Peter Pan Goes To War With Heart!
I'll first start this review by saying I'm not much of a war story fan. In fact, I pretty much don't like reading about wars. The ones I read at least tend to get boring and too tectonically for me to keep interest. The comic book however is very different. What made me get the book in the first place was the fact it was Pater Pan in France during WWII. I thought it was a perfect set up. Once I started reading this, I saw why I don't like war stories as much. They tend to leave out the human characteristics of the characters making them more heroes then humans. Peter Panzerfaust is clearly for those who what the human side to a war.
Part One of the Deluxe Edition I thought was a little confusing at first as to what was actually happening. It wasn't until a few pages I was finally realizing the writing style was different compared to other comic I've read. Where you start in present day, go back to the past, and keeps jumping back and forth similar to how Watchmen is set up. I liked it though because it was unique and clever for this book. It was nice to see the ways Wiebe used the Peter Pan myth in the comic as well. Like all the characters are there and you know who they are if you got the clues, but there not the same character. Wiebe made them his own which I like when people do that.
Part Two of the Deluxe Edition the story line was easy to follow because you expected stuff from the first part. However, this one showed Tiger Lilly kicking some Nazi butt. It the original books I never cared too much for Tiger Lilly, she seems a little boring to me, but with Panzerfaust they gave her an attitude I liked. We also saw more of Hook in this part as well, a darker take on the beloved villain. I never really cared for hook in the books, so I'm glad this book fixed him up a bit. The one character I'm waiting to see though is Tinker Bell. She's only briefly shown and mentioned, but seems to have an interesting storyline.
Looking at this book for the first art, I have to admit I wasn't that big of a fan of the art. It seemed too simple for me. Now that I read the comic, it works really well with the story. The story is simple, yet very complex with human emotions and storytelling. The art rather reminds me of a dark version of Tintin stuff as well, which is a plus. I'm looking forward to seeing more from Jenkins.
Overall, if you like war stories and Peter Pan then this is recommend. If you like one over the other, like how I was, then you should still check this out still. It gave me the feel of my grandpa telling war stories both the good stuff and the bad stuff. I would really recommend this book though if you're looking for more human-like characters in a comic book.