The DC War Comics
1959-1976 by Corporals Enfantino and Seabrook |
Kubert |
"Circle of Death!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Russ Heath
"The Flying Mine!"
Story by Bill Finger
Art by Russ Heath
(Reprinted from G.I. Combat #61, June 1958)
Peter: A quiet day cleaning his Spad and being ogled by the Major's gorgeous daughter is interrupted for Lt. Steve Savage by the machine gun fire of attacking Fokkers. Grabbing the girl and shielding her, Savage can do nothing while his comrades die in flaming agony all around him. But once the Fokkers have left the air space, Steve and his remaining squadron take to the air for a pound of flesh. That revenge comes at a high price, since Steve manages to blow a couple of dirty German pilots out of their cockpit, but Steve's Spad is irreparably damaged and he must execute a perfect two and a half somersault in the Pike position into a conveniently placed lake to avoid becoming part of the landscape. He's in for a dressing down from his C.O. once he gets back to the base but, luckily for him, the General never seems to be doing anything but hanging around and comes to his defense (again). That night, at the base dance, the Major's daughter attempts to illustrate just how grateful she is for Steve having saved her life but, once again, duty calls, and Steve is in the air. The only plane available is the Major's, but that's no problem (until later) and Savage transforms several Gotha bombers into just so much balsa wood. The Lt. lands the Major's plane just outside of town and heads for a bar for a frosty beverage, There, he witnesses the owner of the establishment striking a young waitress and, losing his cool, Steve decks the guy. Our hero then heads back to the dance for the obligatory Major dressing down and General salvation. When he heads to the plane to bring it back to the base, he finds the young waitress, Mimi, admiring the Spad. Knowing a good opportunity when he sees one, he offers the lady a lift but Steve's good manners lead to trouble when the plane is attacked by the German ace, the Executioner. Savage blows the devil from the sky but Mimi is riddled with bullets. Steve sighs that he just can't catch a break as he carries the girl's lifeless form from the air field.
"Circle of Death!" |
"The Flying Mine!" |
Jack: That's it for Steve Savage for the time being? With the bravura performance by Russ Heath this time around, it's too bad. Kubert's cover is gorgeous, with the red background setting off the yellow plane, and Heath's interior art is the best I can remember. You and I will never agree about who is the best DC war artist (come on, we all know it's Joe Kubert), but your comments on Kanigher's writing here are accurate. It's unfortunate that he had to include all of the usual Steve Savage incidents because, by the end of this 18-page story, it was starting to go somewhere interesting. There is a throwaway mention of Hans von Hammer in the middle of the tale, but the highlight, for me--other than the artwork--was the ending, where Mimi rather surprisingly dies and Steve realizes that he has the "touch of death." Kanigher could get a little dark and go a bit deeper into his characters' emotions on occasion, when he wasn't sticking so closely to his self-imposed formulas.
"Circle of Death!" |
Kubert |
"No One Comes Down Alive From--
Buzzard Bait Hill!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Joe Kubert
"Somebody Down There's Laughing!"
Story by Howard Liss
Art by Jack Abel
Jack: After Sgt. Rock single-handedly defeats a Nazi tank and its crew, he and the men of Easy Co. seek refuge for the night in a farmhouse, where they encounter a WWI lieutenant with a Tommy gun who thinks his war is still being fought. He remembers leading his men up Hill 711, where they learned that "No One Comes Down Alive From--Buzzard Bait Hill!" A local French woman nursed the lieutenant back to health and he has been waiting more than 20 years for replacement soldiers to come and help him take the hill.
Rather than harm the old soldier, Rock orders his men to go along with the plan and help him climb what should be an empty hill. Unexpectedly, Nazis have set up camp on the hilltop and begin firing at Easy Co. The old lieutenant is shot but Rock and his men take the position and bury the lieutenant at the top. Kubert's art seems uncharacteristically rushed in the early pages of this story, but he gets his second wind in part two and delivers pages that support Kanigher's sentimental tale. It's not top-notch Sgt. Rock, but even second tier work in this series is pretty good.
"Buzzard Bait Hill" |
"Somebody Down There's Laughing!" |
Peter: I liked the Rock saga this issue (certainly better than the last few months' entries) but, again, I find that Liss easily takes the prize. "Somebody Down There's Laughing" is relentlessly grim, with the final image, of Lt. Roy laughing as he's blown to bits, particularly harrowing. Could Liss have been placed in the DC war bullpen to give the line a much needed shot of pessimism ala Warren's Blazing Combat or EC's war titles? I would have preferred an artist like Gene Colan or Joe Kubert on the job, as Jack Abel really doesn't do the script justice with his straightforward style but, in this case at least, the words outweigh the images.
Kubert |
"Cold Steel for a Hot War!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Jack Abel
"Periscope Quarterback!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Russ Heath
(reprinted from G.I. Combat #64, September 1958)
Jack: As Captain Hunter continues his search through Vietnam for his missing brother, accompanied by that Oriental kewpie doll, Lu Lin, he is confronted with "Cold Steel for a Hot War!" in the hands of Vietnamese children, who insist that he lead them in a fight against the V.C. who killed their parents. After some initial reluctance, Hunter agrees and he and the young folks manage to kill every North Vietnamese soldier they encounter.
This panel by Jack Abel looks a bit like the work of Jack Davis! |
Peter: The Capt. Hunter series shambles on with yet another awful installment. Bob's going through the motions, just filling eighteen pages with blank space; the hammered catch-phrases ("It's a dirty little war," "the Oriental kewpie doll"), the flashbacks to his brother's capture, the same tired old beats (how many times does Lu Lin have to save Hunter's life before he trusts her?) and, most egregious of all, the really bad one-liners ("Suddenly--the dirty little war dropped down on me again like a boom in black pajamas!"). Hunter's crafty survival in a pit full of sharpened sticks is one for the books and . . . please, tell me, where does "the Oriental kewpie doll" go to when danger rears its head? Does she hang back and work on her knitting? She always seems to disappear and then show up with a helping hand after the smoke has cleared. Much better is our vintage reprint, "Periscope Quarterback!" with its fabulous Russ Heath art and ingenious plot twist. Just ignore the silly football lingo. Hey, any month that features three Heaths (even if two of them are reruns) can't be all bad!
Next Week! A quintet of Wally Wood! |
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