As a boy, Billy Bishop was a crack shot - he had a sharp eye and great aim. Nearly flunking out of Royal Military College in Kingston, he eagerly signed up for duty when the First World War broke out. Sent first to England, Bishop discovered his true love: the Royal Flying Corps. Up in the air, the fighting may have been "cleaner" - no trenches, no mud, no mustard gas - but it was extremely dangerous and difficult. In fact, most fighter pilots in the First World War would not shoot down even a single plane.
Bishop soon proved himself to be a fighter pilot with an unerring instinct for aerial combat. He practiced relentlessly and would never land his plane before firing off every bullet, diving on targets he'd set up beforehand. The practice paid off. Bishop racked up seventy-two officially confirmed victories and was awarded every major medal, including the Victoria Cross. By the end of the war, he was considered so valuable as a symbol of the war effort that Canadian authorities insisted he be grounded: his loss would have been devastating to all Canadians.
In this exciting new graphic novel, author and illustrator John Lang has unforgettably recreated Bishop's exciting wartime experiences.
John Lang is an award-winning illustrator and cartoonist. He has produced work for a wide variety of publications, including Time Magazine, Billboard, Business Week, and The Village Voice. He lives and works in Toronto with his wife, Sara, and their daughter, Emily.
