Star Spangled DC War Stories Part 17: October 1960

By Corporals Enfantino and Seabrook

Special Giant-Sized Guns-Ablazing 300th Issue of Bare Bones!!

Joe Kubert

Our Army at War 99

"Easy's Hardest Battle!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Joe Kubert

"We're Still Flying!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito

"Booby Trap Tank!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Jack Abel

Jack: The men of Easy Co. pass by the men of Baker Co, Charlie Co., Dog Co. and Fox Co. only to get shelled by the Nazis. As they await their next move, Sgt. Rock thinks back to an earlier battle when they fought Nazi tanks that displayed a tiger emblem. Back in the present, Rock sees that the tanks ahead of them bear the same emblem as those he was recalling, yet he receives a message that Easy needs to fall back. They retreat past all of the companies they had passed earlier, until they receive the order to turn and fight. The retreat drew the tanks toward them and allowed them to surround and defeat them. Sgt. Rock tells his men that "Easy's Hardest Battle!" was when they had to obey orders to fall back! According to this story, Easy fought in North Africa, on Omaha Beach, and in the Normandy hedgerows, among other places. I am beginning to think Sgt. Rock is more of a mythical figure than a real soldier, since he seems to have been everywhere and he never dies.

Easy's Hardest Battle!"

Peter: A bit of a coincidence that Rock and his men come up against the same Panzer division that did a number on them so long ago but, with Kubert flying high, I don't mind.. Add the name Vic Lester to our roster of Easy men (well, for this issue at least). In the Sgt. Rock's Combat Corner this issue, our hero keeps two readers from coming to blows by settling a bet: spiral khaki leggings were replaced by canvas leggings in 1938, three years before WWII. You don't get this kind of info on the Spider-Man letters page, do ya?

Jack: The crew of the bomber plane "Bustin' Belle" has flown 50 missions and never missed a target, but when they are sent to destroy a Nazi oil field on their 51st mission they are shot down and imprisoned in a camp right next to their target. They keep up their discipline and escape, insisting that "We're Still Flying!" and destroying the oil field even without their trusty aircraft. I thought it was neat how the crew kept practicing as if they were still flying, though lighting an underground oil leak seems a bit of an unlikely way to destroy an oil field. Did they really throw a time bomb over the fence or were they pulling the Commandant's leg?

"We're Still Flying!"

Peter: What I want to know is why do all officers in command in the German army wear monocles and have scars on their cheeks? I was sure we were going to see a cameo by Mademoiselle Marie! And I join Jack in his doubt about underground oil explosions. Is there an unbroken stream of the stuff and wouldn't the fire go out when you bury it with dirt?

Jack: With Nazi infiltrators everywhere, how is a lone G.I. to know whom to trust? He hitches a ride on a "Booby Trap Tank!" and figures out it's being driven by Nazis masquerading as American soldiers. He wipes out the men inside the tank and drives it back to his unit, where he has no trouble telling that the sergeant is a real-live American. The highlight of this story for me was the plotting--the U.S. soldiers take target practice at a picture of Hitler tacked on a tree and later the soldier realizes that the inhabitants of the tank on which he is riding are Nazis because they don't take shots at the same picture.

Peter: You hit the bullseye, Jack. That one moment, where our hero realizes just what's going on because of a brief occurrence earlier in the story, is dynamite storytelling. And, is it just me, or are we entering an age of more good Jack Abel than bad?

"Booby Trap Tank!"

Russ Heath

All American Men of War 81

"Ghost Ship of Two Wars!
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Irv Novick

"Time Bomb Trench!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Jack Abel

Peter: All his life, his two older brothers fought battles for him and set him up with the prettiest girls. Now, World War I pilot Mickey watches as both his brothers are shot down by a German known as The Black Ace. Vowing revenge, Mickey makes it his mission to shoot down the deadly pilot. Finally facing a rematch, our hero is, alas, shot down and is in the ace's sights when fate intervenes in the shape of a hole in time. After he's parachuted, Mickey passes through a cloud and finds himself in 1944 amidst World War II battles. When the base he's recuperating at is strafed by enemy planes, the boy escapes and finds his plane waiting for him in a field. Once airborne, he discovers his old enemy, The Black Ace, waiting for him but this time, through some crafty maneuvers, Mickey is able to bail out yet again and use his plane as a torpedo. The Black Ace is retired forever. Once he's safe on the ground, he discovers he's back in 1917. At seventeen and a half pages this is the longest DC war story we've encountered (and the first to be divided into three chapters) yet could have been so much better. I love time travel stories, can't get enough of them, but here's one with a unique hook: the time travel is inconsequential. It has no bearing whatsoever on the events that transpire post-travel. Mickey lands in 1944, is questioned by the present-day air force, watches as the base is bombed, and then escapes to his magically-landed aircraft. How the heck did that plane get down on the ground? Last we'd seen it it was heading for the ground without a pilot! Mickey's mantra of "I'll come after you no matter where I am!" obviously sets the reader up for the obligatory it-was-all-a-dream climax but, inexplicably, we find out it really happened! Why Kanigher thought to piece together a story that had been done to death already (brothers who stick together even in war) with a science fiction concept and not go the distance, we'll never know. A big disappointment (especially since Irv Novick is at the top of his game here).

"Ghost Ship of Two Wars!"

Jack: As I read this story it dawned on me that it may have been "inspired" by the Twilight Zone episode, "The Last Flight," written by Richard Matheson and based on his short story, "Flight." The TZ episode aired February 5, 1960, and it's quite possible it was the source for this comic book story, which must have come out that summer or early fall, with an October cover date. Only Bob Kanigher would know for sure, but the similarities are striking, especially the trip through the cloud that sends a WWI fighter plane decades into the future. I liked this story, especially the length. I would love to see longer stories in the DC war books!

"Time Bomb Trench!"

Peter: The intricate mind games played between a U.S. regiment and the Germans who have held a trench on the other side of "No Man's Land" are at the core of the fascinating "Time Bomb Trench." A bit complicated at times (it's tough to tell which troop is which in a few panels), the story nevertheless has several powerful images thanks to the gritty art of Mr. On-Again-Off-Again, Jack Abel, whose work here is worthy of Frontline Combat or Two-Fisted Tales. The most terrifying aspect of the scenario, of course, is being caught without a trench (almost like a deadly game of musical chairs) while battle rages all around you. We're also introduced to the terrors of the "sappers"--specialists who dig below trenches and plant explosives, setting them off while troops are trapped by artillery fire. These are the kind of perils Gunner and Sarge never seem to face. Jack Seabrook should be a happy man with this all-World War I issue (well, mostly WWI).

Jack: You called it right, Peter! I was thrilled to see another WWI story after the long opener by Kanigher and Novick. I thought that this story had promise but that Abel's art failed to create the necessary suspense. As I got to the end, I was thinking how great this would have been in the hands of an EC artist. The suspense would have been terrible! Here, it's OK, and certainly above average for a back of the book story by Haney and Abel, but it could have been better.

Jerry Grandenetti

Our Fighting Forces 57

"A Tank for Sarge!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Jerry Grandenetti

"The Frogman and the Porpoise!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Jack Abel

"Soften 'Em Up!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Irv Novick

Jack: Every afternoon around 3:20, a Japanese speedboat comes around the island and strafes Gunner and Sarge's position. One day, our heroes save a transport plane from an enemy Zero and who pops out of the transport but Miss Julie, the pretty nurse they met back in Our Fighting Forces 53 (February 1960). Sarge assigns Gunner a patrol so that Sarge can frolic in the water with the cute nurse, but they are surprised when the Japanese speedboat shows up early and only a well-placed bazooka shot from Gunner saves the day. Gunner suffers a concussion and spends the next few days "healing" with Miss Julie, until Sarge--who had finally gone out on patrol by himself--returns tied to an enemy tank that threatens the U.S. position. Once again, Gunner must blast away to save the day, but this time Julie turns her attention to Sarge. I think Miss Julie is a little scamp! Her affections go from Sarge to Gunner and back again very quickly. And why is she the only woman on the island?

One of Jerry Grandenetti's more
"creative" renderings of Sarge

Peter: Not only is Miss Julie a scamp but a mistress of elocution. I believe she may believe she's on a stage doing Hamlet: "It is I, Julie!" I risk sounding like a broken record yet again but this series will never be one I look forward to reading (even if they did temporarily get rid of Pooch). It's too light-hearted and carefree, void of any elements present in a great war story. That's not even taking into account Jerry Grandenetti's annoying caricatures. Oh, and break time is over. Next issue: the return of the most annoying dog this side of Benji.

Jack: Frogman Andy is assigned to Operation Tin Shark, in which he must single-handedly take down a Japanese killer sub that is protected by all sorts of traps. Luckily, he happens upon a friendly porpoise who helps him get through the dangers and reach the sub. This episode of Flipper has been brought to you by Bob Haney and Jack Abel.

"The Frogman and the Porpoise!"

Peter: We're never even given a reason as to why this porpoise would want to help Andy through all his arduous tasks. Is he perhaps a reincarnation of the buddy Andy lost while in Okinawa? A new US marine experiment in intelligent mammals? A dream Andy had in sick bay after the real-life anti-frogman mines blew him to kingdom come?

Jack: Outside the French town of Dulac, a couple of G.I.s watch as artillery, planes and tanks mount an initial attack to "Soften 'Em Up!" before the foot soldiers move in. One grunt grumbles that, no matter how much damage is done, they'll still have to fight the Nazis on foot when they reach the town. This turns out to be true, since the rubble left in the town serves as a perfect place for Nazis to hide. Another of the stories where a catch phrase is repeated over and over, this one is unusual in that the whiners don't learn a lesson--they turn out to be right!

Peter: One thing I can't figure about these war stories is the amount of explosive force the soldiers can take without losing life or limb. In one scene of "Soften 'Em Up," our two soldiers open fire into tank slits until it explodes... with them atop the turret. They hit the ground with nary a scratch. As Jack mentioned, this one's the equivalent of a K.C. and The Sunshine Band song: find a title and run it into the ground. This one's not as catchy though. A whole month without Russ Heath always makes me cranky.

Jack: At least he drew one cover!

"Soften 'Em Up!"

There will be no DC Showcase next week (we take the Christmas week off) but there will be a special Christmas Day Hitchcock Project. Jack and Peter will return on Monday, December 30th with Do You Dare Enter? Installment #17. Until then, Happy Holidays!!!