The DC War Comics
1959-1976 by Corporals Enfantino and Seabrook |
Kubert |
"The Toy Jet!"
(Reprinted from All-American Men of War #78, April 1960)
"Human Trigger!"
Story by Ed Herron
Art by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito
(Reprinted from Star Spangled War Stories #18, February 1954)
"Face a Firing Squad!"
Story by Ed Herron
Art by Carmine Infantino
(Reprinted from Star Spangled War Stories #14, October 1953)
"Corporal Gerry Kisters"
Story and Art by Norman Maurer
"Slave"
Story by Willi Franz
Art by Russ Heath
Could this be the best story of 1972? Stay tuned! |
Omigosh! You mean he was dead the whole time? No way! |
"Slave": a bright ray of sunshine among the drab reprints |
Kubert |
"Naked Combat"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Russ Heath
"Frogman Carrier!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Joe Kubert
(Reprinted from All-American Men of War #63, November 1958)
"The Yellow Ribbon"
Story by Harry Harrison
Art by Jerry Grandenetti
(Reprinted from Star Spangled War Stories #16, December 1953)
Jack: A new recruit nicknamed Soldier Boy brags about how great he will be when he faces "Naked Combat," but when Nazis dressed in American G.I. uniforms attack with machine guns, he freezes. Soldier Boy and Sgt. Rock are captured by the Nazis and told to strip down to their boxer shorts and march through the snow. Rock overpowers their two Nazi captors and he and Soldier Boy dress in the Germans' uniforms, but when they are challenged by other Nazi soldiers to give a password, Rock is shot and Soldier Boy runs away. Rock manages to survive (of course) and gets the best of another Nazi guard before returning to Easy Co., where he gives Soldier Boy a smack across the chops and then tells everyone to keep moving.
"Naked Combat" indeed! |
A frogman has to get up close to his targets, unlike a machine gunner or an airplane pilot. This particular frogman has to get close enough to a pillbox on the beach to deliver a stick of dynamite. He then has to attach explosives to a sub while underwater and then fight off enemy frogmen. Finally, he has to attach explosives to an enemy ship and avoid a patrol boat. His jobs done, he is picked up by a rescue plane and ends up manning a machine gun to shoot down enemy fighters!
"Frogman Carrier!" |
Carlisle's horse bolts when the Sioux start firing, so he returns to the fort determined to demonstrate his courage. The next day, General Custer announces his plan to attack the Sioux. The march reaches the Little Big Horn River, where a huge war party of Sioux is encountered. Carlisle volunteers for the dangerous mission of riding off alone to deliver a message seeking reinforcements. He bravely delivers the message and returns to Little Big Horn, only to find all of the U.S. soldiers massacred and General Custer dying. With his dying breath, Custer commends Carlisle's courage and gives him "The Yellow Ribbon" to denote his bravery.
A little help from Carmine Infantino? |
Peter: Wow!!! What a great Rock story this time out. I'd love to get a gander at Big Bob's script for "Naked Combat" as it would be interesting to see how the panels with not one word of dialogue or captions were mapped out (insert the usual comments about jaw-dropping, iconic, mesmerizing artwork from Russ Heath). I'm really getting a good feeling about these DC war stories going forward after a few years of mostly sub-par action yarns. A couple of good reprints this time out (one of them featuring above-average art from our old whipping boy, Jerry Grandenetti!) and that makes this one of the best all-around issues of Our Army in quite a while.
Kubert |
"God of the Losers!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by John Severin and Joe Kubert
"Frogman Jinx!"
Story by Bill Finger
Art by Russ Heath
(Reprinted from All-American Men of War #56, April 1958)
"A Fort Called Lucky!"
(Reprinted from G.I. Combat #85, January 1961)
"3 Bullets"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Ross Andru, Mike Esposito, and Joe Kubert
"Battle Beat!"
Story by Bill Finger
Art by Mort Meskin
(Reprinted from Star Spangled War Stories #49, September 1956)
Jack: Johnny Cloud flies Gunner and Sarge to a Pacific island, but enemy fire forces them to crash-land in the ocean. The trio swims to the island and has to scale a sheer rock cliff to reach the village of Tehan. Cloud, dressed like an island villager in Bermuda shorts and magic necklace, thinks about how the old chief of the Tehana people sent his son on a mission to reach the Allies in order to ask for help for the village. As the young chief floated off on a wooden raft, he saw the Japanese take the island. He finally reached a British cruiser and was able to convey the message requesting help right before he died.
Just another tricky day for the Losers! |
As the Losers scale the cliff (in the rain, of course), a Japanese fighter plane attacks them, but Johnny Cloud suddenly becomes convinced he is the young chief of the Tehana and that his magic necklace will protect the trio. Sure enough, the Zero crashes into the side of the mountain and the Losers finish their ascent and make their way to the Tehana village. The Tehana reveal their hidden weapons and they and the Losers attack the Japanese soldiers on the island. A bloody battle ensues and the Tehana are victorious; Cloud returns to his senses and the Losers paddle off in a canoe.
"Frogman Jinx!" |
A man who always seems to run into bad luck faces the "Frogman Jinx!" when he joins the service and sees underwater action against the Nazis. Lucky for him, things that spell bad luck on land help him survive in the briny deep. Bill Finger's six-page story is a simple one and Russ Heath's nice, late-'50s art ensures that it's a quick and enjoyable read.
"3 Bullets" |
A soldier who was a cop back home now walks a "Battle Beat!" as an M.P. during WWII. However, the French town he patrols becomes the site of some hot action, and he proves his skills at fighting as he defeats Nazi tanks and snipers. The second reprint in this issue to be penned by Golden Age great Bill Finger, this six-pager has art by another Golden Age stalwart, Mort Meskin, but it's not his best work. The story is nothing special.
"Battle Beat!" |
Next Week . . . We loved the first issue of Piracy but . . . Are there enough good salty sea sagas to fill two issues? Be here to find out the answer, ya bilge rats! |
2 comments:
"I did not appreciate Kubert when I was growing up but this blog has sure changed my mind."
I am 100% with you, Jack. Of course Kubert never did superheroes when I got into the books in the late 70s, and I never searched out titles like Flash or Tarzan. But now and then I stumbled upon his work and didn't like it.
But after reading about his work on the war books on your blog I tried him again and absolutly devoured his Enemy Ace. Wonderful, wonderful work which deserves a broader recognition. It is quite a shame that for all the deluge of digital and hsrdcover reprints his work seems scarce again as the Showcase line is out of print.
Thanks, Andy. The only Kubert I really saw as a kid (and this was in reprints or collecting back issues) was his Hawkman work from the '60s. The Gentleman Ghost always rattled me.
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