Star Spangled DC War Stories Part 23: April 1961

The DC War Comics 1959-1976
by Corporals Enfantino and Seabrook

Jerry Grandenetti

Our Army at War 105

"T.N.T. Birthday!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Joe Kubert

"No Home for a Frogman"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Jack Abel

"Double Bait!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Jack Abel

Jack: In "T.N.T. Birthday," Sgt. Rock blows a gasket when new private William West reports for duty, looking even younger than his claimed age of seventeen. Before Rock can send the boy back, however, Easy Co. is attacked by Nazi shelling and must take cover in the woods. There, they destroy an enemy tank and then hide in a foxhole, where only some quick work by the new private keeps them from being blown to bits by a well-thrown potato masher. That night, the private leads Easy Co. in a bold stand against enemy attack, finally earning his right to stay with Rock's unit the next morning when he proudly demonstrates his first chin whisker!

"T.N.T. Birthday!"

Peter: An absolutely first-rate thriller, so good I can dismiss its familiar plot (you know, the one that goes "green guy comes to Easy but exits a combat-happy Joe?"). Can Kubert get any better? I especially like how Joe messes with the panel layout and color schemes (some of the panels have an almost black and white look to them) to heighten the tension. As cliched as it sounds, we really do feel we're in the foxholes with Easy.

Jack: Raised an orphan, Andy hopes for a new family of his own when he becomes a frogman with UDT 7. He thinks that underwater action provides "No Home for a Frogman" until one of his fellows seemingly sacrifices his life to save Andy from a mine. Andy plants a charge on an enemy sub and, when it blows sky high, realizes that his fellow frogmen are like a new family.

"No Home for a Frogman"

Peter: An awful story, more of a fragment really, with no flow or reason. We see "Brother" Luke killed when he comes in contact with an exploding mine and yet, there he is, alive and well, to save the day in the climax. We've seen this story countless times already (and I fear we'll see it countless more). I get it: war can make a family out of perfect strangers.

"Double Bait!"

Jack: Preston becomes "Double Bait" when his sub is attacked by depth charges from a Japanese super-cruiser. Preston has been laid up in sick bay due to some broken ribs and, as the situation underwater grows more dire, he has an idea. He volunteers to swim to the surface himself, figuring that the Japanese will think that a surfacing sailor means that the sub has been destroyed and they can halt their attack. The plan works, the sub destroys the super-cruiser, and Preston lives to tell the tale.

Peter: I thought this one was pretty exciting but extremely far-fetched. Preston is one lucky soul to be the only survivor of the sinking of the Tikuri. The puzzler here is Jack Abel's art. The Grand Comics Database lists Jack Abel as inker and artist on both "No Home For a Frogman" and "Double Bait," and Chris Pedrin's Big Five Information Guide (the Bible for DC war fans) confirms that information but the two jobs are like night and day (or like Grandenetti and Kubert, to make a more fitting analogy), with "Double Bait" coming out the obvious winner. I'll continue to scratch my head and wonder until the day we find out that Abel was actually farming out his work (a la Bob Kane and Batman) to keep up with the demand. In any event, this is higher echelon Jack Abel.

Irv Novick

All-American Men of War 84

"Death Dive!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Irv Novick

"The Desert Mouse!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Jack Abel

"The Guys Up Front!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Jerry Grandenetti

Peter: Lt. Johnny Cloud, the Navajo Ace, takes to the skies to help a fellow Native American on his last mission. The flight goes terribly wrong and the planes take a "Death Dive!" Johnny's comrade is mortally wounded and the two are taken prisoner by the Nazis, who have an evil plan up their sleeves: they're going to force Johnny to bomb his own battleship, thus allowing the Nazis to have free rein over the area. Suffice to say, Johnny gets the better of his captor and lands a few bombs on the Nazis. Though his friend has died, his image joins the great spirit cloud in the sky. Johnny Cloud's third adventure is the best one yet, with a first half that's very exciting, adorned with the best art I've seen from Irv Novick. Johnny's sudden change in plans, from bombing the allies to sinking the German battleship, was a little far-fetched. If the Nazi officer really wanted to stop our hero, he could have blown him away and given his life for the Fatherland.

"Death Dive!"

Jack: The Indian jargon is awful thick in this one, as Johnny thinks thoughts such as "I laughed deep inside my belly, in the manner of a Navajo . . ." Who speaks or thinks that way? I don't walk around daily thinking, "Gosh, I'm acting just like someone from New Jersey!" Once the heap-big pow-wow talk lessens and the air fighting gets underway, the story improves, though I agree with Peter that the Nazi plan is far-fetched. I was surprised when the other pilot also turned out to be an Indian! Johnny had only spoken with him by radio and only knew his pilot nickname, so even Flying Cloud could not identify another brave.

Peter: After his plane goes down in the desert, Corporal Edward Stone is harassed by the crew of a Nazi tank. The Germans want the beleaguered soldier to lead them back to his camp. Without water, Stone has no choice but to play out his part in their game. Using his crafty brain, the Corporal manages to outwit the Nazis and not give away his comrades. "The Desert Mouse" is another step back for Jack Abel, who'd been climbing the ladder of quality art for the past several months (with the exception of OAAW's "No Home For a Frogman"). It's very much like his old sketchy, primitive style, almost like a shelved job (over at our sister blog, Marvel University, we're just discovering Jack Abel, circa the 1970s). The story's not bad, just not very inventive. I'm not sure why the climax is portrayed as a happy ending ("And then the 'mouse' who'd beaten the enemy and the desert itself--went home...") since our hero is now afoot in the middle of the desert without water. Doesn't sound to me like he beat the desert at all.

"The Desert Mouse"

Jack: I didn't mind the art and I didn't think the ending was so downbeat. The soldier was already back to the point where he'd last seen his unit, so I assumed he had enough water to find his way back to his buddies. The fact that he was able to destroy the Nazi tank with a single grenade, and that he managed to find a couple of pineapples in the sand, stretched credibility, but I thought this was a decent story.

Peter: Fox Company, the fourth wave of soldiers to hit Green Beach Able, marvels at the swath the first three waves managed to cut through the enemy. It seems to be easy sailing until Fox reaches a deserted house filled with Nazis. It's only after they've cleared the obstacle of all enemies that they realize they're now "The Guys Up Front!" We've been blissfully free lately of the catch phrase that makes you gnash your teeth by the end of the story but it comes back with this story, guns a-blazin'! Two catch phrases actually, since we hear the title a dozen times and "first wave" several more. As if we're not catching on, the letterer makes sure to bold face the offending words so they stand out even more. Thank you, oh uncredited man of letters. I've mentioned that Jerry Grandenetti's art was so much different in the early 1960s than it was at the end of the decade (where we've been complaining about it when we discuss the DC mystery line every other week) but with "The Guys Up Front!" we see the first traces of the transformation.

Jack: Boy, it must've been tough for the Guys Up Front. We think we have it bad? Just think about those guys up front! They REALLY had to face some challenges. And by the Guys Up Front, I mean the poor kids in 1961 who had to read stories like this!

Peter: The Sarge's mail bag this issue touches on a question I've often pondered: the order of Army organizational units. I'm sure, being the non-military dunce I am, that I've mislabeled a squad as a regiment or vice versa but thanks to the query from James Mallory of Great Barrington, Mass., that's all behind me now! For the record, the order, from smallest to largest is: Squad, Section, Platoon, Company, Battalion, Regiment, Brigade, Division, Corps, Field Army, and Army Group. Thanks a lot, James! Also, sales figures are given this issue: 176,000 copies sold on average in 1960.

Jack: Did I mention that the Guys Up Front really had it tough?

Jerry Grandenetti

Our Fighting Forces 60

"Tank Target!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Jerry Grandenetti

"Balloon for a Hawk!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Russ Heath

Jack: Gunner is getting tired of being a "Tank Target" every time he and Sarge go out on patrol. After the two of them take out another Japanese tank using nothing but their guns, Gunner tells the Captain that they really need some more sophisticated anti-tank weaponry. Like a gift from above, a supply plane drops the very sort of weapons Gunner dreamed of, and Sarge rustles up a posse of intrepid soldiers to head off toward the enemy's position, new weapons in tow. Unfortunately, the anti-tank gun sinks in an unexpected patch of quicksand. The rest of the new gear is similarly useless, leaving our heroes to resort to their wits once again to disable still more tanks. I learned a new term: PBY, which is a flying boat used in the '30s and '40s by the U.S military.. Who says this blog isn't educational?

Good boy!

Peter: I know Jack's upset his favorite Pooch is side-lined (on his own cot in the field hospital, at least!) but I must confess that, as Gunner and Sarge adventures go, this one's not completely horrible. Damning praise, I know, but considering what a mess this series has been, it's a bit heartening to make it through a chapter without nodding off or feeling ill. I could be forced to admit that I smiled at some of the intentionally humorous bits as well but this art is gawdawful chicken scratch and, as we've seen in our bi-weekly look at the mystery line, Grandenetti's only going to get worse. I feel like ONE OF THE GUYS UP FRONT!

Jack: An American lieutenant finds himself the first U.S. soldier to be sent to France in WWI to fly a fighter plane. He sets his sights on the German Ace known as the Red Hawk, but his initial mission ends badly when the Red Hawk shoots his plane down. The lieutenant is grounded by Col. Jacques, the French commanding officer, until he sees the Red Hawk cruelly shoot down a French plane as it is landing. Taking to the sky once again, the lieutenant chases the Red Hawk but is shot down over the Red Hawk's own field, where he runs for the safety of the basket under a large balloon that the Germans use to guard the field against strafing. The lieutenant uses a "Balloon for a Hawk," shooting at the enemy flyer with a machine gun mounted on the balloon's basket. The balloon rises and soon falls, victim of the Red Hawk's bullets, but our hero triumphs and manages to bring down the villain.

Peter: We're luckily graced with an extra long, extra exciting helping of Sir Russ's art this issue and it's nice that the script is up to the man's talents. It's an edge-of-your-seater that's marred only by the obligatory "Saved by the Grace of God" climax. Some of these warriors actually sacrificed their lives now and then (history books have told us so) so I think it would have been a testament to those heroes if The Two Bobs allowed a protagonist to make the ultimate sacrifice rather than writing them out of a dead end. Having your plane land on a well-placed bed of mattresses (or your scuttled sub rescued by Martians) in the end tends to dampen the suspense that came before it.

Jack is so jealous!