The DC War Comics
1959-1976 by Corporals Enfantino and Seabrook |
Kubert |
"The Evacuees!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by George Evans
"The Sorcerer's Apprentice"
Story and Art by Sam Glanzman
Jack: Sgt. Rock, Little Sure Shot, and Bulldozer manage to survive a harrowing ride in an ambulance, only to arrive at an airfield where the Med Evac plane is destroyed by an enemy attack! Rock talks another medical evacuee into flying him and his men out in the only plane available, a two-seater where Rock straps his men to the wings and hops into the rear cockpit. Rock thwarts an in-flight attack by blowing an enemy plane out of the sky and then putting out a fire in the cockpit with his hand wrapped in a cloth. The pilot freaks out and Rock has to take the controls for a time, but eventually Rock's mental strength allows the frightened pilot to land "The Evacuees" safely.
"The Evacuees!" |
Captain Patty Scone is an experienced gunner on the U.S.S. Stevens, and Jerry De Bitt, who passes him the shells, idolizes him. When Scone is killed in a kamikaze attack, De Bitt becomes "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and takes his place in the heat of battle.
"The Sorcerer's Apprentice" |
Peter: The one word I'd use to describe this issue's contents is "predictable." Alas, that's the same word I'd use to describe the last several Rock tales. There's this guy who's got a debilitating phobia but, by golly, we just know, with help from the Rock, he's going to overcome this illness and save the day. Sure enough. Usually, we've got Russ Heath to help rough out the foreseeable outcome, but George Evans did not have the power to elevate sub-par storytelling by this time in his career. The USS Stevens installment is okay but the revelation is no surprise at all. You know one of these main characters is going to buy the farm and the other will fill his shoes to save the day. Predictable.
Barr |
"Chain of Vengeance!"
Story by Archie Goodwin
Art by Sam Glanzman
"Every Battle... Y'Die a Little!"
Story by Frank Robbins
Art by Jack Sparling
Peter: Ever since the death of his almost-girlfriend, Rachele (back in #168), Jeb Stuart (the tank commander) has been on a mission to seek out and destroy her killer, Nazi Colonel Wessel. On the other side of the war lines, Wessel has been seeking revenge on the tank crew that cost him his left arm. Take a guess which tank crew that was? Immovable object meets unstoppable force when Jeb meets up with Wessel in a bombed-out village. The question is: will revenge satisfy Jeb Stuart in the end?
Again, we're told that, somehow, the Haunted Tank has acquired mythic proportions throughout WWII. Wessel comments that the tank crew he's searching for rides around in a tin can marked "The Haunted Tank." Really? Where was I when that name was etched on steel? Archie isn't very subtle when he slams home the fact that both commanders have legitimate reasons to see the other one dead but then, thanks to Glanzman's art, there's nothing subtle about this installment. I find it ironic that a crew fighting for freedom would have no problem flying the Southern Cross from their turret. Archie shoulda known better.
In the second feature, "Every Battle... Y'Die a Little!," Frank Robbins continues to prove he's not bad at the writin' gig. Here, he tells us a quick story about an old grunt ("a vet at 29") who tries to avoid contact with others, since it usually means death. A young recruit sidles up to our GI, asking if he could tag along, with the expected results. Jack Sparling's art isn't horrible, so this makes "Every Battle..." a double-surprise, even if the surprise isn't included in the script.
"Every Battle... Y'Die a Little!" |
Kubert |
"A Town Called Hate!"
Story by Frank Robbins
Art by Jack Sparling
"This Much Madness is Too Much Sorrow!"
Story by Gerry Boudreau
Art by Ric Estrada
Peter: The Unknown Soldier finds himself smack dab in the middle of a race war when a squad of men trapped in a bombed-out village start hurling racial insults and bullets at one another. Just in time, US discovers the unrest was initiated by the Ratzis to divide and conquer. "A Town Called Hate!" is one of the worst preachies I've had the unfortunate task to sit through. A multitude of the "new wave" of 1970s funny book writers took it upon themselves to edjacate their moron audience to the evils of racism (we had to wade through dozens of stories like this over at Marvel University), but chose to use sledgehammers rather than typewriters to drive the lessons home. I'd have expected more from a vet like Frank Robbins, since he hadn't just graduated from college, but I suppose Frank felt like he had to fit in to sell stories. Robbins ticks all the requisite boxes: bigoted colonels, hep, street-wise dialogue, and a "Can't we all just get along" speech in the final panels.
"A Town Called Hate!" |
The back-up, "This Much Madness..." is another preachy, but at least this one isn't offensive. A shell-shocked WWI soldier is brought to a hospital to mend, but is forced to rejoin the war effort when the Germans advance. The GI's malady is deemed cured when his doctor stages an elaborate ruse (dressed like a Jerry soldier) to convince the patient that he's forgiven for his war sins. The message is a bit muddled (and Estrada's art is even more muddled), but it's an interesting diversion.
"This Much Madness..." |
Dominguez |
"The Bird of Death!"
Story by John Albano
Art by Alfredo Alcala
"Day After Doomsday!"
Story by Len Wein
Art by Rich Buckler
"Corporal Kelly's Private War!"
Story by George Kashdan
Art by Alex NiƱo
Peter: GI Bezko is convinced he sees "The Bird of Death!" just before someone buys the farm. He watches in horror, with no defense, as many of his comrades die around him. When he and two of his fellow GIs are captured by the Krauts, Bezko sees the telltale pigeon and tricks the Nazis into an early grave. Though I'm usually tickled pink by any story accompanied by Alcala visuals, "The Bird of Death!" is not much fun, hanging its hat on the slimmest of plot hooks (in fact, the bird is hardly seen at all and disappears from the narrative until the final page). Like many of these rush jobs, we're never even given an explanation as to why Bezko is charmed/cursed with foresight; what we're left with is a jumbo-sized Ripley's Believe It or Not! reject.
"The Giant Claw of Death!" |
"Day After Doomsday!" |
"Corporal Kelly's Private War!" |
Jack: It was nice to see Nino rescue the issue with his usual freak-out panels and zany page designs. The Alcala story has sub-par art, except for a handful of panels where things (or people) are getting shot or blown up. The Wein/Buckler file story is not that bad, but early, raw Buckler is nothing special. This is shaping up to be another down month for the DC War line; I hope things pick up soon!
Adams |
"The Glory Road!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by John Severin
"Arena"
Story by Steve Mitchell
Art by Ken Barr
Jack: While Gunner has nightmares that involve his inability to save the recently-departed Ona, Johnny Cloud and Captain Storm spot a Nazi patrol across the North African desert. The Losers investigate and observe the Nazis ambush a small group of British soldiers. The Losers wipe out the Nazis and rescue the only British survivor, a major who also happens to be a movie star named Oliver Cavendish. He outranks the Losers and seems to have a bit of trouble distinguishing reality from the war movie in which he starred.
A Severin/Adams panel? |
Any comic that starts with a Neal Adams cover is okay by me, and I love the forced perspective he uses to show the Nazi hand and gun menacing the Losers. John Severin does his usual fine work on the inside art, and I've reproduced a panel here that really looks like Adams stopped by and helped out with the inks, though I don't see any sign of Adams in the rest of the story.
An effective Barr page |
Steve Mitchell writes a harrowing tale, easily the best we've read this month. Barr's illustrations are effective in conveying the terrible goings-on, though I would have liked a little more clarity when one pilot is essentially sliced in half during battle.
Peter: An immensely predictable stray off the path from the "Finding Ona" saga feels more like a Rock adventure than one of our favorite misfits. You know the major is doomed the second he's introduced and the hammy death scene is almost too maudlin for words. At least John Severin showed up to work that day. Steve Mitchell's "Arena" falls into the "more mature" category of tale we usually see under the "Gallery of War" logo. Perhaps the WAR IS HELL message is slammed home a bit too much but I liked Mitchell's dialogue and Barr's exciting artwork which, at times, reminded me of mid-'70s Herb Trimpe.
Next Week... RIP! |
The thing that got me about "The Glory Road!" after I got out of the Army, was the idea that a major (pretending now he was a major) while he did outrank Captain Johnny Cloud, he wouldn't have outranked Capt. Storm on account in the Navy, Captain is the same rank as a Colonel in the branches of the armed forces.
ReplyDeleteSorry about the run on sentence.
Thanks for the explanation of ranks across the services! I had no idea.
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