By Corporals Enfantino and Seabrook
(with an assist from Private Scoleri)
(with an assist from Private Scoleri)
Joe Kubert |
"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" |
"Test for a Snowbird!" |
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!" |
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 |
"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? |
"No Ammo for 'A' Company" |
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 |
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 |
"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" |
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!" |
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. |
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