Star Spangled DC War Stories Issue 142: October 1973

The DC War Comics
1959-1976
by Corporals Enfantino and Seabrook

George Evans

Weird War Tales 18

"Captain Dracula"
Story by Arnold Drake
Art by Tony DeZuniga

"Whim of a Phantom!"
Story by Sheldon Mayer
Art by Gerry Talaoc

Peter: Captain Paul Black rolls his tank right up to the steps of Castle Nero and meets the lovely Angela, "mistress of the castle," who bids him welcome. Strangely, Paul feels as though he's seen the castle before, even though he'd never been to Italy until the war broke out. Angela asks Paul to stay at the castle with her and he agrees but then has second thoughts after a visit from the local priest. The padre enters the mansion but is rebuffed by Angela, who throws up her hands to ward off the sight of the priest's crucifix. Shortly after, a nice dinner between Angela and Paul is interrupted by Colonel Schlosser, the dirty Nazi who was stationed in the castle before the Allies arrived.

Hammer time!

Schlosser reveals himself to be a vampire but is dispatched with a wooden arrow shot by Angela. The beauty then turns her attentions back to Paul, who seems to be under the girl's spell. Angela bites Paul and turns him into one of the Undead; Paul then drives a wooden stake through the mistress's heart. Even though he's now a vampire, Paul realizes he's got it made, with a battlefield ripe with prey. He takes advantage of the German blood until Patton orders the night patrols ceased, which drives the G.I. vampire into a frenzy. He kills one of his own men and, fleeing, falls upon a giant wooden cross. The terror of "Captain Dracula" has ended. Typical shudder pulp nonsense from writer Arnold Drake, "Captain Dracula" pinballs from scene to scene without much cohesion or logic and is at least five or six pages too long. Tony DeZuniga's art is nice enough but he relies a tad too much on "inspiration" from Hammer movie stills.

Paging Christopher Lee!

"Whim of a Phantom!"

A German colonel can't stand his general and makes plans to blow him to kingdom come when they roll into a small French village, but a ghost materializes before him and convinces the colonel of a far better plan. Unfortunately for our not-so-bright colonel, the spirit ends up being the ghost of Napoleon and the loser is the colonel. The bottom-half of the double-bill really is the bottom, an almost indecipherable script made tolerable only by Gerry Talaoc's creepy graphics. Eighteen issues in and we're starting to see a dearth of original ideas.

Jack: Arnold Drake's clunky and obvious "Captain Dracula" is brought to life by DeZuniga's gorgeous art, using shadows and what look like movie still swipes to create visual excitement. As for "Whim of a Phantom!," I like Gerry Talaoc's style but dragging out Napoleon again is one time too many.

Kubert

Star Spangled War Stories 174

"Operation Snafu!"
Story by Frank Robbins
Art by Jack Sparling

"King of the Hill"
Story and Art by Sam Glanzman

The Unknown Soldier receives his latest mission orders from none other than Gen. Omar Bradley himself; US is to fly in to Antwerp with his crack demolition team, infiltrate and impersonate the Ratzis, and destroy a huge cache of weapons stashed in a castle there. The Opposition forces are to be notified of the deception so there are no cases of mistaken identity, but "Brussels Sprout," the Opposition's ear, is taken prisoner by the Nazis before she can get word out on "Mission Scuttle." After the Soldier and his team steal a German tank and roll it into Antwerp, they come up against a band of resistance fighters who open fire on them. US manages to evade the attack without any casualties and the tank rolls up to the castle. Unbeknownst to both our hero and the resistance, "Sprout" (aka Yvette) has been stretched on the rack by Nazi scum deep in the bowels of the castle and the rest of the resistance has entered the catacombs below and rigged it with TNT Popsicles, assuming Yvette to have gone to her grave without uttering a word. Far above, the Unknown Soldier and his men have found the weapon stash and set their own TNT cigars. What will become of poor "Brussels Sprout?" Tune in to Part 2 next issue!

I've had nothing but bad stuff to say about story and art on this title since Joe Kubert headed for the hills twelve issues ago. I'm happy to say "Operation Snafu!" is the best chapter in the saga of the Unknown Soldier since the new regime took over. It's an exciting and multi-layered story, one that rushes to a climax right out of a serial: girl on the rack, explosives above, explosives below, Nazis everywhere! Who would have thought Frank Robbins could conjure up a story so fast-moving, you never have a chance to slow down and look at the ugly art? Well, okay, I should be a little more fair; it's only ugly when Sparling has to tackle something that walks erect. The machines and backgrounds are just fine. Anyway, for the first time in a looooong time, I can't wait to see how our bandaged die-hard manages to save the girl and still blow the big guns to hell.

"Operation Snafu!"

"King of the Hill"

We also get a longer-than-usual USS Stevens installment (5 rather than the usual 4 pages), "King of the Hill," which starts out as a comedy but turns very dark before story's end. The USS Stevens stops in Borneo for some repair work and restocking of ammo. The boys are accused by the base's supply sergeant of stealing crates of food but the real culprit turns out to be an ape. One of the base's Marines catches the monkey red-pawed and decides to have some fun with the animal, but the chimp turns vicious and kills the man. Sam Glanzman has a way of defying expectations with his USS Stevens serial, and "King of the Hill" is one of the most audacious yet.

Jack: I'm glad you enjoyed these stories because I thought they were pretty bad. I had a hard time caring what happened in "Operation Snafu!" with all of the ugly art, but I'll admit things did perk up a bit when we got to the panel with the Fraulein stretched out on the rack. I have so had it with the USS Stevens saga and Sam Glanzman's poor art that I found myself rooting for the ape. I think the soldier got what he deserved.

Kubert

Our Army at War 261

"The Medal That Nobody Wanted!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Russ Heath
(Reprinted from Our Army at War 178, March 1967)

"Today is Tomorrow"
Story and Art by Sam Glanzman

Jack: This issue starts off with a reprint of "Only 1 Medal for Easy!" from 1967. The original story was drawn by Russ Heath, but editor Joe Kubert drew two new half-pages to fill in the spaces where DC used to run house ads at the end of part one and part two of the lead stories--the new Kubert half-pages are reproduced below and don't match the circa-1967 Heath art on the rest of the story.

Kubert's first new half-page ends what had been part one.

Kubert's second new half-page ends the story.

Hiroi Keise was one of the Japanese pilots who bombed Pearl Harbor and, almost four years later, he is still flying bombing missions. Two of his friends are sacrificed on a Kamikaze mission but he gets a two-day pass and goes home to his family in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.

"Today is Tomorrow"

Sam Glanzman's art is never going to impress me but once in a while he writes a decent vignette. "Today is Tomorrow" is one of those times. It has a humanistic message that respects the dignity of an enemy fighter and the ironic ending is in keeping with DC's message to "Make War No More."

Peter: "The Medal That Nobody Wanted!" is about as predictable and lightweight as they come; it's almost like a variation on an Abbott and Costello routine that we've seen countless times before. There's nothing lightweight about Sam Glanzman's latest USS Stevens installment, which is pretty darn good. Is that really the Stevens we see sunk by the Japanese pilot and will we see the follow-up of this event?

Kubert

G.I. Combat 165

"The Waiting Game"
Story by Archie Goodwin
Art by Sam Glanzman

"Truce!"
Story by Don Karr
Art by Adolfo Buylla

"Pathfinder"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Ken Barr

With the Jeb Stuart stuck just off shore, Commander Jeb Stuart and his boys must play "The Waiting Game" until the tide rolls out and exposes the tin can. While they're bored and waiting, they recall another time, in Belgium, when they had to wait out a Tiger in a bombed-out village. Luck was with them that day as the Tiger rolled over a land mine that the Jeb would have encountered had they not waited. Those of you who feel I'm being skimpy on my synopsis this week may be surprised to learn that "The Waiting Game" runs a mere six pages, giving Archie only enough time to get the boys out of their beach predicament. Archie explains on the letters page that an illness prevented him from getting the script to Sam in time. He also apologizes for Kubert's cover, which has nothing to do with the script inside.

"The Waiting Game"

"Truce!"

Four years into the Civil War and just about everyone was ready to go home. A small band of Rebs come across an equally small group of Yankees, both sides gutted by war, and decide to declare a "Truce!" Each side swears they won't fire upon until fired upon and the truce holds until the higher-ups arrive and declare truces to be tantamount to treason. A nicely told, ironic short story (with maybe one coincidence that makes you roll your eyes) with sharp dialogue and eye-catching art by newcomer Adolfo Buylla. If "Truce!" is the consequence of a shorter Haunted Tank story this issue, then I says give us more Haunted Tank vignettes.

The "Pathfinder" performed a very important (and dangerous) task in WWII: to mark targets for the bombers. Neal feels as though he'll never grow into a great pathfinder like his brother, John, but is it because the siblings work so closely together? The pair are summoned to high command and given a thankless mission: French Underground leaders have been captured by the Nazis and taken to an SS interrogation building, The men must be killed before they can leak vital information. Neal and John volunteer for the mission and head for the skies but John is killed before he can mark the building. Without their pathfinder, the bombers are helpless but, when the bomber Neal is flying is shot down, he uses himself as a marker.

"Pathfinder"

A supremely stirring piece of story-telling, with an absolute shocker of a climax, "Pathfinder" is bound to be my Best Story of 1973. I've said it before and I'll say it again, aside from a few stray turkeys, Bob Kanigher's Gallery of War is the best series of war stories published since the EC days and deserves to be bound between hard covers. It's not just the writing that's stellar; Ken Barr is the best artist of the month not named Russ. There's a crackling authenticity and reality to Barr's work (very reminiscent of Heath, by the way) that grips you and keeps you turning those pages. This is the good stuff!

Jack: I agree 100%! I thought the Haunted Tank story was a real cheat, though six pages of Glanzman is better than 13 pages of Glanzman. "Truce!" has slightly better art and is a decent tale of men on the front lines trying to avoid needless killing. I really enjoyed "Pathfinder" and was worried that it was just looking good in comparison to the stories that preceded it, but I think you're right--this is one of the best stories we've seen lately. Barr's art is refreshing and Kanigher does not shy away from a very dark finale.

Grandenetti
(from Our Army at War 57, April 1957)

Four Star Battle Tales 4

"Silent Gun!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Joe Kubert
(Reprinted from Our Army at War #57, April 1957)

"Patrol to Nowhere!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Mort Drucker
(Reprinted from Our Army at War #79, February 1959)

"Frogman's Treasure!"
Story by Ed Herron
Art by Russ Heath
(Reprinted from Our Army at War #30, January 1955)

Jack: Sam and Vic are all that's left of B Company and they have to hold Hornet's Hill in Korea! They hold off the oncoming Chinese soldiers with bullets from a .50 caliber until it runs out and is the "Silent Gun!" They hold off the next assault with their rifles but, when those also run out of ammo, Sam leads Vic down the hill where they use Chinese grenades to wreak havoc and grab enough belts of ammo to return to their position and start firing again with the .50!

"Silent Gun!"

After a very weak month of new stories, it sure was refreshing to read a classic by Bob Kanigher and Joe Kubert and remember what made the DC War comics good in the first place. No worries about making war no more in this reprint from 1957--it's all shooting, all the time in the Korean War and there are no shades of grey. Heck, that's a really sharp cover by Jerry Grandenetti, too!

A soldier new to desert warfare finds himself on a "Patrol to Nowhere!" He shoots at a mirage and is chewed out by his sergeant, but subsequent sights that include marching Nazis, a Nazi car, and a Nazi tank are no mirage, and the soldier succeeds in destroying one and all.

"Patrol to Nowhere!"

Mort Drucker's gritty art is always welcome in our treehouse, and this six-pager from '59 is a delight from start to finish.

A phantom Nazi sub is sinking Allied merchant ships and a frogman is sent down into the deep to see what's going on. He finds "Frogman's Treasure!" in the form of a sunken galleon but has to work hard to destroy not one but two Nazi subs that are being guided through underwater mines by their own frogmen. Sadly, the treasure is buried beyond recovery when the subs are destroyed.

"Frogman's Treasure!"

Peter will be thrilled to see vintage Russ Heath in this fast-moving six-pager from '55. The art is superb and this issue is a better value than any of the new DC War comics issued with a cover date of October 1973.

Peter: Though all three oldies contain great art, only "Frogman's Treasure!" had a story that kept my interest. The problem, I think, with so many of these reprints is that they tell, basically, the same story over and over. A guy (or in the case of "Silent Gun!," two guys) beats insurmountable odds to walk out of the TNT smoke the victor. At least with "Frogman," you get a bit of a twist in the end when the treasure hunter does the right thing but buries his treasure forever. I'd certainly consider re-titling this book, Two Star Battle Tales.

Next Week . . .
The Boys Mourn the Loss of Piracy!