Our Army at War #223

Our Army at War #223 (On Sale: July 2, 1970) has a Sgt. Rock cover by Joe Kubert.

We begin with Sgt. Rock in "On Time" by Joe Kubert and Russ Heath. This is an unusual combination of Kubert writing and Heath drawing.

Next is "Pvt. Buck's Army" and we end with a U.S.S. Stevens tale, "The Kunko Warrior" by Sam Glanzman

Edited by Joe Kubert.

Our Army at War #220

Our Army at War #220 (On Sale: March 31, 1970) has an awesome Sgt. Rock cover by Joe Kubert.

Our Sgt. Rock cover-story is "Stone-Age War" written and illustrated by Joe Kubert. This story was reprinted in Sgt. Rock #318. Next is "The Last Soldier" by Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. We end with a U.S.S. Stevens story, "The Idiot" by Sam Glanzman.

Edited by Joe Kubert.

Our Army at War #219

Our Army at War #219 (On Sale: March 3, 1970) has a Sgt. Rock cover by Joe Kubert.

This issue begins with our cover-story "Yesterday's Hero" drawn by Russ Heath. The new replacement in Easy Co. is Duncan, PFC, who is called the "Hero of Baker Co." Duncan was the first of his company to land at Omaha Beach. The last time his company went out of patrol he was the only one to return.

When Easy Co. goes out on their first mission. to hold a crossroads town, Duncan says the he will do his part, but that he, "won't be responsible for anybody else's skin!" In town they are attacked and Easy responds but Duncan holds back. Confronted by Rock, Duncan breaks down and says that he is no hero. He is too scared to think about others and is just trying to save his own skin.

Rock puts Duncan in a bell town to keep his eyes peeled for Nazis and later that night he sees their dust as they approach. two King Tiger tanks heading straight for the town. Rock tells Duncan to sit tight and stay low in the tower and Easy will take care of the tanks, but instead Duncan draws their fire allowing Easy to take them out. they find Duncan in the rubble of the tower, no worse for wear.

This story was interrupted by a Battle Album on the "Choppers of Viet Nam" drawn by Murphy Anderson.

The book ends with a story of the Civil war, "Follow Sgt. Gruggles" drawn by Fred Ray. Private Tom Cort is following Sgt. Gruggles into battle against the Confederates when he is whacked across the chest with a rifle barrel and about to be stabbed by a rebel. He is saved by Sgt. Gruggles. Hours later after they win the battle Cort says that he was wounded by the smack in the chest and needs to go back for medical help. Gruggles says that the only way he is going to the back of the lines is in a pine box and so he just better get ready for tomorrows assault on Missionary Ridge.

During the next day's assault, Sgt. Gruggles is shot and he and Cort and some of the others are captured by the Rebels and taken to Gray Valley Prison. there Gruggles hatches an escape plan, but they need a diversion and Cort knows that since he is not wounded he is the only one strong enough to "divert the rebs." Tom creates the diversion and holds the Rebels at bay as the men escape, but eventually the sound of his guns stop and he has proven that he did have courage after all.

Edited by Joe Kubert.

Our Army at War #218

Our Army at War #218 (On Sale: February 3, 1970) has a cover by Joe Kubert.

This issue begins with our Sgt. Rock cover-story, "Medic" by Robert Kanigher and Russ Heath.

Next we have a reprint from Our Fighting Forces #5, "The Tortoise and the Hare Went to War" by John Reed, Sam Burlockoff, and Joe Giella.

Sam Burlockoff started out at DC in 1943 as an inker working on such strips as King, The Justice Society of America, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman. Around the same time he was working for MLJ on The Shield, The Web and Dusty. He later moved on to Quality where he inked Blackhawk, Captain Triumph and Plastic Man. He returned to DC in the 1950s to work on a number of mainly war stories, this time doing pencils or full art. His last DC story was this one from 1955.

After that final stint at DC he worked for Atlas and Eastman Color and on a number of newspaper strips, such as Flash Gordon, Apartment 3-G and The Saint. He worked on comics for overseas syndication and also drew illustrations for encyclopedias and coloring books. He retired in 1989.

The final story in this issue is "Frightened Boys... or Fighting Men?" written and drawn by Sam Glansman. This is the first of Glanzman's U.S.S. Stevens stories that he would write and draw for DC war comics for the next eight years. These stories were based on Glanzman's own experiences in World War II on the destroyer U.S.S. Stevens.

Sam Glansman broke into comics in 1939 working at Funnies, Inc. a "packager" that supplied comics to publishers. There, for Centaur Publications, he wrote text stories with some art for Amazing-Man Comics. Later for Harvey Comics, he created Fly-Man, writing and drawing the feature for at least two issues. He also contributed to Harvey's All-New Short Story Comics, Champ Comics (doing the Human Meteor) and Green Hornet Comics. His comics career was cut short by World War II, where he did indeed serve in the Navy on the U.S.S. Stevens. When it was over Glansman chose to not return to comics, as the pay was not to his liking and he took to working in cabinet shops, lumber mills and boat yards. In the 1950s he would work at Republic Aviation installing machine guns on military jets.

Glansman toyed with some comic work in 1950, but not until 1958 that he would return to the field in earnest, working at Charlton Comics. There he drew war stories in Attack, Battlefield Action, Fightin' Air Force, Fightin' Marines, Submarine Attack, U.S. Air Force Comics and War at Sea through 1961, when he switched to Dell Comics. At Dell he drew Combat and Kona, as well as movie adaptations such as Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and the very similar book, Voyage to the Deep.

Beginning in 1964, Glansman worked regularly for both Dell and Charlton doing a ton of war books. At Charlton he was also drawing Tarzan and creating, with Joe Gill, Sarge Steel and Hercules, Adventures of the Man-God. With writer Willy Fran,z Glansman also created The Lonely War of Willy Schultz, about a U.S. Army captain conflicted by the war and his German heritage.

Once he made the shift to DC, Glansman never looked back. Besides his years on U.S.S. Stevens, Glansman drew the Haunted Tank feature in G.I. Combat from 1972 through 1986. In '86 he also started drawing Mercenaries in G.I. Combat and in 1988 he drew a few issues of Sgt. Rock. Beginning in 1993 Sam Glansman became the inker for a number of Jonah Hex mini-series drawn by Timothy Truman, his last being Jonah Hex Shadows West in 1999. His last work for DC was in the 9-ll book, DC published in 2002.

Sam Glansman did a handful of war stories for Marvel in the late 1980s and in the 1990s worked for Topps Comics inking Turok Dinosaur Hunter and Zorro. In 2003 Glansman began doing web-comics.

Edited by Joe Kubert.

Our Army at War #217

Our Army at War #217 (On Sale: January 3, 1970) has a great Sgt. Rock cover by Joe Kubert. I know the theme is a common one for DC war books, but in this case it is, 1) so masterfully drawn by Kubert and 2) an actual scene from the story. I love the way Kubert splits his cover between the above and below water shots.

This issue begins with Sgt. Rock in "Surprise Party" written and drawn by Joe Kubert. The men of Easy Co. are acting a little strange around Sgt. Rock but before he can get to the bottom of it they are given a mission. The progress into enemy country has been stopped for the last 48 hours by a company of Nazi soldiers on the other side of a river with some big guns waiting for the G.I.s to set foot on the only bridge in the area. Rock and his men are to "surprise" the enemy.

That night they quietly enter a raft and head out across the river. On the other side a group of enemy scuba divers to the same. Rock notices bubbles in the water getting thicker and they hurl grenades underneath them, killing the divers but also blowing up their raft and losing any element of surprise they might of had. They come ashore under the bridge and are met and captured by a platoon of Germans. Rock breaks down and tells the Germans that the rest of their men will be coming over the bridge soon and as they divert their attention solely to the bridge, the rest of Easy Co. comes up from behind them in the real "surprise" attack.

After the battle is over and won by Easy, the men come to Rock and wish him a "happy Birthday" complete with a gift. Noting the seedy nature of Rock's shirt and helmet they give him a bag with new clothes scrounged from "miles behind the lines" to replace his tattered duds. Only the shrapnel from the big guns they destroyed ripped through the bag and Rock's new clothes are in worse shape than the ones he is wearing.

Next is a beautiful one-page Warrior on William the Conqueror by the masterful Ken Barr.

The back-up "Come the Revolution" is by Mike Friedrich and Fred Ray and concerns Davy and Dan two pioneer settlers in early America. Returning home from a day of hunting they find their farms destroyed, burned to the ground. Dan is enraged by the "big city radicals" who think they can disobey the crown. He says when people start destroying what others have worked their lives for, then you have to defend it and he goes off to "get me a few rebels."

Joining up with group of the King's finest Dan is upset when he is not allowed to chase after the rebels. He decides to sneak off and kill a few rebels on his own, only he is shot by a sniper. Ducking behind a rock Dan sneaks up on the sniper and kills him. One of the King's men search the sniper for personal effects to be sent to his family and finds an unmailed letter. He gives it to Dan to see if there is an address to which they can send the body.

Opening the letter he finds it addressed to him and from his friend Davy, who says he has joined the revolution because there is something worth fighting for and that is freedom. Davy says how he was inspired to pick up his musket and use it by Dan.

Edited by Joe Kubert.

Our Army at War #216

Our Army at War #216 (On Sale: December 18, 1969) has a cover by Joe Kubert.

We begin with Sgt. Rock in "Doom Over Easy" from Our Army at War #107 by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert. After Easy Company is shelled by enemy fire, Everett, a new member of Easy, begins having visions of the future. He tries to switch positions with Buster and Ice Cream Soldier after Rock has given them assignments. Rock refuses to make the switch, and the other soldiers die. When Rock goes on a mission himself, Everett comes along to prevent Rock from dying. Rock and Everett both survive, though another blast robs Everett of his precognition.

In the original printing of this story, Ice Cream Soldier dies in action. Here the name of the dead soldier is changed to Young Willy. Since Ice Cream Soldier went on to appear in later Sgt. Rock stories, this change makes sense.

Next is "Silver Star for a Tin Can" from Our Fighting Forces #33 by Bob Haney and Russ Heath. That is followed by "Last on a Match" by Hank Chapman, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito and reprinted from G.I. Combat #77. Next is "Unknown G.I." from Our Fighting Forces #41 and created by Bob Haney and Russ Heath. "Return to Beach Red" from Our Fighting Forces #11 is next and created by Bob Haney and Joe Kubert,

"Introducing -- the Haunted Tank" is reprinted from G.I. Combat #87 and the creation of Robert Kanigher and Russ Heath. Jeb Stuart the commander of an M-3 tank and his crew assist a squad of heavier Pershing tanks. The Pershings are destroyed by enemy bombers, leaving only Stuart's tank to take on a squad of heavy German tanks.

The tiny tank is shelled by the heavy guns of a German "Tiger" tank, and it falls into a ravine. The crew is knocked out, leaving it an easy target for the enemy tank. However, the M-3 manages to fire a shot that destroys the enemy tank. When Jeb and the crew awaken, they are shocked to find the enemy tank destroyed, as they had not fired their gun.

The tank then continues on its mission to protect a squad of infantry. Using its better speed and maneuverability, the M-3 is able to take on and defeat an entire unit of German tanks. Jeb Stuart is the only one that can hear laughter which comes from the ghost of civil war General Jeb Stuart, who has protected his descendant and the tank.

Lastly we have Great Battles of History "Chaeronaea" written and drawn by Ric Estrada.

Edited by Joe Kubert.

Our Army at War #215

Our Army at War #215 (On Sale: December 2, 1969) has a Sgt. Rock cover by Joe Kubert.

We begin with Sgt. Rock in "The Pied Piper of Peril" by Robert Kanigher and Russ Heath. In a small French town Rock and Easy Co. are ambushed by a squad of SS Troopers. Through the use of slang terms Rock is able to communicate to his men without the Nazis understanding and is able to kill the entire squad, save their commander. The fighting over the women, children and old people of the town come out of hiding and thank Rock and his men for saving them.

Almost immediately the prisoner seems to have some strange power over the youngsters of the town. They sit and watch him while he whittles a flute and seem to spend all of there time around him. Bulldozer remarks how it reminds him of the Pied Piper story. The kids will have nothing to do with Rock or his men and actually seem to protect the Nazi from his captors.

Then next night the kids steal Easy's guns while they sleep and Rock and the SS Officer square off, where Rock finally takes him out. The kids then confess that the Nazi had told them they would never see their fathers alive and that their mothers would also be killed if they did not cooperate with him. A pretty silly story of not much consequence if you ask me.

Next is "The Face of Death" drawn by Fred Ray regarding Joel Kurt, an artist sent by newspapers to try and capture the feel of battle during the Civil War. Kurt keep getting closer and closer to the action, saying he wants to capture the "face of death" for his readers, but he always feels he is failing. Finally he disobeys orders and follows the men during a charge against the Confederates, where he is shot. After the battle they find him leaning up against a tree, where he asks for his paper and pencils. He says, "I've got it... got it at last! Now..eveyonel...will see...the real face of death!" He then dies and when they look at the paper there is nothing but a scribble on it. The only way to see the real face of death, is to die. This story I liked.

We end with a Great Battles of History story, "Liegnitz and the Mongol Tide" written and drawn by Ric Estrada. It is more of a history lesson than a story of the battle where Duke Henry of Sliesia was defeated by the Mongol hoard.

Edited by Joe Kubert.

Our Army at War #214

Our Army at War #214 (On Sale: November 4, 1969) has a Sgt. Rock cover by Joe Kubert.

We begin with Sgt. Rock in "Easy Co... Where Are You?" drawn by Russ Heath. That is followed by a Great Battles of History story, "The Bastille" written and drawn by Ric Estrada. We end with "My Coffin, the Tank" drawn by Sid Greene.

Edited by Joe Kubert.

Our Army at War #213

Our Army at War #213 (On Sale: October 2, 1969) has a Sgt. Rock cover by Joe Kubert.

We begin with Sgt. Rock in "A Letter for Bulldozer" by Robert Kanigher and Russ Heath. that is followed by "The Ghost Bayonets" by Robert Kanigher and Sid Greene. We end with Great Battles in History, "Kadesh" written and drawn by Ric Estrada.

Edited by Joe Kubert.

Our Army at War #212

Our Army at War #212 (On Sale: Sept 2, 1969) has a cover by Joe Kubert.

Inside we begin with Sgt. Rock in "The Quiet War" drawn by Russ Heath and I would guess written by Robert Kanigher. While waiting for a squad of specially-trained British paratroopers, Easy Co. is hit by a barrage of Nazi shells, resulting in Rock losing his hearing. Not wanting to be a burden on his men and their mission Rock doesn't let on that he can't hear, telling his men "No more yakkin', you guys! We sit tight and wait!" Rock watches Easy, using them as his ears.

The British squad arrives and Easy learns that the job is to disrupt a meeting of the German High Command in a castle not too far away. Rock can't read lips and has no idea what the mission is and the British think he is rather a bore for not even seeming to listen to them. As they near the castle the British leader warns everyone of booby traps, but Rock can't hear and takes the lead, somehow managing to avoid all of the traps by shear luck.

When they reach the castle Rock leads the men into an ambush they all heard coming and after the men are pinned down in a crossfire Rock leads them through a hole blown in the floor, which leads them to a way out of the castle and up to its roof where they burst in on the meeting of the German High Command. On the Nazis throws a self-destruct switch and it is a mad race out of the castle as it explodes around them. the resulting explosions returns Rock's hearing.

Next is a one-page Warrior on Patton by Ken Barr and a two-page Battle Album on machine guns also by Ken Barr.

The back-up is a reprint from Star Spangled War Stories #78, "Medal for a Marine" by Robert Kanigher and Mort Drucker, who before Mad Magazine, was a hell of a good war artist. The work on this strip being just excellent; look at the page here at how well Drucker told the story with his choice of shots and angles. Some of the figures in this story look a lot like Frazetta. This is great stuff. The story concerns a Marine in the Pacific theater awaiting his Medal of Honor and another Marine whose job it was to deliver the medal to the ceremony.

Edited by Joe Kubert

DC Special #5

DC Special #5 (On Sale: August 14, 1969) has a cover by and about Joe Kubert. This is the second of the DC Special issues honoring a specific artist and it is too bad they did not continue with these. In a way it is sort of a cross between a reprint book and a fanzine, though it is mainly a reprint book.

We begin with "The Cartoonist -- at Home" a four-page introduction by Joe Kubert of Joe Kubert and which I thought was very well done. It has lots of humor, introduced us to his family (including later to be artists Adam and Andy Kubert). the script is funny and has a wonderful cameo by Russ Heath, who calls to say he won't be able to finish his story on time, but he is working hard and hasn't slept for days. Russ is pictured at the Playboy Club with a blond on his arm.

I loved the style Kubert utilized for this one, great stuff indeed.

We begin the reprints with Sgt. Rock in "Eyes of a Blind Gunner" by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert and reprinted from Our Army At War #113. Easy Company is attacked while crossing a river. Wild Man takes out a plane with his bazooka, then gets dumped in the river with Sgt. Rock and Jackie. Together the trio take out a tank. Jackie and Wild Man then form a team.

When Easy awaits a supply drop, they are ambushed. The only weapon they have to rely on is a machine gun. Jackie and Wild Man are set on guard duty with the gun, when another attack occurs. Jackie is blinded by an explosion, and Wild Man's hand are injured. Wild Man uses his eyes to guide Jackie in firing the machine gun. Together the two soldier successfully hold off their attackers.

Next is "Rider of the Winds" also by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert and reprinted from Showcase #2. This short tale is of an Indian boy, Eagle feather, who was given his name when Rider of the Winds, a giant eagle caught a feather during the boy's naming ceremony. As the boy turns 14 he is told to guard over the tribes flock of sheep. One day one of the lambs gets stuck in quicksand and Eagle Feather wades in and tosses the lamb to safety, but is himself stuck. Rider of the Winds appears and Eagle Feather grabs one of his wings and is pulled to safety himself.

But while this was happening Black Lightning, a mountain lion, slaughters five of the sheep. Eagle Feather is disgraced and the whole village holds him in shame. He seeks the council of a wise man who tells him that he must defeat the bearer-of-that-disgrace, Black Lightning in order to remove his shame. Eagle Feather tracks Black Lightning down ans with the help once again of Rider of the Winds is able to kill the big black cat and regain his standing in the tribe.

That is followed by Hawkman in "Menace of the Matter Master" by Gardner Fox and Joe Kubert and reprinted from Brave and the Bold #35. While attempting to turn base metals to gold, chemist Mark Mandrill discovers the secret of Mentachem, a chemical which gives him control of any material in its natural state. He creates a directing wand, and uses the material to steal a half-million dollars from an armored car, then creates an army of meteor men to loot the Midway City Art Center. Tipped off by Commissioner Emmett, Hawkman and Hawkgirl battle the rockmen, but Matter Master intercedes, and escapes with the treasures by directing helicopter blades at them.

The criminal trips up, however, when directing flowers to steal a parchment from the museum, as Hawkman’s acute sense of smell comes to the force in time to track these flowers to Matter Master’s underground lair, where he and Hawkgirl capture him.

Next is a two-page spread by Joe Kubert of a number of characters he has drawn over the years, each done in the style he used "back in the day." This spread features Doctor Fate, Johnny Quick, Hawkman, The Flash, Wildcat, The Vigilante, Sargon the Sorcerer, Zatara and Firehair.

We end with Viking Prince in "Threat of the Ice King" by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert and reprinted from Brave and the Bold #18. Kubert's work on this strip is just beautiful. Jon, the Viking Prince, continues his quest to complete the twelve tasks of Thor in order to regain his throne. His travels bring him to the domain of the Ice King on a mission to awaken a rose. Jon fights his way past the Ice King's two-headed bear and other dangers until he reaches the castle. Inside he finds a sleeping maiden which he awakens with a kiss.

The woman is the rose princess who was placed in a trance by the Ice King. Jon's kiss broke the spell. He then faces the Ice King himself who has the power to freeze men. Jon prevails in the duel, then escapes the castle with the rose princess. With the rescue, he completes the fourth task of Thor.

Edited by Joe Kubert.

Brave and the Bold #84

Brave and the Bold #84 (On Sale: April 22, 1969) has a nice Batman and Sgt. Rock cover by Neal Adams. I love the way that the figures' shadows form a Bat-signal on the ground. This is also the only cover I think Adams signed in this manner; not his normal signature at all. Lastly, this is the second version of this cover that Neal drew. Below you can find the original which was rejected by DC.

"The Angel, the Rock and the Cowl" featuring Batman and Sgt. Rock is by Bob Haney and Neal Adams. Joe Kubert inked page 19 of this story. When Bruce Wayne is called to the Gotham Museum to see the statue of the Archangel Gabriel smuggled out of Nazi-occupied France during World War II, because a man with a German accent called about it called to claim it. Bruce informs him that the real statue is still in France and the one in Gotham is a fake. They are then attacked by a man Bruce recognizes as Von Stauffen.

Bruce then recalls back to a day during World War II, when he was in London, and his friend, a British spy named Digby is killed in a bombing and so Bruce covered his mission for the British forces. Traveling into Nazi occupied France, Bruce meets up with Sgt. Rock and Easy Company along the way.

Investigating a strange amount of wine coming out of Chateaurouge, Bruce learns that it's occupied by Nazi's led by Von Stauffen. As a spy, Bruce is unable to learn what the secret is behind the wine, so he tries as Batman and comes to blows with Rock and Easy Company again who happen to be in the area. However, during their scuffle over a bottle of the Chateaurouge wine, they find that the Nazi's are smuggling weapon parts in the bottles to be used during the D-Day invasion. Batman and Easy Company then work together to stop Van Stauffer.

Flashing back to the present, Bruce is saved by the sudden arrival of Rock who knocks out Von Stauffen, who had been tracking Van Stauffer since after the war. This classic story was reprinted in Batman Illustrated by Neal Adams Vol. 1 HC and Showcase Presents the Brave and the Bold Batman Team-Ups Vol. 1 TPB.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.