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The DC War Comics 1959-1976 by Corporals Enfantino and Seabrook |
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| Kubert |
"They Came From Shangri-La!"
Story and Art by Joe Kubert
"Flaming Bait!"
(Reprinted from Our Army at War #153, April 1965)
Peter: After the Japanese score a string of "knockouts" (Luzon, Manila, Bataan, and Corregidor), the U.S. government decides it must make a big statement, a punch to rattle the Japanese and make them think they're vulnerable again. The government contacts a mystery man (we'll call him "The Unknown Soldier" but act like we don't know yet, okay?) at his estate just outside Washington, D.C. The man goes to work, applying make-up to his shadowy face and, once he's pleased with the results, he hops a plane bound for Japan. On a battleship in the Pacific, the mystery man rendezvous with a special team assembled to aid in his attack. The team bombs the hell out of Japan and then heads into the Chinese mainland to meet up with guerrillas. Their B-25, out of fuel, skims to a halt and is immediately attacked by Japanese soldiers. The plane is destroyed but the "mystery man" and his surviving crew escape into the woods, eventually running into the Chinese guerrillas. Wary of the newcomers, one of the rebels, a giant of a man, picks up our "unknown soldier" and attempts to pummel him, but the special training that the American has had pays off and he defeats the behemoth, convincing the guerrillas that he is who he says he is. The men are taken to a Chinese palace where they are hailed as heroes. Our man from Washington slips away before anyone can ask too many questions. Back home, he strips off his make-up and visits the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Jack: I also remember reading the Unknown Soldier in the '70s--in fact, it was the only war comic I ever read on a regular basis. This first story doesn't seem much like what I remember, though it is interesting and the art is Kubert at his best. As so often happens, reading the story led me to Google the date of the raid on Japan and to learn a little bit about the Doolittle Raid, which was a real event. One of these days I'll read a history of WWII and then watch out!
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| Kubert |
"Stone-Age War"
Story and Art by Joe Kubert
"The Last Soldier"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito
"The Idiot"
Story and Art by Sam Glanzman
Jack: Easy Co. is trapped on a rocky mountain pass by Nazi tanks when Rock tells his men about a "Stone-Age War," reminding them of how prehistoric man used his brains to figure out how to take advantage of his environment to defeat much larger mastodons. Lesson learned, tanks beaten! A Nazi plane attacks and, after Rock tells a story of cavemen tricking a pterodactyl, Jackie uses his empty uniform to pull a similar stunt and the plane is shot down. Finally, as elite SS troopers approach, Rock reminds his men of the way prehistoric man made a stand against a T-Rex and, next thing you know, Easy Co. has beaten back a superior force. The men tend to their wounds as Rock reminds them that battles are not always won.
What a chore this story was to read. I guess Joe Kubert was in a "Tor" mood this month, because Rock is half-Tor on the cover and there are quite a few dinosaurs in the story. It follows a familiar pattern and is boring by the end, not to mention the fact that humans and dinosaurs were not around at the same time in the distant past.
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| "Stone-Age War" |
In the future, New York City stands in ruins and "The Last Soldier" fights on against an army of robots. When he shoots the head off of one of the metal men, he is compelled to repair it, driven by a lifelong mania to fix things. Once fixed, the robot joins him in his fight and they are together when both are killed by more robot soldiers.
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| "The Last Soldier" |
At the April 1945 battle of Okinawa, "The Idiot!" is a Japanese kamikaze plane that destroys an American ship in an attack destined to be one of the final battles of the war.
Wisely staying away from drawing people, Sam Glanzman turns in some fine work in this four-page study of planes and ships that doesn't have a plot but is nonetheless enjoyable.
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| "The Idiot!" |
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| Kubert |
"Checkpoint---Death!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Russ Heath
"The Garbage Hero"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Sam Glanzman
"The Last Survivors!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Russ Heath
Peter: While assisting in a grueling battle with Nazi Tigers, the Jeb Stuart is called away by their CO to cover Checkpoint Able. Though none too happy, Commander Jeb Stuart gives the order and the Haunted Tank arrives at the mountain to discover a grim sight--Checkpoint Able has become "Checkpoint---Death!" The entire squad has been wiped out and, if the enemy finds out, the pass becomes an open highway for enemy troops. While the Jeb heads out on recon, a freak snowstorm hits and buries the tank in a sea of white. Commander Stuart rises from the tin can to spy a frightening sight: Nazis dressed in snowsuits waiting to blow the Haunted Tank to Hell. The Jeb puts up a good fight but the motor freezes and the men have to wait it out like frozen sardines. The Germans surround the Jeb, waiting for the men to abandon ship. Realizing they'll freeze to death, Jeb tries a last-chance maneuver by pouring fuel on the front of the tank and igniting it. The blaze restarts the engine and the boys are able to escape back to Checkpoint Able. The sun breaks through the clouds, the snow melts, and the Haunted Tank is able to shore up Able again. I like how Slim asks Jeb if the ghostly General (seen in only two panels this issue) could maybe give the boys a hand when they're in deep doo-doo. I think it's about time to let the others in on the knowledge that the spectre isn't just Jeb going off his rocker again. Though I liked this adventure, I'd question what got accomplished. The boys head out on recon, are ambushed, and then escape. They don't defeat the Nazis so the rat bastards are still out there, ostensibly heading for Able at some point. Good action, though, and presented flawlessly.
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| "Checkpoint---Death!" |
Super-letter-hack Gary Skinner (who must have had a letter in just about every issue of the war comics) reads my mind and calls Joe out on the fact that the General sure is scarce in the Haunted Tank strip. Joe cops out by claiming that the General is around even when the readers, like the crew of the HT, can't see him.
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| Some more Heath goodness from "Checkpoint---Death!" |
Jack: I love the battle in the snowstorm in the Haunted Tank story and agree that Heath is at the top of his game here, but how in the world does the Haunted Tank survive that amount of gunfire from up close, including a broadside shot from a bazooka? If it were Sgt. Rock and Easy Co. firing, that tank would have been blown sky-high. Heath's art in the third story is not quite up to the level of his work on the Haunted Tank this time around, and the ending is another downbeat one that reflects the mood of the Vietnam era when this issue was published. The middle story shows why Sam Glanzman was better when not drawing stories involving people, and I thought the writing by Haney was surprisingly poor, with more than the usual amount of racist barbs.
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| Kubert |
"Daughters of Death!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito
"Too Much G.I.!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Russ Heath
(Reprinted from All-American Men of War #60, August 1958)
"The Browning Shot"
Story and Art by Sam Glanzman
Jack: Gunner and Sarge rescue a professor from the Nazis and row him out to a submarine where Johnny Cloud and Captain Storm are supposed to be waiting with his daughters, who also had been held prisoner. On arrival at the sub, however, they discover that the Nazis still have the "Daughters of Death!" so the Losers must head back into occupied France to track them down and return them to their father, who possesses important information about Nazi secret codes.
Captain Storm relates the story about how he rescued daughter Jeanne, only to lose her when a road mine blew them out of a jeep as they were escaping. Johnny Cloud tells a similar story of rescuing daughter Simone only to lose her when he ran into a tree snare, falling victim to an old Indian trick. As soon as story time ends, the Losers are discovered by members of the French Underground, who tell the Losers where to find the girls. The Losers then position themselves in the road where they are found by Nazis. The Losers surrender and are taken to see S.S. Commander Von Krull, who tries to beat out of them the location of the professor.
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| Calm down, Simone! |
The Losers suddenly fight back, overpowering the Nazis and rescuing the girls. Speeding off in a truck stolen from their captors, the Losers see to it that the Professor and the girls are reunited, only to find that all of the excitement and stress have caused the man to forget the Nazi codes!
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| 1958 Heath |
When a new recruit is weighed down with all of the supplies he'll need to fight and survive in the field, he quickly finds he's "Too Much G.I.!" Piece by piece, he sheds his equipment and comes to learn that one bullet in the right spot is worth fifty that miss the target. This 12-year-old reprint by Haney and Heath is enjoyable but shows how different the DC war backup stories have become over the years.
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| "The Browning Shot" |
Peter: The new war team spends so much time whining and reminding us they're "losers" that there's not much space left for a plot. Haven't we already seen the scientist with the daughter plot anyway? Until we get some real scripts and art that doesn't bring to mind Archie and Jughead, the real "losers" are the readers. I do like the Eisner-esque look Joe is bringing to the covers though. "Too Much G.I.!" is a decent read, nothing special other than the Heath art. "The Browning Shot" proves that these U.S.S. Stevens short-shorts are going to be a lot of fun, like interesting lectures, rather than stories, but focusing on fascinating tidbits about World War II Navy life and tactics.
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| Kubert |
"Hang-Up!"
Story by Joe Kubert
Art by Russ Heath
"The Butcher, the Baker . . . the Desolation Maker!"
Story Uncredited
Art by Fred Ray
Jack: A new member of Easy Co. named Smitty has a "Hang-Up!" that gets in the way of his fighting successfully--he's scared! Easy Co. is trapped in a fire-gutted town hall with Nazis surrounding them on the outside. Rock tells Smitty about the hang-ups of three key members of the unit: Ice Cream Soldier couldn't stand the heat while fighting in North Africa, Bulldozer thought he was a one-man fighting machine when he first joined the unit, and Rock is compelled to collect dog tags from any Easy Co. soldier killed in combat. These inspiring stories help Smitty to get over his own problems and Easy Co. fights its way out of another bad situation.
Even though this story is yet another one where Sgt. Rock tells stories to get through a quagmire, the tales are reasonably interesting and Heath does a nice job with the illustrations.
Eben Dwayne is a poorly-treated indentured servant during the Revolutionary War who longs to escape his servitude, which seems more like slavery due to ill treatment by his master, Rod Druce. Cruel British Colonel Banastre Tarleton visits the inn where Eben works and treats him even more poorly than does his master, so Eben escapes, making his way through the swamps until he finds colonial soldiers led by Colonel William (not George) Washington.
Eben tips off the rebel army to Tarleton's whereabouts and the Battle of the Cowpens ensues, in which the British are routed and Eben saves Col. Washington from being slaughtered by Tarleton. As a reward, Washington vows to make Eben his personal cook.
"The Butcher, the Baker . . . the Desolation Maker!" is a very entertaining story in spite of the mediocre art by Fred Ray. These little history lessons work so much better with a bit of character development, and the story of Eben is believable.
Peter: Learning the "origins" of Ice Cream Man and Bulldozer is a plus but the bulk of "Hang-Up!" is pretty schmaltzy. Smitty seemingly has two lines ("I'm no good to anyone. Get rid of me!") and he runs those into the ground. I know Jack prefers Kubert on this strip but I'm on the fence. Heath is just so good and he's finally getting the Rock "look" down so it's a win/win situation with Kubert and Heath. I liked the second story much better but the art is just so damned ugly it's hard to look at. Mrs. Helen Wright gets "letter of the month" award for reminding us that girls (even ones that are married and don't wear Red Sonja costumes) like funny books. On that same page, Kubert relates how he met John Wayne on the set of The Green Berets and notes the similarities between the Duke and the Sarge.
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| Next Week... The boys analyze and dissect the great literary achievement known as . . . SHERMLOCK SHOMES! |
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| N.P.P.? Has anyone seen that used in place of DC before? |
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