Star-Spangled DC War Stories! Part 1: June 1959

by Corporals Seabrook & Enfantino

Grandenetti

Our Army at War 83

"The Rock and the Wall!"
Story by Bob Kanigher
Art by Joe Kubert

"Flying Baby Sitter!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito

"The D-Day Sun!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Mort Drucker

PE: Though this is obviously not the first issue of Our Army At War, our study of DC war comics begins here at OAAW #83 because of the landmark story, "The Rock and The Wall," the first chapter in the ongoing saga of Sergeant Rock of Easy Company. Rock had actually appeared in stories in the two previous issues but only as background and mouthing an occasional grunt. The stories, which introduced Easy Company as well, were written by Bob Haney and illustrated by Ross Andru and Mort Drucker, whereas most of the Rock stories from here on out would be written by Robert Kanigher. In addition, a "prototype" of Rock (simply called "The Rock") appeared in a story in OAAW #68 (March 1958). It's hard to imagine Rock not drawn by Joe Kubert, with that three-day stubble and generally unkempt, un-military look. He's the Average Joe in everything but deeds. In this initial installment, we're introduced to not only The Rock but "The Wall," a new recruit who's a touch too arrogant but manages to back up that arrogance with action. In your typical comic book story, a mouthy character is introduced seemingly only to be set up for the inevitable fall. Not here, though, as "The Wall" continues to amaze the soldiers around him even while acting the smart-aleck. His continual prods at the Sarge ("So that's the Rock, huh? He don't look so tough!") are met with belligerence but the two begrudgingly acknowledge each other's prowess in the explosive climax. I'm not sure we'll ever see "The Wall" as a character in this strip again but I'm hoping to be introduced to the other men of Easy Co. before too long.

Jack: "The Rock and the Wall" is an excellent story with art by Joe Kubert in which Sgt. Rock shows why he's a revered leader of men. "The D-Day Sun!" has nice art and a standard story about the preparations in the minutes and hours before D-Day.

PE: Our Army at War doesn't have the maddening history of Star-Spangled War Stories or G.I. Combat. Its first issue (numbered 1) was published by DC in August 1952 and featured Robert Kanigher's first DC war story, "Dig Your Foxhole Deep," with art by Irv Novick and Bernard Sachs.

"The Rock and the Wall!"

Kubert

G.I. Combat 73

"Window War!"

Story by Robert Kanigher

Art by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito

"Floating Pilot!"

Story by Hank Chapman

Art by Russ Heath

"The Big Fist!"

Story by Bob Haney

Art by Bob Forgione and Jack Abel

PE: G.I. Combat was first published by Quality Comics (43 issues from October 1952 through December 1956). The transition from Quality to DC must have been a smooth one as DC's first issue, #44, came out the following month (January 1957).

Jack: In "Window War!" a young G.I. learns how windows of different kinds can be dangerous in wartime.

PE: "Floating Pilot" details the terrors experienced by a pilot forced to ditch his Corsair in the sea. Our hero must deal with a PT boat, sharks, and a particularly ornery MIG fighter armed only with emergency gear. Knowing that airmen had to deal with these possibilities every time they gassed up and hit the skies makes the yarn that much more harrowing. What kind of man is able to face this kind of pressure and close that cockpit time and again? I've a feeling I'll be asking that question over and over during our tenure. When I began researching the DC war titles, one artist's name kept surfacing: Russ Heath. I was familiar with the work Heath did, later in his career, for Warren (his "Process of Elimination," written by Bruce Jones, in Creepy #83 is a wild and unpredictable apocalypse tale) so I'm looking forward to delving into a different aspect of the artist's oeuvre.

"Window War!"

Grandenetti

Our Fighting Forces 46

"Gunner's Choice!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Jerry Grandenetti

"Frogman Out of Water!"
Story by Hank Chapman
Art by Russ Heath

"Battle Funnel!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito

PE: The first issue of Our Fighting Forces was dated October-November 1952.

Jack: "Gunner's Choice!" is a Gunner and Sarge story that shows what happens when Gunner wants to land an easy assignment. "Battle Funnel!" concerns a very narrow area that two soldiers have to open so the rest of the army can get through.

PE: "Gunner and Sarge" (and Pooch), created by Robert Kanigher and Jerry Grandenetti, debuted in the previous issue of OFF and would continue until #94 (August 1965). In that time, Jerry Grandenetti penciled all but the final ten stories (when Jack Abel would relieve him) and Robert Kanigher would write 49 of the 50 adventures. Every G&S installment was featured on the cover of its issue (and keep your eyes peeled for some of the most incredible Joe Kubert contributions during that run). Years later, the military pair would help form The Losers, a team that would headline OFF from #123 (February 1970) through its final issue, #181 (October 1978).

"Battle Funnel!"

Kubert

Star Spangled War Stories 82

"Ground Flier!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito

"The Next Man!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Russ Heath

"Trench Trap!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Jack Abel

PE: SSWS actually began life in August 1952 with an issue numbered 131, taking over the numbering from Star-Spangled Comics. There were two subsequent issues (132 and 133) before DC re-numbered the series, not with #1 or #4 but #3!

Jack: "The Next Man!" is a good story with strong art. It was my favorite of the month. Nazis think U.S. soldiers are being killed one by one as they come through a minefield, a barbed wire fence, mortar fire and a machine gun. It turns out to have been the work of a single intrepid soldier.

PE: Sometimes these 8-pagers can read more like tutorials than entertainment. Sure, war is hell and shouldn't be taken lightly but you could say the same about crime and the four colors had a blast with that genre in the 1950s. "The Next Man" falls victim to the "tutorial" in that the meaning of the title is what we're meant to be learning about and the title is drummed into our heads no less than 16 times in 34 panels. I get it. The art is stunning though.  Equally stunning, to me, is the stark, gritty artwork on "Ground Flier" by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. Andru would become my favorite Spider-Man artist in the 1970s with a much different style of art. We'll be re-examining that era of Amazing Spider-Man in a few months over at Marvel University and I'm wondering if Andru's art will hold up for me. Andru and Esposito were inseparable during the DC war era but Ross was assisted by a gaggle of inkers on Spidey. He was responsible for several noteworthy comic creations: he co-created Metal Men; with Robert Kanigher, he reinvented Wonder Woman; and, perhaps most importantly as far as this blog is concerned, he co-created "The War That Time Forgot" (upcoming in SSWS). The duo contributed to all five of the main titles we'll be covering in this blog and their names are sure to come up time after time.

"The Next Man!"

Kubert

All-American Men of War 70

"Pigeon Without Wings!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Irv Novick

"Tin Pot Listening Post!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Jerry Grandenetti

"No Salute for a G.I.!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Jack Abel

PE: Like SSWS, this title has a complicated beginning. DC published two issues, #127 (August-September 1952) and #128 (October-November 1952) and then decided to renumber (a la SSWS) incorrectly. Thus the third issue of AAMOW is numbered 2. Still with me? If you're wondering where the first 126 issues went to, that's easy. It was titled All-American Western from 1948-1952 and previously it was known as All-American Comics, most famous for the debut of the Golden Age Green Lantern in #16 (July 1940). See, that was easy!

Jack: "Pigeon Without Wings!" tells of a poor parachutist who keeps landing on roofs of one sort or another. "No Salute for a G.I." follows a lowly soldier who has to salute everyone else but never gets salutes of his own--until he becomes a hero.

PE: "Pigeon" begins harrowingly enough -- with the nightmares of an impending parachute jump -- but its length becomes its undoing. The paratrooper, on his first jump, ends up landing on a rooftop (a la Red Buttons in The Longest Day) but makes the most out of his unwitting blunder. On his second jump, he lands on a tank and, again, turns misfortune into achievement. Ending the story after two mistakes (rather than adding on with an ensuing two) might have prevented it from becoming something Jerry Lewis would have filmed. The fact that this poor guy keeps landing in the wrong place elicits giggles rather than shivers. Nice art by Irv Novick.

"Pigeon Without Wings!"

Jack: Each of these five comics included a letters page called "Combat Corner." Unlike letters pages in Marvel and DC comics starting in the mid-60s, these letters were not about the stories in the comics themselves. Instead, they were questions and answers from readers about war-related topics.

PE: I wonder if some of these letters were cooked up by editor Bob Kanigher. Perhaps I'm just seeing extra men on the grassy knoll and the average reader age was a bit higher with the DC war titles because a lot of these missives sound like they weren't written by little Johnny Krackcorn in the third grade.

Jack: I thought it was interesting that the vast majority of the stories had to do with World War Two. I saw one about World War One and none about any prior wars or the Korean War. I assume this will change in the years that follow.

All credits are from the Grand Comics Database. Most of the stories are uncredited in the comics.

Coming Next Week!