Star-Spangled DC War Stories Part 12: May 1960

By Corporals Enfantino and Seabrook
(with an assist from Private Scoleri)

Joe Kubert

Our Army at War 94

"Target--Easy Company"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Joe Kubert

"Test for a Snowbird!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Jerry Grandenetti

"The Last Commando!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Bob Forgione and Jack Abel

Jack: Tired of the Amerikaners' reputation for never being stopped, a Nazi general decides to "Target--Easy Company" and bombard Sgt. Rock and his men with everything he's got, ignoring other companies that make more appealing targets. The combat happy Joes of Easy Co. don't give up, not with Rock as their leader, and keep going until they frustrate the Nazis once and for all. The duel ends with a one on one gunfight between Rock and a Nazi sergeant. I don't know if Joe Kubert had the flu this month, but this is one of the most uninspired Sgt. Rock stories I've read so far. Even the cover is sub par for the great Mr. Kubert.

"Target--Easy Company"

Peter: Wow! I gotta disagree, Jack. I thought it was, for the most part, a very exciting tale. Rock's continued motivation to charge up a worthless piece of ground had me waving my fist in the air and screaming "Yeah, let's take this Heap!" Rock's counterpart, the very nasty "Herr General," may just be a close relative of Mademoiselle Marie's thorn, Commandant Von Ekt. The only weakness here is that rushed climax. Why would the Nazi general give up so quickly when he's got our heroes right out in the open like he wants them? One of his Ratzis gets killed and it's "Pull back!"?  And, at last, after months of my complaints, Robert Kanigher listened to me and provided some names for those uniformed shadows who fight alongside Rock. I'll continue to list names of the men of Easy as we get them. This issue we're introduced to Ed Ritchie, Nick Bates, and Mack Fenton. Now, let's see if any of these three grunts makes a return appearance.

"Test for a Snowbird!"

Jack: Pete Lang passes a real-life "Test for a Snowbird!" when he encounters a batch of Nazis on a ski slope after he does poorly in his training session. Lucky for Pete, he manages to ski like an expert and knock out the bad guys with his handy machine gun. This story is too short to get any real downhill momentum and Grandenetti's scratchy pencils don't help.

Peter: The skiing marksman sequence was a little too far-fetched for me. How do you stay balanced on skis with all the recoil inherent with a machine gun? It might make for a great fantasy scene in a James Bond film but this story, ostensibly, takes place in "the real world." I thought Grandenetti's cartoony style worked alright here. I just want to take a moment and thank Sgt. Rock for his public announcement about Mlle. Marie. I'd almost forgotten the French Doll.

"The Last Commando!"

Jack: "The Last Commando!" is the lone survivor of an American platoon who finds himself in the desert, hunted by Nazis. He manages to turn the tables on his captors with the help of some ancient weapons he finds uncovered during a sandstorm. Reaching ludicrous new heights, Bob Haney brings us a story where a soldier happens upon a crossbow, still cocked and in working order. If that's not bad enough, he then trips over an ancient chariot with a sword attached and he manages to roll the chariot down a hill toward the enemy and dispatch them with the sword!

Peter: What, no toga? The crack team of Haney, Abel, and Forgione do not disappoint. This one was so bad it's laughable. Hundreds of years have passed since the weapons were covered with sand and suddenly all three items are out in the open! There must have been a rule in Comics Code manual that read "Any death in a war comic must be signified by a helmet on the ground."

Ross Andru and Mike Esposito

Star Spangled War Stories 90

"Island of Armored Giants!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito

"No Ammo for 'A' Company!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Jerry Grandenetti

"The Battle of the Sunken Village"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Irv Novick

Peter: There's this island in the Pacific where American squadrons have been dropped off and never heard from again, so the Army decides to send six men (as the Question Mark Patrol) to get answers. What the men find is an "Island of Armored Giants," seemingly from the dawn of time. An earthquake fissure has thawed out a trio of frozen dinosaurs and the big guys are not in a good mood. As the mission becomes more dangerous and the squad is whittled down to a precious few, the question becomes: can modern weapons stop million year-old carnivores?  I knew we had to throw reality out the window from the get-go, not because of the dinosaurs but because of the scene where one of the soldiers is attacked by a pterodactyl and his parachute becomes entangled with that of a tank. Both soldier and tank hit the ocean with a big thud (remember they're being dropped from quite a ways up) but, thanks to a little military ingenuity, our young GI is just fine. That's all the negative I'll say about "Island of Armored Giants," as it's pretty much bulletproof isn't it? The story was written to be big, dumb, and entertaining and it succeeds at all three (and comes equipped with a high casualty rate, surprisingly). I'll be interested to see how Kanigher manipulates his soldiers to go back to the deadly island in the sequel. Are we to assume that three dinos down equals a clear island? Oh, and I may be wrong, but I believe the C.O. in this story is Robert Kanigher.

John: The dinosaurs are here! At last, the moment I've been waiting for. I remember when Peter first told me about these soldier versus dino stories years ago, and I couldn't believe I had been completely unaware of such an awesome concept. High-concept at its very best. Imagine my subsequent excitement when we finally got reprints (albeit black and white) in the DC Showcase Presents volume. So, does it live up to expectations? How could it not! As in classic sci-fi films of the 50s, the first response at finding an unexplained phenomenon is not one of shock and awe, but reasoned understanding. Of course they would assume an earthquake opened up an underground tomb full of dinosaurs! Yeah, right. Call me crazy, but after stumbling across the thunder lizards, wouldn't you think any seismic activity on the island was the result of their stomping around? Maybe that's just me. Let's review what we get in this inaugural tale: Dinos by air, land and sea! Casualties galore (with only two men left, they'd better send reinforcements before the next issue lands)! And a T-Rex that kicks tank butt with his prehensile(?) tail. Can't wait for the next Cretaceous adventure!

Bob Kanigher?

Jack: Other than the bizarre one-off story with the giant Japanese soldier in Our Fighting Forces 52 ("Biggest Target in the World!", December 1959) or the story with the tiny soldiers in All-American Men at War 74 ("The Minute Commandoes!", October 1959), the DC war comics have stayed pretty close to reality so far. Not anymore! A great cover by Andru and Esposito surely guaranteed a spike in sales among little boys, but this story is as dumb as they come. Bob Kanigher must have gotten drunk and watched King Kong on TV late one night, because this story checks all the boxes--mysterious island, fight with T-Rex, Pterodactyl, water dino. I love the explanation we get from one of the soldiers: "The earthquake must have opened the underground tomb these monsters were in for millions of years--maybe in a state of suspended animation--brought them back to life!" That explains it. The T-Rex is awfully good with its hands and its purplish color reminds me of Barney the Dinosaur.

"No Ammo for 'A' Company"

Peter: There's "No Ammo for 'A' Company," so the new kid is ordered to sneak back to the command post for more before a fresh attack wipes out the squad. He does his best to hustle but on the way back he's attacked by the enemy and, by the time he makes it to the front, his comrades have all perished. Shell-shocked, the boy lifts his rifle and yells a taunt to the enemy, who begin a fresh assault. The green kid manages to hold the Nazis back until reinforcements arrive. The story is harrowing, nasty stuff for a funny book, and I get the vibe that the kid has actually snapped after seeing the corpses of his fellow GIs, still at their posts. Grandenetti's art here is splotchy (in one panel, "the kid" looks as though he's gotten chocolate smeared all over his face) and ugly but it doesn't diminish the impact of the narrative.

Jack: It's a shock when the green recruit gets back to the line and finds all of the other solders dead, still posed as if ready to fire their guns. In the hands of another artist, this might have been a more effective story, but Grandenetti doesn't do anything interesting with it. By the way, I now know that "repple depple" means "replacement depot," from which new soldiers are sent to replace (presumably) dead ones.

Oh mon, vérifier les projecteurs sur ce bon gâteau

Peter: The dam above a French village has been bombed by the Nazis but, luckily, amidst the carnage is our girl, Mlle. Marie! With the help of a stud American frogman, Marie quickly gets to the bottom of what the Germans are up to. The underwater village has been transformed into a submarine port by Marie's arch-enemy, Commandant Von Ekt (now sporting a very fetching blonde hairdo) and, quicker than you can say "Oui, oui, Monsieur, J'ai besoin d'un nouveau manteau pour mon caniche!" the dynamic duo have slapped plastic charges on the subs and restored peace to Europe. Well, until next issue. Von Ekt has become Marie's answer to the Red Skull, a Nazi with nine lives. In the past, the Commandant has survived explosions and train derailments but here he actually surfaces after the sub he's riding in explodes! Weel zee rascal ever die? Marie saves the day for all of her countrymen but will she save face when she realizes she's gone from headliner to afterthought?

Jack: Pauvre Marie! Relegated to the back of the book by a purple dinosaur. Even more shocking is that Commandant Van Ekt has joined the Hair Club for Men! Since last issue, when he was bald as a cue ball, he has sprouted a blond brush cut! Mon dieu, je pense que ces histories sont condamne!

Jerry Grandenetti and Jack Abel

G.I. Combat 81

"Jump for Glory!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Jerry Grandenetti

"Tiger in Town!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Jack Abel

"Fire Lane!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito

Peter: Two brothers, Mike and Little Joe, join a squadron of "wild crazy men" who must get behind enemy lines and destroy ammunition. It seems to be a sure way to die when the entire outfit but the brothers is wiped out. Still, the men manage to make it to their destination and strike a blow for the good guys. This one is all over the map. It begins in the best way, by drawing you into a real-life scenario (I find, as one who doesn't have a lot of knowledge about WWII, the best of these stories educate and then entertain) involving snap decisions and machismo. Problem is, then Robert Kanigher introduces his favorite mistake: the catchphrase. I'm really surprised this story wasn't called "The Wild, Crazy Guys" (little Stevie Martin was probably a reader) as that's the phrase we hear over and over. Mike's death at the climax is handled as if it was an afterthought, with no real emotional depth. Still, I'll give "Jump for Glory" a passing mark for its excitement and edginess. Jerry Grandenetti's art is, as usual, sketchy and primitive (one panel shows an exploding plane basically cracking in half like a model), and lacks the flashes of style Jerry displays now and then.

"Jump for Glory!"

Jack: Dear Sgt. Rock: If you fire your machine gun while descending through the air by parachute, does the recoil send you flying off in the opposite direction of the gunshots?

"Tiger in Town"

Peter: A lone GI must fight off a Nazi tank before a squadron of soldiers comes marching through the town. Even though it's a sure suicide mission, the soldier fights with all he's got, even when he's blinded by tank fire. In the climax, the GI manages to destroy the Tiger despite his handicap. For its length, "Tiger in Town" is a good, solid read with passable art by Jack Abel (that's high praise, coming from me). Yeah, it's a little far-fetched (when the tank rams the house and destroys the second floor, our hero falls onto the top of the Tiger, relatively unscathed and with his wits about him), but it is a comic book story. More and more, I'm becoming a fan of Bob Haney's storytelling skills.

Jack: Not a bad story for one drawn by Jack Abel. The blinded soldier fighting on was impressive.

Peter: Johnny Lane must maneuver through a German "Fire Lane" (when Germans spray a sector with bullets, hoping to catch any soldiers in the hail) and outwit the enemy, all while trying to recall exactly what the name of the story is. Oh yeah, right, "Fire Lane." How could I forget?

Yep, the infamous "Fire Lane!"

Jack: I count 18 uses of the phrase "Fire Lane" in this 5 1/2 page story. OK, we get it! There's a fire lane! And--wotta coincidence--the soldier's name is Lane, too--Johnny Lane! This issue was really weak.

Peter: Correction, Jack, devoid of any Russ Heath, this was a weak month.

Through one year of war stories, it might be surprising to hear that the writer responsible for contributing the most stories to the line is not Robert Kanigher. That will change soon enough but for now the reigning King of War is Bob Haney. Only four writers penned scripts from June 1959 through May 1960: Bob Haney (79), Robert Kanigher (46), Hank Chapman (19), and Ed Herron (1). A total of 145 stories appeared in the 48 issues we've reviewed. As for artists (and inkers), that race is a little more tight: Russ Heath and Jack Abel (30 each), Ross Andru (23), Mike Esposito and Joe Kubert (21 each), Jerry Grandenetti (18), Mort Drucker (16), Irv Novick and Bob Forgione (5 each) and Bill Everett (1).

Looks like the work of Carmine Infantino.