’s highly unlikely anyone experienced them all. In addition, Anna’s final ploy, though inspiring, is beyond the realm of possibility. What these chapters do illustrate, however, is the Soviet Union’s post-war activities and the evolution of their aircraft technology.
While I appreciate how this book celebrates the achievements of women in World War II and the Soviet Union, I wasn’t enamored of Anna as a heroine. She is depicted as big chested and adorably petite, and she’s the sole blonde among a cast of drab women. She winds up lover to her superior officer in The Night Witches, similarly catches the eye of her superior officer in Motherland, and despite suffering multiple injuries in a crash behind enemy lines, charms the guy attending her in the POW hospital with her beauty. (And none of these supposedly romantic encounters have the least bit of chemistry.) Having this Barbie doll as the female elite of elites makes her less a figure of inspiration for young girls and more of a male fantasy.
Extras include Afterword and a collection of sketches.
For more manga and book reviews, drop by my blog Keeping It In Canon!
The Night Witches is the fictional account of a female Soviet pilot during World War II. This book is not fodder for the lighthearted; it’s graphic in its depiction of World War II atrocities and the brutalities of the Soviet government. While the conclusion is improbable, the first two-thirds of the book is grounded in actual events and pays tribute to women’s achievements in the face of discrimination and incompetent leadership.
The Review
History, and war chronicles in particular, tend to omit or diminish the contributions of women. In recent years, there’s been a push to bring to light the forgotten stories of women in the military. Thus, we have The Night Witches, a graphic novel about female Soviet pilots who fought the Germans in World War II. The Night Witches, as Dead Reckoning Press presents it, is a collection of three 3-chapter graphic novels, all of which focus on the Soviet pilot Anna Kharkova. Like many historical works set to this era, Anna’s experiences aren’t based off those of a single person but are a compilation of the exploits of several individuals.
A word of warning. The Night Witches has no rating, but it is definitely in the 18+ category. The creators have not shied from showing war’s awfulness, so the pages contain graphic depictions of violence, disembowelment, and rape.
And a slightly different word of caution. The graphic novel offers no background for what’s happening. It simply begins with a German squad inside Russian borders, and Anna and her fellow female newbies arriving on a Soviet air base. Except for a couple date stamps, the text is entirely dialogue with a bit of internal monologue. Meaning we are limited to the knowledge and viewpoints of the characters. Thus, readers are expected to know who’s invading whom, the toll to date, and the political and social forces at work as a matter of course. They’re also expected to know war slang as well as weapons by nickname and name, and only rarely does the narrative hint at the broader scope of the conflict.
In short, if you’re not a World War II nerd, this graphic novel probably isn’t the best place to start learning about Soviet female pilots. However, if you’ve got at least some history under your belt, The Night Witches will bring to light lesser-known facets on historical events.
The first of the three works, The Night Witches, focuses on the parallel journeys of two new recruits, the German infantryman Kurt Graf and the Russian pilot Anna Kharkova. Although the two don’t meet until the third chapter, they’re constantly interacting throughout as Anna’s bomber regiment is tasked with harassing the German forces of which Kurt’s squad is a part. On Anna’s side, the creators do a pretty good job depicting the prejudices against the women and how their ingenuity allows them to hold their own despite their woefully obsolete equipment. The storytelling’s much more muddled on Kurt’s side. His squad members are introduced as a lengthy list of names applied to an indistinguishable group of men. When Kurt interacts with squad individuals during the story’s progression, I can’t recall who’s who. But while the German cast’s confusing and largely forgettable, the horrors and atrocities Kurt witnesses are not.
The second work, Motherland, begins with a now battle-hardened Anna transferring from her bomber unit to a fighter squad just before the Battle of Kursk. The Soviet strategy boils down to throwing soldiers at the Germans to overwhelm them by numbers, and that’s clearly illustrated by the pitifully young and untrained pilots assigned to Anna and the arrogant commissars who bear no compunction about sending poorly equipped soldiers to certain death. There is a lot of discussion about different aircraft in this arc, and because my knowledge of German and Russian planes is nil, most of this went over my head. Additionally, action in the massive ambush on Anna’s squad is very difficult to follow, although the illustrations do convey the battle’s epic scope.
The final installment, The Fall and Rise of Anna Kharkova, “lacks any direct historical precedent” (as admitted by the writer), and the latter half of its third chapter “very nearly qualifies as fantasy.” Although individual Russians certainly suffered as prisoners of war, stood before counterintelligence tribunals, supported North Koreans in the Korean War, and got condemned to punishment camps, it’s highly unlikely anyone experienced them all. In addition, Anna’s final ploy, though inspiring, is beyond the realm of possibility. What these chapters do illustrate, however, is the Soviet Union’s post-war activities and the evolution of their aircraft technology.
While I appreciate how this book celebrates the achievements of women in World War II and the Soviet Union, I wasn’t enamored of Anna as a heroine. She is depicted as big chested and adorably petite, and she’s the sole blonde among a cast of drab women. She winds up lover to her superior officer in The Night Witches, similarly catches the eye of her superior officer in Motherland, and despite suffering multiple injuries in a crash behind enemy lines, charms the guy attending her in the POW hospital with her beauty. (And none of these supposedly romantic encounters have the least bit of chemistry.) Having this Barbie doll as the female elite of elites makes her less a figure of inspiration for young girls and more of a male fantasy.
Extras include Afterword and a collection of sketches.
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