Star-Spangled DC War Stories Part 10: March 1960

By Corporals Enfantino and Seabrook

Russ Heath

G.I. Combat 80

"The Flying Horsemen!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Russ Heath

"The Nine Second Sub!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Jack Abel

"Downhill Soldiers"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Joe Kubert

PE: Ever since high school, "Little" Al has been protected by his buddies "Big" Mike, "Big" Ben, and "Big" Jim. Now, in a peculiar twist of fate, the four have all become pilots in the same squadron. Hoping he can finally become a "Big" and pay the guys back for all they've done for him, Al elevates his game and becomes an Ace. About as sappy as we've seen so far in the DC war comics, "The Flying Horsemen" pushes the envelope of believability and packs in more sugar than an episode of Lassie. Can four guys go through school and then actually end up in the same squadron? Then we're to believe that Mike, Ben, and Al are all shot down but miraculously survive save a few scratches and skinned knees? Nope, I don't buy it for a minute. Even Russ is off his game on this story but more than makes up for it with his gorgeous, exciting cover.

"The Flying Horsemen!"

JS: That painted cover is another in a series of beauties that have appeared in this run of G.I. Combat. Too bad the lead story did not live up to it. Heath draws Little Al with so many freckles that it's like Jimmy Olsen went to war.

PE: Nine seconds is the average for a World War II sub named "The Fin" to dive and that's putting a crimp in the style of the ship's gunner. Since the "Nine Second Sub" disappears so quickly, the specialist has found himself with a lot of loitering time on his hands until damage from an attack leaves the sub at the mercy of enemy battleships. It's then that the gunner is relied upon and comes through in the clinch. "Nine Second Sub" could have been an exciting little sub story had it not been so concerned with the selfishness of the gunner. This guy's bemoaning the fact that, because the ship has a leg up on most subs, he has no chance to play the hero. Woe is me!

JS: I thought that this story had good momentum and some of the panels featuring the Japanese sub are the best work I've seen yet from Jack Abel.

"Downhill Soldiers"

PE: The boys of Charlie Co. have never had the glory of taking their own hill until orders send them up Hill 609. Once they get to the top, they find no enemy but are then ordered down the hill, right into Nazi mortar fire. Luckily, Charlie Co. learn quickly how to be "Downhill Soldiers" and the good guys win once again. A good enough tale, with  typically nice Kubert artwork and a quick shout out to Sgt. Rock's Easy Company (we learn that, at the point this story has taken place, the fabled Easy has conquered a dozen hills), and the best of the issue by default. In "Sgt. Rock's Combat Corner" (a letters page that all war titles share each month), Lance Travosek of Palatine, Illinois, asks: Can a grenade, thrown into the open hatch of an enemy tank, really "make mincemeat of the insides and blow holes in the sides"? Great question! Robert Kanigher asserts that "a hand grenade has a kayo ratio of 5 to 10 yards." You learn something new every issue but I'm wondering when the letters page will morph from the generic weapons questions into missives about particular stories. Stay tuned.

JS: What do you mean Robert Kanigher? Sgt. Rock answers the questions! How do I know? He drops the final "g" off of all his words, like "carryin'" and "lookin'."

"The Nine Second Sub!"

Irv Novick

Star Spangled War Stories 89

"Trail of the Terror Rockets!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Mort Drucker

" 'We' Made Ace!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Jerry Grandenetti

"Sink That Sub!"
Story by Hank Chapman
Art by Russ Heath

PE: Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound and don the most elaborate make-up this side of Lon Chaney, Mademoiselle Marie nonetheless finds herself up zee creek wizzout zee paddle when she attempts to track the "Trail of the Terror Rockets!" Marie does the only sensible thing she can do when faced with the insurmountable task of finding the launching pad of the Nazis' new secret weapon: dress as an old woman and get herself trapped. Luckily, Marie lives in the same universe populated by Colonels Hogan and Klink and the entire German army is outwitted by one French Femme. To her already-legendary feats of derring-do you can add jumping through a second-floor plate-glass window with nary a scratch and disarming a squadron of Ratzis seemingly single-handedly. It's hard to take the strip seriously but that problem is compounded with my inability to separate Mort Drucker's art here from the wonderful stuff he did in Mad. Many of the characters in this strip look as though they could have been lifted directly from one of Drucker's classic movie parodies.

Mlle. Mamie Van Doren

JS: Marie's undercover act as "Fifi--ze new chambermaid" is hilarious. If Commandant Von Ekt is her nemesis, one would think he would recognize her when she walks into the same room in a dress and with a kerchief over her hair. Instead of shooting her on the spot, he rigs up a piece of paper on his desk to set off an alarm when she picks it up. She then is able to jump through the aforementioned window and escape across the rooftops with Nazis shooting at her. Later on, she masquerades as an old lady, but this time she wears a skintight rubber mask. With Nazis like these, it's a wonder the war lasted as long as it did. And by the way, it looks as if Mlle. Marie has been doing her bust-enhancement exercises in between issues.

" 'We' Made Ace!"

PE: Hal is one kill away from Ace status and Mac will do anything to ensure his best buddy is elevated to hero, even sacrifice his own life it seems. The pair go trawling through MIG Alley. There's nothing to separate " 'We' Made Ace" from a hundred other average war stories, not much excitement and not a lot to look at. It's startling (and we've said this before) how different Jerry Grandenetti's art looks from his work a decade later in the mystery titles. It's not as goofily exaggerated and easier to stomach.

JS: This story confused me. I couldn't figure out who was doing what or how many planes were being shot down. In the end, one pilot shoots down an enemy plane and his friend takes joint credit. Was this some WWII rule--shoot down five planes and you're an ace? Is this where "Enemy Ace" came from? What are you if you shoot down ten planes? A King?

"Sink That Sub!"

PE: Once again, the best is saved for last with "Sink That Sub!", a somewhat non-linear tale that shows us a sub's crew witnessing the destruction of their ship and the embarrassment they must face when pulling back into harbor in joined life rafts. We come to find out that the men actually performed a brave task by sacrificing life, limb, and sub by rigging her to blow within a fleet of Nazi mini-submarines. The reveal (told from a different angle and once we've been given a bit more information) is nicely surprising and Russ Heath's art is nothing short of miraculous (and a relief after his phone-in job over in this month's G.I. Combat). Heath once again helps us experience the claustrophobia of being trapped in a sinking "tin fish."

JS: I read this story and thought how bad the art was, wondering who drew it. When I saw it was Heath, I was surprised. It does have some of his more wooden characteristics, but I think this was a down month for him. The story was fairly interesting, but I have to wonder if it was such a great idea to blow up a sub rather than take it back to port for repairs. Don't those things cost a lot of money and take awhile to build?

Jerry Grandenetti

Our Army at War 92

"Luck of Easy!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Joe Kubert

"Bait for a Desert Hawk"

Story by Bob Haney

Art by Russ Heath

"The D-Day Commandos!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Jack Abel

PE: Sgt. Rock is having a hard time convincing his men that brains and brawn win a war when the soldiers of Easy Company begin hanging their hats on lucky trinkets like dice and rabbits' feet. The "Luck of Easy" finally runs out and Rock, as usual, proves himself to be one smart soldier. Can't argue with the art but the story drags a bit for my tastes (it does have some nice humorous bits though). Not a misfire but a bit shy of the target. Jack has raised the point of the nameless supporting cast before but, more and more, the fact that none of these grunts have tags becomes annoying and a detriment to the storytelling. How do we know who's survived from story to story or whether it's the same band of guys at all?

"Luck of Easy!"

JS: I thought it was an entertaining story. I especially liked the ending, where the men all toss away their talismans and decide that Sgt. Rock is their most reliable good luck charm.

"Bait for a Desert Hawk"

PE: High over the Sahara, two fighter pilots (one Nazi, one good guy) play a game of chicken while their respective birds fight it out as well. I thought this was a really silly story (could a sparrowhawk really keep pace with a jet?) and a complete waste of space. There's not enough of what Heath does so well (air battles) and too much ornithology. The stilted dialogue ("That sparrowhawk took on that falcon again--and won! I can go back upstairs and fight again!") and unbelievable story threatened to put me to sleep.

JS: I liked this one. The parallels between the birds and the planes kept my interest and the last panel had a poetic feel to it: "While below...the end was written to a story in the sands!"

"The D-Day Commandos!"

PE: In "The D-Day Commandos," our nameless hero must trudge through France on D-Day to knock out a bridge used to transport Nazi weapons. His assistants along the way are Pierre, Jacques, and Marcel; respectively, a young boy, and old man and...a surprise. Evidence that Mademoiselle Marie had help destroying the Nazis in France, "The D-Day Commandos" reads like one of those "three men walk into a bar..." jokes, with our protagonist constantly complaining about his latest companion. Jack Abel does his best to ape Joe Kubert but the proof's on the page.

JS: A well-written story trumps mediocre art anytime, and this one got me. It lacked some of the corn that can mar the Mlle. Marie stories, and the use of a boy and an old man as resistance fighters showed how everyone had to pitch in to win the war.