In 1916 Charley Bourne lies about his age to enlist and fight on the battlefields of France. After rescuing his brother, Wild, from certain death during the Third Battle of Ypres, he is caught up in the British Army Mutiny at the Étaples training camp. Now, in December 1917, he returns to the Western Front where unbeknownst to him, he will soon come into close contact with one of modern history's most notorious figures...

Charley's War: Hitler's Youth is the eight graphic novel release in the series. In this new volume of never-before-collected comic strip, Charley comes face to face with a young corporal who will eventually change the face of the world as leader of the Nazi party: Adolf Hitler. Sadly though, unlike the earlier volumes, it doesn't mention that this is the eighth volume, or the dates of the war it covers.

This collection follows two main story arcs. Firstly there's Charley's experiences in the trenches, where he and his men are fighting against a troop of Nazi's, one of whom is a young Adolf Hitler. The second story follows Charlie's younger brother Wilf and his time in the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) as a RFC observer.

This collection opens with a six page feature, Hitler and the First World War, which attempts to put the real life involvement of Hitler's activities in WWI into perspective. This is an interesting feature which certainly helps as background reading before the comic strip. There's a seven-page Strip Commentary by Pat Mills that explains some of the facts that were included in the strip, as well as further reading suggestions.

This is another cracking collection of stories that are beautifully illustrated.

9

Pete Boomer