By Corporals Enfantino and Seabrook
Russ Heath |
"The Flying Horsemen!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Russ Heath
"The Nine Second Sub!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Jack Abel
"Downhill Soldiers"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Joe Kubert
PE: Ever since high school, "Little" Al has been protected by his buddies "Big" Mike, "Big" Ben, and "Big" Jim. Now, in a peculiar twist of fate, the four have all become pilots in the same squadron. Hoping he can finally become a "Big" and pay the guys back for all they've done for him, Al elevates his game and becomes an Ace. About as sappy as we've seen so far in the DC war comics, "The Flying Horsemen" pushes the envelope of believability and packs in more sugar than an episode of Lassie. Can four guys go through school and then actually end up in the same squadron? Then we're to believe that Mike, Ben, and Al are all shot down but miraculously survive save a few scratches and skinned knees? Nope, I don't buy it for a minute. Even Russ is off his game on this story but more than makes up for it with his gorgeous, exciting cover.
"The Flying Horsemen!" |
PE: Nine seconds is the average for a World War II sub named "The Fin" to dive and that's putting a crimp in the style of the ship's gunner. Since the "Nine Second Sub" disappears so quickly, the specialist has found himself with a lot of loitering time on his hands until damage from an attack leaves the sub at the mercy of enemy battleships. It's then that the gunner is relied upon and comes through in the clinch. "Nine Second Sub" could have been an exciting little sub story had it not been so concerned with the selfishness of the gunner. This guy's bemoaning the fact that, because the ship has a leg up on most subs, he has no chance to play the hero. Woe is me!
JS: I thought that this story had good momentum and some of the panels featuring the Japanese sub are the best work I've seen yet from Jack Abel.
"Downhill Soldiers" |
JS: What do you mean Robert Kanigher? Sgt. Rock answers the questions! How do I know? He drops the final "g" off of all his words, like "carryin'" and "lookin'."
"The Nine Second Sub!" |
Irv Novick |
"Trail of the Terror Rockets!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Mort Drucker
" 'We' Made Ace!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Jerry Grandenetti
"Sink That Sub!"
Story by Hank Chapman
Art by Russ Heath
PE: Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound and don the most elaborate make-up this side of Lon Chaney, Mademoiselle Marie nonetheless finds herself up zee creek wizzout zee paddle when she attempts to track the "Trail of the Terror Rockets!" Marie does the only sensible thing she can do when faced with the insurmountable task of finding the launching pad of the Nazis' new secret weapon: dress as an old woman and get herself trapped. Luckily, Marie lives in the same universe populated by Colonels Hogan and Klink and the entire German army is outwitted by one French Femme. To her already-legendary feats of derring-do you can add jumping through a second-floor plate-glass window with nary a scratch and disarming a squadron of Ratzis seemingly single-handedly. It's hard to take the strip seriously but that problem is compounded with my inability to separate Mort Drucker's art here from the wonderful stuff he did in Mad. Many of the characters in this strip look as though they could have been lifted directly from one of Drucker's classic movie parodies.
Mlle. Mamie Van Doren |
" 'We' Made Ace!" |
JS: This story confused me. I couldn't figure out who was doing what or how many planes were being shot down. In the end, one pilot shoots down an enemy plane and his friend takes joint credit. Was this some WWII rule--shoot down five planes and you're an ace? Is this where "Enemy Ace" came from? What are you if you shoot down ten planes? A King?
"Sink That Sub!" |
JS: I read this story and thought how bad the art was, wondering who drew it. When I saw it was Heath, I was surprised. It does have some of his more wooden characteristics, but I think this was a down month for him. The story was fairly interesting, but I have to wonder if it was such a great idea to blow up a sub rather than take it back to port for repairs. Don't those things cost a lot of money and take awhile to build?
Jerry Grandenetti |
"Luck of Easy!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Joe Kubert
"Bait for a Desert Hawk"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Russ Heath
"The D-Day Commandos!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Jack Abel
PE: Sgt. Rock is having a hard time convincing his men that brains and brawn win a war when the soldiers of Easy Company begin hanging their hats on lucky trinkets like dice and rabbits' feet. The "Luck of Easy" finally runs out and Rock, as usual, proves himself to be one smart soldier. Can't argue with the art but the story drags a bit for my tastes (it does have some nice humorous bits though). Not a misfire but a bit shy of the target. Jack has raised the point of the nameless supporting cast before but, more and more, the fact that none of these grunts have tags becomes annoying and a detriment to the storytelling. How do we know who's survived from story to story or whether it's the same band of guys at all?
"Luck of Easy!" |
"Bait for a Desert Hawk" |
JS: I liked this one. The parallels between the birds and the planes kept my interest and the last panel had a poetic feel to it: "While below...the end was written to a story in the sands!"
"The D-Day Commandos!" |
JS: A well-written story trumps mediocre art anytime, and this one got me. It lacked some of the corn that can mar the Mlle. Marie stories, and the use of a boy and an old man as resistance fighters showed how everyone had to pitch in to win the war.
No comments:
Post a Comment