By Corporals Enfantino and Seabrook
Joe Kubert |
"Battle of the Stripes"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Joe Kubert
"Topsy Turvy Fighters!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Jack Abel
"3 Tanks to Tangu!"
Story by Hank Chapman
Art by Russ Heath
Jack: Bulldozer Nichols has decided that Sgt. Rock is about ready to retire, so Bulldozer will earn his stripes and take his place. By telling Rock this at every turn, Bulldozer begins to demoralize the other men in Easy Co., even as he demonstrates his own heroism. Rock decides to let actions speak for themselves and, when he rescues Bulldozer and other soldiers who are pinned down in a deserted farmhouse by a Nazi tank, Bulldozer realizes that everyone is lucky to have Sgt. Rock in charge. Kubert is back on his game this month with an exciting tale of yet another member of Easy Co. who gets too big for his britches until Rock teaches him a lesson.
"Battle of the Stripes" |
Peter and Jack 45 years ago |
Peter: The coincidences are flowing free and easy this month at DC War Central. The idea that one brother, a sub lover since birth, lands up with tank duty and the other brother, vice versa, is laughable enough, but then throw in the use of their vehicles as the opposite's vehicle (tank used as a sub/ sub used as a tank) and you've got a genuine howler.
Jack: A platoon of G.I.s must take out three enemy tanks to reach the Korean town of Tangu. Heath does a nice job with this short tale, and the conclusion is impressive.
Peter: You had me at Heath. Never mind the simple story (more like a fragment, actually). I love those last lines: "Once there were three tanks to Tangu! Now there are none!"
"3 Tanks to Tangu!" |
Joe Kubert |
"Showdown Soldier"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito
"Sundown Squadron!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Jack Abel
"No Round Trips in the Infantry!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Jack Abel
Peter: "Showdown Soldier" focuses on three different men of war: a GI heading into just another bombed out village comes under fire from the Nazis and manages to survive because he has a showdown with the stupidest soldier Germany ever put on the front line; a fighter pilot overcomes impossible odds in order to bomb an important bridge; and a submarine skipper holds off an enemy bomber and an enemy cruiser all while trapped atop a submerging sub. What do these three heroes have in common? They all started the morning thinking it was just another day but overcame deadly force to emerge triumphant and exclaim "This was the showdown!" Oh, and all were depicted by the fumbling pencil and ink of Andru and Esposito. The "three-story coincidence" gimmick has been played before in the pages of DC war and, in "Showdown," there are not enough original ideas to keep this reader's interest for 13 pages.
"Showdown Soldier" |
Peter: A PT Commander, facing the inevitable sinking of his ship, uses ingenious strategy involving the setting of the sun and a lot of paint to fool the enemy into thinking his one ship is an entire squadron. Interesting gimmick to "Sundown Squadron" (quick, say the titles of the first two stories three times fast if you can), one that takes a stretch of credibility at times but still maintains the tension right up to the climax, when the PT crew fires their last torpedoes as their own ship goes down. The quality of Jack Abel's art continues to see-saw but, thankfully, here we get decent Abel.
"Sundown Squadron" |
Peter: Abel's art isn't the problem with "No Round Trips in the Infantry." This time out it's the story, or lack thereof. Two soldiers discuss the concept of a one way trip and a round trip ticket in the war: "it's all one way in the infantry... unless the enemy gives you a round trip." So, of course, we spend the next six pages reading the phrases ad nauseum. Just once I'd like to get to a climax and the hero utters the wrong catchphrase ("This was a showdown!" or "I got one for Smitty!") all while his comrades look on in bewilderment.
Jack: Two Jack Abels and one Ross Andru made for a real letdown after that cover. Have you noticed that the letters pages are now about half story comments and half military questions? We're seeing a noticeable change as time goes by with more reader involvement.
"No Round Trips in the Infantry" |
Jerry Grandenetti |
"The Last Patrol!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Jerry Grandenetti
"Tic-Toc Sub!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Mort Drucker
"The Flying Bridge!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Russ Heath
Jack: Gunner and Sarge are sent out on what they hope will be "The Last Patrol!" for awhile. Their lieutenant promised them leave if they can bring back a prisoner to disclose details of an upcoming enemy attack. The duo keep running into the enemy--they down a sniper from a tree, blow up a tank, and take out a machine gunner, but because they keep killing everyone they meet they don't come back with a prisoner. They finally meet up with some underwater frogmen and find themselves captured and held prisoner on a sub. Managing to blow up the sub, they take a sailor prisoner, only to find that the lieutenant is not happy because the sailor knows nothing about operations on land. Gunner and Sarge continues to be a boring series with uninspired artwork by Jerry Grandenetti. In this story, we begin to see some of the unfortunate trends that will reach full bloom about ten years later in the horror titles.
Sarge finally reveals his true feelings to Gunner |
Jack: Frogman school dropout Wilson is the only one on his sub who has a prayer of removing a ticking time bomb from the outside hull. Holding his breath and swimming for his life, he not only manages to save the day, he also outdoes a couple of Nazi frogmen and blows up their destroyer! "Tic Toc Sub!" is a little far-fetched but the art by Mort Drucker looks great and the relentless "Tic Toc" that runs through the panels creates some tension.
Wilson has to go because he's the only one with his name on the back of his shirt |
"The Flying Bridge!" |
Peter: Heath's best art is almost panoramic in scope. "The Flying Bridge" has way too many small panels and close-ups for Heath to "breathe." It's still high art compared to Grandenetti, Abel, and Andru and Esposito.
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