Star-Spangled DC War Stories Part 11: April 1960

By Corporals Enfantino and Seabrook

Jerry Grandenetti

Our Fighting Forces 54

"An Egg for Sarge!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Jerry Grandenetti

"Fighting Switch!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Jack Abel

"G.I. Shock Absorbers"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito

JS: "An Egg for Sarge!" is exactly what Gunner is looking for when his senior officer gets tired of eating K-Rations day after day. It seems that the food supply deliveries can't make it through enemy fire to the Pacific island where our heroes find themselves barely hanging on. Sarge's uncontrollable desire to eat an egg nearly gets him and Gunner killed, until Sarge uses a couple of explosive eggs to prevent a Japanese attack from wiping out the U.S. soldiers. By the way, what happened to pooch? Were those K-rations K-9?

Gunner and Sarge engage
in a little self-promotion

PE: I realize that too much grimness could spell disaster for a comic book in the early 1960s (especially for a comic company that prides itself on producing brainless hero titles) but we are talking war here, right? Not Laurel and Hardy. I think this is adventure number twelve that we've had to endure from this pair and it doesn't seem to be getting any better (and I believe there are lots more on the way). As for the art, the roller coaster ride known as Jerry Grandenetti takes another dip. Contrast this with the cartoony but sometimes effectively eerie work by Jerry on the DC mystery books. You'd never be able to tell this was the same guy. The same could be said for writer Kanigher who seems to be able to produce quality work while, at the same time, pumping out fluff like this.

"Fighting Switch!"

JS: Charley Neal is known as "Fish," because he's a great frogman. Ed Francis is known as "Wings," because he can land his plane anywhere. When the two are paired to destroy a Japanese ship with a torpedo, unexpected injuries force them to switch roles. As usual, the gimmick is overdone and Abel's art is not inspiring. I had to laugh when "Wings" bonked the enemy frogman with his torpedo underwater, swinging it like a baseball bat.

PE: I'm sure this scenario played out countless times during World War II, but I couldn't help but laugh at the constant banter between "Fish" and "Wings": "I'm a swimmer not a pilot!" "I'm a flyer not a frogman!" I was waiting for someone in the background to pipe up: "I'm a lover not a fighter!" Jack Abel's art is dreadful here, much too cartoony.

JS: Combat infantrymen Harry and Tom West hold back a wave of Nazi shock troopers in "G.I. Shock Absorbers." This may be the first time we've seen enemy propaganda leaflets dropped from a plane. The shock troops arrive so soon after the leaflets that there is little time to be afraid. How can Harry and Tom be expected to surrender (as the leaflets recommend) if the shock troops come at them with guns blazing?

PE: The worst is saved for last. Amateurish art by Andru and Esposito make the Nazi shock troops look like faceless Frankenstein monsters. Their vision of a diving Stuka is laughable, as if the plane is ten feet off the ground and heading in vertically. From cover to cover, one of the worst war comics I've read.

"G.I. Shock Absorbers"

Jerry Grandenetti

All-American Men at War 78

"Tin Hat for an Iron Man!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito

"Price for Red Beach!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Jack Abel

"The Toy Jet!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Russ Heath

JS: Fighter pilot Johnny Page flies cover as the infantry marches toward the town of Clevey, which is infested with hidden Nazi gunners. Page fights off an enemy jet before crash landing. Tankman Phil Locke and his crew also head toward Clevey, providing covering firepower closer to the ground. Can the infantry get there in time on foot to rescue Page and Locke before the Nazis get them? This is another one of those stories where an idea or phrase gets repeated over and over--this time, it's the suggestion that the infantrymen are lucky because they have hard helmets to protect their heads. The repetition is grating but at least the story achieves some tension along the way.

"Tin Hat for an Iron Man!"

PE: I agree completely, Jack. It's an exciting story and you can almost feel claustrophobic inside those panels depicting the interior of the tank (and the ricocheting bullets). But there's that damn catch phrase "Tin Hat." Does Kanigher expect us to believe that the entire army suddenly repeats the phrase over and over? Does the brass send out catch phrases each week to be read at the mess hall? I was a bit confused by the climax. I was sure the infantryman fired on by the tank was a goner but then in the final panel he gets up and walks away "dazed." These comic book soldiers were a lot more resilient than I thought. This story gives us far better Andru/Esposito work than we see in this month's OFF.

"Price for Red Beach!"

JS: Marine Paul Stokes finds himself alone, facing Japanese gunners, as he pays the "Price for Red Beach!" The price turns out to be getting shot right in the chest, though somehow he manages to survive and destroy the nest of gunners with a grenade. Methinks the real Paul Stokes was singing with the heavenly choir by the end of this one.

PE: Five stories without Russ Heath and I'm about to sing with the heavenly choir. Yet another coincidental catch phrase story. All the soldiers are remarking on the price that will be paid for the beach they're to land on and the first thing they see is an enemy sign asking what price they're willing to pay! Sheesh. Sign me up for writing comic books in 1960. I coulda done it, I tell you, if this is the evidence.

"The Toy Jet!"

JS: Captured and held in a North Korean prison camp, a nameless fighter pilot carves "The Toy Jet!" and tricks his captors into letting him too close to a real jet, which he uses to aid his fellow prisoners in a daring escape. Easily the best story in the issue, this one features haunting art by Russ Heath. The prison camp setting is one we have not seen before (that I can recall) but I have a feeling we'll be seeing it again.

PE: Ask and thou shalt receive Heath. Not only the best story of the issue but also of the month (though there really wasn't much competition, to be fair). Very different in style and visuals from any other DC war story we've read, "The Toy Jet" reminded me of some of the tales I read in Timely's pre-code war title, Battlefield, which I briefly discussed here. It's not a perfect story (the climax, when the escaping GIs see the toy jet falling from the fighter plane and believe it to be a bomb, is embarrassing) and a few of the panels stand aside from the perfection (the enemy captain has an impossibly large head in the panel where he's overpowered by our hero) but this is about as good as we've seen so far, art and story-wise.

Jerry Grandenetti

Our Army at War 93

"Deliver One Air Field!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Joe Kubert

"Nightmare Jet!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Russ Heath

"The Comeback Tank"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Jerry Grandenetti

JS: Sgt. Rock and Easy Co. are going to have trouble when they are asked to "Deliver One Air Field!" if hot dog soldier Zack Nolan doesn't stop looking out for number one and become a team player. Though Nolan picks up a couple of medals for bravery along the way with his intelligence and guts, Zack doesn't become a true member of Easy Co. until he sees Sgt. Rock nearly lose his life protecting him and the new soldier has to return the favor. In other hands, this story would not work and would be another one where we get the same lesson banged into our skulls over and over. However, Kanigher's writing and (especially) Kubert's art make it memorable. The fact that Nolan is actually smart and heroic doesn't hurt. It makes sense that it would be hard for him to learn the importance of teamwork under fire.

"Deliver One Air Field!"

PE: I liked the story but I didn't buy the moral or the lengths Rock went to in changing Mister No. 1. The "All for one and one for all" mantra is what Rock lives by and Mister No. 1 is the antithesis of that creed. Rock is risking the lives of all his men just to prove a point. We know he's gonna shape this guy into a "right" soldier because Sgt. Rock is never wrong but this ain't how it happens in real life. A real Sergeant probably would have decked a guy who would jump into a one-man foxhole and watch as mortar lands all around his comrade, joking all the while. During the entirety of the story I was reminded of the fabulous Combat television show that featured story lines like this, guest-starring Telly Savalas or Robert Duvall or some other up-and-coming actor. How many times have we seen Rock transform a hothead or a coward or, in this case, a selfish bastard into a decent fighting machine only to have him disappear in the next installment? Do you think these guys blend into the background characters? Time for some names for these faceless soldiers.

"Nightmare Jet!"

JS: The "Nightmare Jet!" is a Japanese fighter that haunts U.S. fighter pilot Harry's dreams and his waking imagination. Naturally, the day comes when he is face to face with the real thing, and some fancy flying allows him to survive and shoot down the enemy ace. This story is too short to have much of an impact, but Russ Heath drawing planes is always a welcome sight.

PE: Russ Heath! Absolutely gorgeous but do you think there really is a mountain range shaped like a dragon, complete with feet, tail, and snout? This one had more imaginary starts and stops than a Nightmare On Elm Street movie. Perhaps it should have remained a dream, though. Might have been a bit more effective.

"The Comeback Tank"

JS: Down but not out, "The Comeback Tank" roars to life and takes a hill despite an attack by gloating Nazis. Too short to make an impression and hobbled by broad-stroke art by Grandenetti, this story really goes nowhere fast. Still, with Kubert and Heath in fine form, this is the best war comic of the month.

PE: I'll politely disagree and say I enjoyed this one along with the more typical Grandenetti artwork. The majority of panel space was given over to the perspective of the enemy and that's a rare angle for the DC war comics, one I'd like to see explored more in the future (and it will be when "Enemy Ace" shows up). And, though I thought "The Toy Jet" was the best story of the month, these three good-to-solid OAAW tales combine to make this, yep, the best comic book of the month.