Star Spangled DC War Stories Issue 137: April and May 1973

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

R.I.P. Russ Heath (1926-2018)

Kubert

G.I. Combat 160

"Battle Ghost!"
Story by Archie Goodwin
Art by Sam Glanzman

"The Jackals!"
Story by Gerry Boudreau
Art by Jack Sparling

Peter: Through a series of illusions, the crew of the Haunted Tank manages to elude destruction at the hands of the vicious Tiger commander, Major von Todstrom, but the enraged Nazi vows revenge. The boys continue to use deception (hay bales, smoke, the usual WWII obstacles) to make their way back to friendlier territory but the major is a bit more crafty, as we soon discover. The boys use a small river to cover their tracks and come across an unusual sight: two escaped POWs (from last issue's liberation, we're told by Archie) battling each other mid-stream. Jeb has his crew separate the men and gets the skinny: one of the POWs (white) accuses the other (African-American) of being a Nazi infiltrator who sold secrets to the camp commandant for extra rations.

"Battle Ghost!"

One of our boys recognizes the accused as Gus Gray, a distinguished (but disgraced) 1936 Olympic star who allegedly took bribes for cash. Immediately, the other POW's accusations gain weight with the crew. The Jeb moves on and, as they turn a corner, they come across a bridge populated by their old friend, von Todstrom! To add to their trouble, a Stuka comes roaring out of the sky, armed with plenty of TNT eggs! How could the Haunted Tank have been located, wonders Jeb Stuart (not the ghost, but the tank commander), as his eyes are averted from the Nazi Armageddon on the bridge to Gus Gray high-tailing it to shore with his adversary in hot  pursuit. Von Todstrom does a bit of eye-averting as well and takes his attention off the big prize long enough for the Jeb to roll into a strategic area where von Todstrom can't blast them. The Stuka completes the hat-trick when the pilot zeroes in on the Jeb, not realizing the Tiger on the bridge is between them. Kablooey! On shore, Jeb discovers that the (white!) POW has been fatally wounded and, as he's dying, confesses to being the Nazi spy, exonerating Gus and, at the same time, admonishing all of us that believed Gus Gray was guilty because of the color of his skin.

We all know . . .
that people are the same wherever you go . . .

This worked a decade before with Sgt. Rock and Jackie Johnson but, with "Battle Ghost!," it's a bit forced and it comes with a lazy expository. The story itself is exciting and all the twists and turns make for a page-turner, so Archie's efforts aren't completely wasted. Gus Gray will become an important part of the tank crew when . . . ah, but that would be spilling the beans. I'll get to that when we get to that. Sam's art was beginning to grow on me but this issue it's definitely one step up, four steps back and we return to the really scratchy, almost indistinguishable features of the main characters. If there's one other aspect of the script I'd roll my eyes about (other than reminding us that all mankind is like a piano keyboard), it's the speed in which our heroes manage to pull off their subterfuges. Burying your tank in a haystack has to take more than a couple minutes, I would think. Yeah, I know what you're saying . . . when was the last time you buried your tank in a haystack, Enfantino? Oh, and the next issue blurb is intriguing!

Lt. James Decker lies mortally wounded on the battlefield while "The Jackals!," peasants from a nearby village, steal belongings from the dead G.I.s around him. One of the items stolen from Jim is a letter written by a dead friend to the man's wife, a letter Jim promised he would mail if bad karma caught up to him. Now, recovered after a hospital stay, Decker heads to the village to recover the letter and exact a pound of flesh for his troubles. Once he finds the jackal and discovers the thief is only a young boy, he takes the letter and simmers down. This one is really serious but I can't help but snicker when I see the really bad art. At least Sparling keeps most of his characters in shadow (or rain) but whenever a clear shot pops up, there goes the magic right out the window. Just look at the splash (right) and you realize this Sparling guy can do good work when he isn't given anything human to work with. The script is so heavy-handed and the captions so deadly serious (I can just hear William Conrad in full-out Fugitive narrator mode reading that final panel caption: Lt. James Decker turned . . . suddenly spent. Something inside him still cried out for vengeance . . .) that any real message or moral is lost between the purple prose cobblestones.

Jack: I'm surprised you were so hard on these stories, Peter. Maybe you have already forgotten last week, when we covered our tank in hay in record time? It's unusual that the writing is better than the art in any of the (many, many) comics we read and write about, but this issue of G.I. Combat is a rarity where the scripts trump the pictures in both tales. "Battle Ghost!" is very entertaining and I was not expecting the ending, even though you thought it was obvious. I had to look up Gus Gray online to discover that the character was not a real person. As for "The Jackals!," the opening scene reminded me of a great scene in Les Miserables where one key character is robbing the corpses on the battlefield after Waterloo. Boudreau works up some real emotion in the final scene and I thought Sparling's art was just good enough in just enough places to support the writing.

Kubert

Our Army at War 256

"School for Sergeants"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Russ Heath

"Portuguese Man of War"
Story and Art by Sam Glanzman

Jack: Sgt. Rock bids farewell to the men of Easy Co. when he is flown to Burma for a special mission as an instructor in a "School for Sergeants"! The other sergeants are good but the Army wants Rock to turn them into outstanding leaders. Of course, the sergeants are not thrilled at the prospect of being trained by a stranger and, when they are on patrol in the jungle, enemy sniper fire erupts. One of the sergeants starts to dig in but Rock ignores him and shoots the sniper out of the tree.

That night, only one sergeant unrolls his bedroll near Sgt. Rock. The next day, the sergeants approach an enemy pillbox and gunfire erupts from inside it. One sergeant yells to rush the position but Rock counsels caution and a combination of grenade fire, automatic weapon fire, and a careful approach succeeds in destroying the pillbox without sacrificing human life. That night, a second sergeant brings his bedroll near to that of Sgt. Rock. The third day dawns and the sergeants are out on patrol again when gunfire erupts from a Japanese tank. One sergeant is wounded and, after the tank is dispatched, Rock carries the injured man on his back until they reach safety. That night, the wounded man makes sure that all of the other sergeants surround Rock with their bedrolls. In the morning, as Rock departs, the sergeants all line up to salute him as he goes.

"School for Sergeants"

Kanigher and Heath combine to tell a stirring tale of one man's heroism, though I have to say it was a bit confusing the first time I read it. Russ Health's art is great, but I had a bit of difficulty distinguishing one sergeant from another when the bullets started to fly and, as a result, I had to read this one a couple of times before I realized that it was the other sergeants, and not Rock, who were making mistakes and that the sergeants whose lives he saved were probably the same ones who came and slept near him at night. At least, that's what I think was going on. Wordless sequences are great but it helps when the action is clear.

"Portugese Man of War"

The U.S.S. Stevens almost runs into one of its own mines that has broken free of its moorings. After that, the crew is on high alert for mines and thinks they see them everywhere! One morning, the ship seems to be passing through an area filled with mines, but the frightened crew realizes they are nothing but "Portugese Man of War" fish that resemble floating mines.

These incidents are mainly interesting because of the suggestion that they are based on things that really happened to Sam Glanzman when he was in the Navy in WWII. This one is presented as a handwritten letter to home with illustrations. It's goofy and forgettable.

Peter: Both stories this issue are a bit of a departure . . . without being much of a departure. The Rock is solo Rock and I thought, at the onset, this might be an interesting change of pace. But it wasn't. Swap "new Easy G.I." duds for sergeant stripes and you've got the general gist of "School for Sergeants." It's no wonder Rock's C.O. wanted him to take his fellow Sarges to school--with attitudes like theirs, how the heck did they get promoted? The USS Stevens entry works a bit better, probably because of its brevity, but one thing that hasn't changed is Sam's ugly art. Sorry, I know there are lots of Glanzman fans out there, but I'm on the fence, swaying back and forth, right now.

Kubert

Our Fighting Forces 142

"1/2 a Man"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by John Severin

"Home"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Ric Estrada

Jack: The Losers are told they'll be traveling to El Mukktar in the African desert to track down an Arab fighter who the natives think is the reincarnation of Saladin. When the commanding officer tells Captain Storm that he's being sent home on a medical discharge, Storm heads off on his own, determined to prove himself by tracking down Saladin alone. The rest of the Losers follow him but don't let him know they're behind him, helping out at every turn, because they don't want him to think he's "1/2 a Man."

With the Losers trailing him, Captain Storm joins the Royal Navy and ships out on a vessel bound for Mukktar, then jumps ship once he gets close and swims to shore before crossing the desert in search of Saladin. Outside a desert village, Captain Storm saves a boy from a lion attack and the lad leads him to Saladin's location, where Storm finds that the Losers are already there and about to be executed! It's Captain Storm to the rescue, as he first guns down a group of swordsmen who are about to cut the heads off of the Losers, then engages in a sword fight himself with Saladin, skewering the Arab fighter and boasting that he saved the Losers all by himself. The Arab boy reminds Captain Storm that he had some help from Allah.

"1/2 a Man"

John Severin's work on this installment of the Losers saga is about as good as anything I saw from him in our reading of the EC comics of the 1950s! Kanigher's story is quite good, even with three pages or so devoted to a recap of the Captain Storm saga, and my only concern is that, with Storm back, the Losers seem to have no place for Ona, who is shuffled off to the side in the story's first panel.

Brett says goodbye to his beloved wife and marches off to join the Confederate Army in the Civil War, the first time he and his bride have been apart in 22 years. Brett becomes a great fighter but he never forgets his "Home" and always thinks about returning. Man after man falls beside him and all he hears is that the dead are finally going home, so when he is captured by Union forces he leaps off a cliff and finds himself in a fast-moving river, heading for roaring rapids and a steep drop off a waterfall. A smile plays on Brett's face, since he knows he's finally going home.

"Home"

Yes, you read that right--a character commits suicide at the end of this story in a 1973 DC comic. It's not all that subtle as to Brett's intent. The only problem, as usual, is Ric Estrada's art. I don't think we'll be seeing any coffee table book collections of his work any time soon.

Peter: With a huge assist from John Severin, Bob Kanigher is turning the Losers into a grade-A war/quasi-superhero strip. I'd have preferred the "Captain Storm is Dead" story line to continue at least a few more issues but at least Big Bob isn't simply returning to the same ol'-same ol'. The writer seems invigorated by the artist, who has somehow transformed Gunner and Sarge into manly G.I.s rather than a Martin and Lewis knock-off and the artist, likewise, is giving his all for an intelligent script. "Home" is a thoughtful and moving look at the Civil War but, to tell you the truth, I was having a hard time actually looking at the thing because of Ric Estrada's Jerry Grandenetti homage. Perhaps Joe should have borrowed some of the talent Orlando had hidden in his office.

Kubert

Star Spangled War Stories 169

"Destroy the Devil's Broomstick!"
Story by Archie Goodwin
Art by Jack Sparling

"Mine Eyes Have Seen . . ."
Story by John Warner
Art by Ken Barr

Peter: The Unknown Soldier faces his most dangerous and demanding mission yet: "Destroy the Devil's Broomstick!" The Devil's Broomstick is the nickname of Germany's new rocket-powered jet, the Komet, and US knows it will prolong the war if it gets placed into production. Our hero impersonates Japanese Colonel Nakadai and gets aboard the submarine that holds the prototype, heading for Japan. Safely on board as Nakadai, the Soldier plants a bomb and then makes excuses for disembarking before the sub launches, but is trapped when Allied bombing forces the fish to dive and head for deep waters. At sea, the Nazis run across survivors from a sunken American freighter and murder them.

"Destroy the Devil's Broomstick!"

"Destroy the Devil's Broomstick!"

Outraged and unable to control his emotions, our masked man lunges out at Nazi General Wessel (aboard the ship to accompany the prototype) and a fight ensues. Unknown Soldier's disguise is compromised and the sub commander suspects an explosive has been planted. Luckily for our hero, the commander is not a vicious, bloodthirsty, arrogant, smelly schweinhund like the General and the Soldier takes advantage of the moment and triggers the alarm, alerting patrolling Allied vessels above to their presence! Depth charges rain down on the sub and it sinks to the ocean floor, but the crew is able to eject to safety through the torpedo tubes, leaving only three occupants for a showdown. Wessel vows to kill the Soldier but, before he can, he's shot down by the sympathetic sub commander. The Captain goes down with the ship but the bandaged super-soldier exits to fight another day. Except for my usual rantings about Jack Sparling's awful art, it's thumbs-up for "Destroy the Devil's Broomstick!," the best Unknown Soldier yarn we've had in quite a while; the suspense level is at nine. The commander's excuse for turning sides and shooting his countryman (his family was murdered by the Nazis in a really big SNAFU) is a tad clichéd and weak but the dialogue between him and the General is a nice alternative to the usual blahblahblah. Now, how do I get over my dislike for these visuals (although I'll allow that the final panel, left, is pretty cool)?

"Mine Eyes Have Seen . . ."

A news journalist sent to report on the war seems disappointed he's not able to report on macho heroism, instead witnessing small acts of kindness and nurses bandaging the wounded. It's only when he must enter a burning building to rescue a baby that he discovers that it takes all kinds of heroes to make up a war . . . or something like that. I gotta say, I love Ken Barr's art on "Mine Eyes Have Seen . . ." and I'm super glad another A-lister joined the bullpen but John Warner's script comes off as pretentious and self-important, almost in the style of those precious Marvel writers of the early 1970s (Doug Moench comes right to the front of my brain as one of the leading offenders) who were going to solve the world's problems by reminding us that we weren't doing enough no matter what we were doing. Hell, even the title sounds pretentious, doesn't it? The reporter does one of those patented Kanigher about-faces after spending the entire story being pig-headed. Just doesn't ring true.

Jack: Peter, you cynical old Marvel Zombie! "Mine Eyes" is a thoughtful story with strong art and it's very much of its time. I wish people wrote more pieces like this today! As for "Devil's Broomstick," Goodwin's script is suspenseful and Sparling's art, while never reaching a level of greatness, is at least decent and, in places, quite respectable. The panel you reproduce is one example; another is the giant head and shoulders of Nakadai surrounded by jet planes in flight. Top it off with yet another great Kubert cover and a two-page Battle Album spread by returning DC star Gil Kane, and you have yourself a very good issue of SSWS!

Luis Dominguez

Weird War Tales 13

"The Die-Hards"
Story by Jack Oleck
Art by Nestor Redondo

"Old Samurai Never Die"
Story by Arnold Drake
Art by Alex Niño

"Losers' Luck"
Story by Mike Pellowski and George Kashdan
Art by Tony DeZuñiga

Peter: Nazi Colonel Kurt Broder is sent to the small mountain village of Lindz when several soldiers are found with their throats torn out. The local villagers claim there are vampires in the area but, of course, the explanation is met with guffaws and angry threats. If the mayor won't give up the killers, his townsfolk will die, in groups, every day. And every day, more residents are hanged or shot down, yet still the mayor sticks to his blood-beast theory until there are no villagers left and Lindz is a town bereft of life save Nazi soldiers. On the night of the final massacre, Broder is visited in his bedroom by the mayor, who explains that he never lied, that he is a vampire and bullets cannot harm the undead. When the colonel laughs and threatens one vampire with the wooden stakes of two hundred soldiers, the mayor smiles and tells him to have a look outside. Glancing out the window and watching his men fall before a multitude of fangs, the colonel finally understands that the mayor never told him Lindz was a village filled with vampires. Straight out of the EC cookbook comes "The Die-Hards," delivered by Jack Oleck, who worked at EC during its final years. There's nothing new here: Nazis are scum; peasants, their innocent victims. So why do the vampires bother going through the motions? Why not just slaughter the Ratzis the second they arrive in Lindz? Because then it would have been a one-pager.

"The Die-Hards"

"Old Samurai Never Die"

In fifteenth-century Japan, Baron Tanaka and his band of Samurai spread death and evil throughout the land, hoping the bloodshed will cement his place in history and lead to his becoming a Shogun. But Tanaka's reign comes to a halt when a case of mistaken identity finds his neck in a noose. The story is a bit confusing (I had to go back and read it a couple times to get the gist of the twist) but it's intelligent and layered, not what I'd come to expect from writer Arnold Drake. The visuals are stunning, some of the best we've seen from the new talent, and even perennial winner Russ Heath will have to work very hard to wrest the Best Art of 1973 trophy from the hands of Alex Niño!

By 2049, World War III is over and the world is a nearly-unlivable mess (not quite California, but pretty close). Orphans under ten are dragged down into an underground city where they are being trained, they believe, to repopulate an army and do it to the other guys before they do it to us. Into this world come twin brothers, Jeremy and David, twins who look alike but whose world views are polar opposites. David yearns to hold a blaster in his hand and mow down as many commies as possible while Jeremy simply wants to live the life of a pacifist and grow string beans in his cabana.

Their eighteenth birthdays come and, with that, their places in society are announced: David will stay behind and Jeremy will be sent back up to the surface world. Enraged by the perceived slight, David clocks his brother and takes his place in line for the trek up. When he gets there, he discovers he was actually picked to stay behind because of his strength; eggheads are considered useless and are thus dumped into the killing atmosphere above. A very "adult"science fiction tale, with an effective climax, that doesn't spend a lot of time preaching about the evils of mankind yet gets its message across just fine. And, my gosh, how can you ask for a more complete package of outstanding art than the efforts of Messrs. Redondo, Niño, and DeZuñiga this issue? DeZuñiga's wasteland is just that, a detailed Hell above ground. An embarrassment of riches, as they say.

On the letters page (which has, of late, been stuffed full of "Gosh, that issue was great!" and "I love those old reprints" missives), we get a very relevant and thoughtful letter from one Bill Henley, Jr., of Ohio, who writes:

In Weird War Tales, I hope to see stories in which the "weirdness" and the horror spring from the nature of war itself, and from the strange and terrible things war does to men and society, and not from supernatural causes or impossible coincidences. I hope to see stories which escape the "good guy-bad guy" mold which none of your other series ever really escape.

Well, if Bill were standing before me right now, I'd say, "Things are looking up, Junior!"--if the Samurai and sci-fi stories are any indication, that is. Sure, we get a helping of cliched nonsense dressed up in Nazi regalia, but if WWT were being reviewed along with the rest of the mystery line, I'd put it right at the top.

Jack: I'm right with you, Peter; Orlando's stable of new artists is making Weird War Tales into a strong comic, indeed. Granted, "The Die-Hards" is predictable Nazi nonsense, but the real horror of the story is perpetrated by the Nazis upon the villagers and the vampires come off looking like justified agents of revenge. As good as Redondo's art is here, Niño goes him one better in the Samurai story, which looks a bit like what I imagine Bernie Krigstein was going for but never quite achieved. The story by that old war-horse Arnold Drake is kind of confusing, but when I have the opportunity to see some new work by Toth then the story is of secondary importance. I was not as taken with the third story as you were, since I think DC's efforts at science fiction and futuristic settings in the war and horror books usually seem disappointing. I have no complaints about Tony DeZuñiga's art, however!

Kubert

100-Page Super Spectacular #DC-16

"Make Me a Hero!"
(Reprinted from Our Army at War #136, November 1963)

"Killer Hunt!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Irv Novick
(Reprinted from Captain Storm #1, June 1964)

"The Flying Chief!"
(Reprinted from All-American Men of War #82, December 1960)

"Battle Doll!"
(Reprinted from Star Spangled War Stories #84, August 1959)

"Gunner's Choice!"
(Reprinted from Our Fighting Forces #46, June 1959)

"Haunted Tank vs. Ghost Tank!"
(Reprinted from G.I. Combat #88, July 1961)

Jack: P.T. boat Captain Bill Storm is haunted by a recurring nightmare of how he lost his vessel and his entire crew on his first mission when they were attacked by a Japanese submarine. The face of the sub commander is burned in Storm's memory and he vows revenge, but the fact that he lost his left leg in the battle means that he has to do some serious recuperating before the Navy brass will let him back in charge of another boat. With the aid of pretty Nurse Lea, Storm fights his way back to competence and is put in charge of another PT boat, coincidentally helmed by the brother of his favorite crewman who was killed in the Japanese sub attack. Captain Storm's wise leadership helps destroy an enemy plane when it attacks his boat, and the same fate awaits an enemy Destroyer that Captain Storm sets his sights on. When the PT boat locates the submarine that has become Captain Storm's "white whale," the skipper causes the sub some damage but fails to wreck it and must be satisfied with keeping his boat and crew alive.

"Killer Hunt!"

"Killer Hunt!" is an exciting, full-length story that kicks off the saga of Captain Storm in fine fashion. We know the good captain from his place in the Losers, but this comic gives some much-needed background and is entertaining in its own right. The rest of the stories in this 100-pager are a terrific selection and represent some of the classic tales of our favorite DC war heroes.

Peter: An extra bit of 100-page fluff for the Easter holiday? Well, that's a good segue into a bit of trivia: there were far fewer DC titles cover-dated May 1973 than any other month, because the powers-that-be looked around and saw so many other publications getting longer newsstand life, with their two- (or in some cases, three-) month difference between sale date and cover date, and sent down the command that the monthly books would not be published in May. That doesn't mean the staff got a month off; they simply turned the month forward. We never got to cover Captain Storm's solo adventures (other than the two random reprints in Our Army at War #242 and G.I. Combat #151) as we concentrate only on the anthology books but ol' pegleg's maiden voyage isn't too bad. I'm not the world's biggest Irv Novick fan, but he seems to be able to manage the heavy lifting and Big Bob's script isn't all that bad (except for the constant reminders that "the guys aren't calling me skipper!"); I appreciate that Kanigher didn't have Storm harpoon his Moby in the premiere. Would I go back and read the other sixteen issues? Probably not.

Andru/Esposito

G.I. War Tales 1

"Guinea Pig Patrol!"
(Reprinted from Star Spangled War Stories #95, March 1961)

"One-Man Road Block!"
Story by Ed Herron
Art by Jim McArdle
(Reprinted from Star Spangled War Stories #23, July 1954)

"Stragglers Never Come Back!"
(Reprinted from Star Spangled War Stories #100, January 1962)

Jack: As G.I.s move closer toward the front in WWII France, Fleming's sergeant tells him to leave his dog Blackie behind. Fleming drops off the rest of the men and drives his jeep forward toward an observation post when he happens on a wrecked tank and some wounded men. Blackie tracks him down just as a Nazi armored car approaches and Fleming destroys it with the machine gun mounted on his jeep.

Back at HQ, the Nazis launch shells from an anti-tank gun to level the unexpected roadblock. Fleming shows amazing accuracy when he responds with two shots from a grenade launcher and wipes out the two far-off Nazi anti-tank guns. Shocked to hear that this is a "One-Man Road Block!," the Nazi commander sends out two truckloads of infantry to finish off the American G.I. With Blackie's help, Fleming kills two Nazis who sneak up on him, and soon the rest of his outfit arrives to mop up the rest of the Nazis.

Jim McArdle did some comic book work in the '40s and '50s before dying in 1960. It tickles me to note that he worked as a staff artist at Fairchild Publications in New York City, since that's where I worked in my first job out of college. I was there a few decades after McArdle, though.

Peter: I wouldn't have imagined that the DC War line was doing so well that the editors would add not one, but two reprint titles in 1973 (this one will last four issues). But you'd think that the editors, drawing from hundreds of stories, could have found some better yarns to use a second time than the ones dumped in between these covers (although, to be fair, "Stragglers" did earn some praise from me when we first had a look at it). The only one of the three that's new to us is "One-Man Road Block!," a good example of what made so many of these 1950s DC war stories disposable. There's the G.I. who single-handedly holds off all of Hitler's forces with a few grenades, a bazooka, and a scruffy dog (who manages to tear out the throat of one unfortunate Nazi), all illustrated in crude, amateurish fashion with no style whatsoever. I'd love to see sales figures for these reprint titles.

"Rough!"

Kubert

Four ★★★★ Battle Tales 2 (May 1973)

"The Last Target"
(Reprinted from All-American Men of War #104, August 1964)

"Indians Don't Fight by the Book!"
(Reprinted from Our Army at War #196, August 1968)

Peter: So, why include a war comic dated May, 1973 in a post dedicated to comics from April? As discussed above, there were some changes made with the schedule for May and Four ★★★★ Battle Tales #2 was the only war title to be dated May. That's why!.

It's that time of the year again: circulation reports are here! Here's how our favorite war titles did in 1972 (Weird War Tales was still too young to qualify and we won't see sales figures for that title until 1975). We're suckers for lots of trivial data so we've included the sales reports for the two previous years as well. Furrow your brow and try to make sense of this. For the first time in years, with the exception of Our Fighting Forces, sales are up! Could this be due to the darker nature of the titles in 1972? Stay tuned.


                                                        1972         1971              1970          
G.I. Combat                                    170,557    167,841         178,363      
Our Army at War                            165,021    161,881         171,510      
Our Fighting Forces                        156,524    164,142         139,770      
Star Spangled War Stories              154,716    145,869         136,204      

Next Week . . .
Jack and Peter once again question
whether reading all those great
EC Comics was worth this tripe!