Star Spangled DC War Stories Issue 170: March 1976

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

Dominguez

G.I. Combat 188

"The Devil's Pipers"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Sam Glanzman

"The Redball Express"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Fred Carrillo

Peter: The men of the Jeb Stuart have been ordered to locate but not engage a huge gun that's taking out a boatload of Allied tanks. On the way to their mission, the boys run into a squadron of kilted Scots, the men who have been authorized to engage. The arrogant foreigners dismiss the Americans as "wee bonnie lads" but, after our heroes save the Scots' exposed rears, the bagpipers develop a begrudging respect.

"The Devil's Pipers"

Another month, another hum-drum adventure highlighted by flashes of interesting twists. The climactic battle, when the Jeb sends the big Nazi gun straight back to Hell, is exciting enough, but the obligatory "respect from the men who once mocked" is tired. At this point, I'm convinced Big Bob had thrown up his hands and resigned himself to the drudgery that is the Haunted Tank. How do you inject originality into a series that's limped along on a silly concept for 99 installments?

Under his Bart Regan pseudonym, Big Bob spins a tale of racism and exciting, cliffhanger action. Only, "The Redball Express" is not really that exciting (it's pretty fantastical, actually) and the "we're all the same beneath different-colored skin" message is handled as obviously and is as ham-fisted as Big Bob's other message stories.

Jack: The Haunted Tank story features plenty of unexpected carnage but Sam Glanzman remains curiously incapable of creating excitement with his sequential illustrations. Also, I didn't understand why the crew of the Haunted Tank had to put on kilts at the end of the story. I liked "The Redball Express" and thought it was a nicely-done story of black soldiers showing heroism that was unexpected by their white compadres. I'm a sucker for some 1970s' race-relations comic stories.

"The Redball Express"

Kubert

Our Army at War 290

"Super-Soldiers"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Frank Redondo

"Magnificent Failure"
Story and Art by Norman Maurer

Jack: Sgt. Rock is sent on a solo mission for 48 hours and parachutes into Yugoslavia to help a band of resistance fighters blow up a bridge to prevent Nazi tanks from crossing it to quell the uprising. As soon as Rock lands in the mountains, he is set upon by Nazis and shot in the shoulder. His life is saved when the resistance fighters show up and pick off the Nazi soldiers, but to Rock's surprise, the Yugoslavian freedom fighters turn out to be just seven men, women, and children.

Overnight, Rock teaches the local folks how to use dynamite to blow up a bridge, which is an urgent need because Nazi tanks are fast approaching. The Yugoslavians climb under the bridge to set the explosives while Rock climbs up a cliff to watch out for tanks. He sees them approaching sooner than expected and manages to do some damage with grenades and small arms fire, but the plucky resistance fighters show themselves to be "Super Soldiers" when they sacrifice their lives by blowing up the bridge before they have a chance to get clear of it.

"Super-Soldiers"

A very nice cover by Joe Kubert has little to do with the story inside the comic, though Frank Redondo's art is impressive. It's not clear why the Army needs to send Sgt. Rock on this solo mission, but it's fairly entertaining and he does get to meet a knockout blonde who is one of the doomed freedom fighters.

During the Spanish American War, the Spanish fleet refused to leave the safety of Santiago Harbor, so the American admiral is determined to sink a large ship called the Merrimac and block the exit to the harbor so the Spanish ships will be trapped. The Merrimac sails toward the harbor's mouth but is detected by a small Spanish boat, which alerts the gun batteries on land. The Spanish guns begin to fire on the Merrimac, which sinks in the wrong place, but Admiral Cervera of the Spanish fleet rescues the crew of the Merrimac and they are later released in a prisoner exchange and awarded the Medal of Honor. For some reason, the Spanish fleet later emerges from the harbor and is destroyed.

"Magnificent Failure"

Sometimes Norman Maurer's "Medal of Honor" stories are more interesting than others, and "Magnificent Failure" is one of those times. I know next to nothing about this war and found this an interesting historical tidbit, even if the conclusion--with the Spanish fleet being defeated--seemed to come out of nowhere.

Peter: How about that poor Sgt. Rock, always sidled with random bands of miscreants and 24 hours to mold them into perfect military weapons. One star deducted for Big Bob's dopey "You American comrades and your John Wayne!" dialogue, but one star added for the downbeat ending. But then a half-star off for the unbelievable panels where Rock somehow survives what looks to be a nuclear blast while clinging to a high precipice. I like Frank Redondo's art a whole heck of a lot better than Lehti's or Wildey's, so that's something I guess. The back-up is more Encyclopedia Britannica--stiff captions and dialogue, with generic doodles by Norman Maurer. Two ingredients guaranteed to put the kiddies to sleep before lights out.

Dominguez

Our Fighting Forces 165

"The Rowboat Fleet"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Ric Estrada & George Evans

"Don't Cry for a Sergeant"
Story by Murray Boltinoff
Art by E.R. Cruz

Jack: As the Losers drink at a London pub, pretty bartender Nell announces that she is heading for Dunkirk in her father's boat to help rescue trapped soldiers. The Losers ride along with her and soon find themselves shooting at German planes that are targeting the small boats of the volunteer fleet. They make it to Dunkirk, where they find British soldiers under heavy attack from the air.

Nell's boat is loaded with soldiers and she heads back across the Channel as the Losers use their wits and form "The Rowboat Fleet" by lashing together several rafts and rowing as many soldiers they can out into the dangerous waters. They manage to hold off the German air attack long enough to enter a fog bank, but when the Losers emerge on the other side, having reached the English coast, they discover that all the rafts behind them are gone and they only managed to save one soldier and a stray dog.

"The Rowboat Fleet"

After my initial surprise at seeing the Losers getting involved in a battle that was fought in France in 1940, before America entered the war and long before the Losers met, I settled down and enjoyed this exciting, well-illustrated tale. It's such a relief to have Estrada and Evans drawing this series after the Kirby Katastrophe though, once again, this looks like 100% Evans to me. Whenever I see George Evans return to a DC series I know there will be plenty of planes, and "The Rowboat Fleet" does not disappoint from that angle. It's also well-told, with great pacing and genuine emotion. The end, where most of the soldiers fail to make it, is surprising, as is the cheery final panel where the Losers return to Nell's bar. This is probably going to make my top five for 1976.

Gunner and Sarge are in Holland, assigned to sneak out among the tulips and windmills to get a count of how many German troops are heading toward an Allied base. They are spotted and Sarge is shot; despite telling his subordinate, "Don't Cry for a Sergeant," Sarge finds himself rescued by Gunner, who grabs Sarge and climbs on a windmill blade that rotates into the air and allows them to remain hidden just long enough for the German troops to move on.

I can't tell you how pleased I am to see a solid issue of Our Fighting Forces! This is the strongest issue we've read since John Severin was replaced by Jack Kirby. The Gunner and Sarge solo backup story, like last issue's solo Captain Storm story, is a breath of fresh air, and the art is excellent, making me wish E.R. Cruz had been illustrating more of the DC War Comics of the '70s. His art is both gritty and lyrical, and Sarge is tough and blue-collar without being a carbon copy of Sgt. Rock. Very good work this month all around!

"Don't Cry for a Sergeant"

Peter: Though I knew nothing of Dunkirk until Christopher Nolan turned his attention to the battle/evacuation a couple of summers ago, I found myself fascinated by the subject and read a couple of (differing) views on the event. While Big Bob obviously downplays the extreme viciousness of the Nazis in favor of a cutesy Losers narrative, enough of the sheer hopelessness manages to peek through here and there. The Estrada/Evans art is very good. We spent a long time complaining about Kirby's "everything looks like a rock or Sue Storm" visuals on the Losers so it's nice to actually have something somewhat complimentary to say about the Estrada/Evans team. I can actually tell which Loser is which and that may be the highest compliment I can tender.

I like the idea of having solo Losers adventures as a back-up even if, like "Don't Cry for a Sergeant," they're weak, but it must have been a challenge for the writers to knock out suspenseful scripts when we know these guys will survive. It's got some fabulous art by E.R. Cruz, but where's Pooch?

Kubert

Star Spangled War Stories 197

"The Henschel Gambit"
Story by David Michelinie
Art by Gerry Talaoc

"Big War, Little War!"
Story by Archie Goodwin
Art by Steve Harper & Mike Kaluta

Peter: The Unknown Soldier is sent on a double-pronged mission: first and foremost, our hero must take out three experimental Nazi planes, the Henschels, just outside Toran. This will enable the Allies to succeed in a major offensive against the final Nazi stronghold in the desert. As is the norm with the US's missions, there is a catch. A U.S. Senator wants the Soldier to locate and "rescue" his daughter, Jean, a "headstrong little gal" who's taken up arms and become the feistiest little freedom fighter since Mlle. Marie.

"The Henschel Gambit"

The Soldier impersonates a well-known Arab and makes his way into Toran with no trouble but then, in a crazy twist of fate, he is captured by Mlle. Jean, hungry for vengeance against the Arab who betrayed her. Unable to explain the situation to Jean, the Soldier cold-cocks her, throws her into a convenient Messer, and destroys the three Henschels. The Soldier's Messer is crippled and he must make an emergency landing. Freedom fighter Jean does not survive the crash and the Soldier once more ponders the senselessness of war.

"The Henschel Gambit"

Leave it to the best DC war scribe of the 1970s to bail out a plot that's heading straight for predictability with a shocker of a climax and some fine action to boot. When we get to the scene in "The Henschel Gambit" that reveals that the freedom fighter who's captured the Soldier just happens to be the girl he's been sent to bring back, my eyes did an eye roll (a gesture not usually ascribed to a David Michelinie script), but the story-teller recovers nicely. The scene with the arrogant Senator Evans is a good one as well. The Soldier knows he must accept both assignments, despite the fact that babysitting Jean could cost numerous lives. I rave about Gerry Talaoc's graphics every time out but this may be his best work yet on the Unknown Soldier. The splash is a keeper.

Archie Goodwin returns and injects "Big War, Little War!," an otherwise simple tale of battle on a small Pacific atoll, with his patented crisp dialogue. Art by newcomers Kaluta and Harper is just as sharp. There's nothing deep here aside from "War is Hell" but it's a good read regardless.

Jack: I completely agree, Peter. From the Losers in 1940 we now leap three years forward to 1943 and the war in Africa, where the Unknown Soldier does it all: masquerading as an Arab, he infiltrates a Nazi camp, tries to save a senator's daughter, flies a Nazi plane, and crashes it in the desert! The downer ending is another in what's seeming to be a trend at DC. The finale of "Big War, Little War!" is even darker, and does this mean Archie Goodwin has returned to DC in some limited capacity? This is not a file story--at least, the art isn't. Other than the usual blah Haunted Tank story, this is a good month for the troops at DC!

"Big War, Little War!"

Next Week...
Does pairing Neal Adams and
Harlan Ellison automatically
equal quality?