Our Army at War #81 (Facsimile Edition)

Whether or not you consider this facsimile edition of Our Army at War to contain the first appearance of the tough as nails Sgt. Rock, this issue was a fascinating piece of pop culture history.

A prototype of Sgt. Frank Rock had appeared in the war anthology series a couple of years prior. Because the character is referred to as 'Sgt. Rocky', some historians and fans consider issues #82-83 to be the soldier's official first appearances in comics, when he receives his official moniker. It feels a bit like the debate over what is the first appearance of Wolverine. Is it #180 with the Canuck's entrance on the book's very last panel or is it Incredible Hulk #181 where not only does the mutant appear throughout the whole book but makes the cover as well? What cannot be denied is that Our Army at War #81 marks the first appearance of the World War II Army unit called Easy Company, whose troops are the focus of 2 separate adventures. 

The cover by Jerry Grandenetti is super clean. It features the Rock character taking on a Nazi soldier welding a potato masher, while the American hero carries a fallen comrade on his back. It, along with the vibrant reproduction of those late 1950s ads are what sold me on the book. As for the material inside, it was a bit of a mixed bag that had great art, neat ideas and very limited dialogue to the point of getting annoying.

Aside from a couple of one and two-page shorts and a letters page, the main body of this book is written by Bob Haney. There's the Rocky story, the other Easy Company tale where 2 grunts take on an entire Nazi division, a morality play about a paratrooper jealous of his brother: the fighter pilot and a story of cat and mouse in the African desert. Each story focuses on a single phrase or word which is then used as nauseam in literally every panel. For instance, the paratrooper keeps referring to himself as a 'parachute pilot' because of how he can maneuver like a pro when falling while strapped to the silks. I've never heard this term before. It very well could be a thing soldier's during the second world war said. But the problem was that the jumper keeps beating himself up about not being good enough to be an actual pilot to the point I could pretty much determine what the character was going to whine about on the next scene... Verbatim!

I swear, if those 2 dog faces from Easy Company used the word 'pocket' one more time, I was going to scream. I think my wife appreciates that I kept my frustrations from just writing this review. But what do you know? The freakin' captured Kraut commander at the end of the story just has to say 'pocket!'

I did notice something unique about this DC Comics facsimile edition. At the bottom of the front page, underneath all the copyright jargon, there was a disclaimer. It stated that this issue contained material that was considered racist and stereotypical for the time period; both intentional and unintentional. Rather than remove the offense material, DC decided to leave this issue uncensored for historical purposes and in hopes of opening dialogue about sensitive matters. I'm perfectly okay with that. I just can't figure out what DC is talking about.

There's Nazis galore in this book. I think they get called 'Ratzis' at least once. Other than that, the stories in this book are extremely tame. I'm wondering if the disclaimer was about the ads, which are vintage 1959 comic book advertisements. One ad tells kids how to make money selling Bible Quotes door-to-door. Could that be the offensive material? The Bible doesn't offend me. But I know it can be a source of derision for some. Or is it the one-pager titled ' What's Your B.Q.?', brought to you by the National Social Welfare Assembly?

In this public service announcement, readers are asked to test their Brotherhood Quotient.  To do this, readers are asked to rate on a 4-point scale how well they like things such as 'cabbage, alligators, Catholics, Jews and Negroes'. The idea of this seems very shocking and misguided; which makes me wonder why the school district I work for hasn't tried to implement this test before with our high schoolers. You know what they say about where the road of good intentions leads to and I'm just gobsmacked to think that any public program with the purpose of spreading social unity thought this print commercial was a good idea! Even in 1959!!!

You know, I really can't figure out how to end this review. Holy cow! I'm dumbfounded. I plan on keeping this as I doubt I could ever afford a copy of the original and the Ross Andru and Russ Heath art is amazing. But man, I thought the tests in Cosmo were bad...

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Showcase Presents: Teen Titans, Vol. 1

I will read anything in comic book form. But if you had to make me choose between

Marvel and DC, I'd have to side with the Distinguished Competition. That being said,

DC has never been perfect. It's had just as many hits as it has had misses. One thing that Marvel destroyed DC on was how it published the generation gap of the late 1960s.

The very book that I am reviewing today is an excellent case in point in how the elder

statesmen writers of DC had trouble relating to the teens of the Vietnam era.

This book collects the first 18 issues of the original Teen Titans series along with the team's very first appearances in The Brave and the Bold and Showcase. From the first story, the main theme was that when it comes to teens, adults just

don't understand. When the teens of a small coastal town go on strike, the sidekicks

of Batman, Aquaman and the Flash agree to intervene.

The Teen Titans were created to help troubled teenagers have a voice when the old

folks won't listen. Even the Caped Crusader shows his age in the earliest adventures

calling Robin a wild and rebellious teen. Yet the Titans are anything but. Along with late addition Wonder Girl, these heroes would go undercover as regular teens. Yet, they're so clean cut that anyone else with street smarts would finger these kids as narcs.

Bob Haney does manage to create some pretty awesome villains for the Titans to combat. There's the British fop, the Mad Mod, who rivals the Joker in level of criminal

genius. Then there's the grotesquely costumed Gargoyle. He's got a vendetta against

one of the Teen Titans. But unfortunately, we never find out why in this volume. Plus who can forget Ebenezer Scrounge in the classic Christmas caper?!

Yes, Teen Titans did villains well. But in terms of the teens themselves, I think

someone did their research on kids from the 1940s. All of the teens in this book are

squares- except for the guest stars! Speedy, Beast Boy and a Russian lad named

Starfire are all welcome visitors to this massive collection. But as for Robin and his

cohorts, they might as well be speaking Japanese with their ridiculous attempts at

young adult slang!

Things do seem to be changing for the better in the last 3-4 stories. We get different writers contributing including an early stint by New Teen Titanslegend, Marv Wolfman.

I found myself disappointed that this volume came to a close when it did. Things

started getting good!

At least there's a volume 2. However it's getting increasingly difficult to find Showcasecollected volumes for a good price, much less at all.

A mixed bag of teen angst from a time when DC's best and brightest just couldn't

relate.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

The Brave and the Bold #148

If it wasn't for finding nearly a complete run of the issues missing for my Brave and the Bold collection thanks to Ssalefish Comics, I wouldn't even be getting to review this holiday treat from 1979. 

Batman is on the trail of a gang of buttleggers. No, this isn't some odd combination of Uggs and Yoga pants. Apparently, that is the correct term for those who illegally steal and smuggle cigarettes for sale. Commissioner Gordon is stymied by the thefts and the Caped Crusader is oddly giving his friend a hard time about it. 

Also having a hard time is Plastic Man. In this story, Plas has just established himself as a hero, having renounced his wicked ways after gaining his powers of elasticity. But walking the straight and narrow doesn't pay the bills like being a gangster does. So Plastic Man has to take a job being a bell-ringing Santa in a fancy holiday display at a Gotham City department store. 

On Christmas Eve morning, somebody steals the display. Also missing is Plastic Man who manages to leave a clue before his disappearance. Now Batman must save Gotham's Christmas by hightailing it down south to sunny Florida before time runs out!

A very unusual contrast of Christmas scenery in this story. The first half is perfect- snow, cold and ice. The second half is tropical, sunny and hot. And why I don't want to ever live in Florida if I can ever help it. Christmas is meant to be enjoyed when it's cold. 

I absolutely love the cover and interior art by Jim Aparo and Joe Staton. Aparo is my second favorite Batman artist of all-time behind Neal Adams. And Staton was such a master illustrator. But man, did this story have some really odd parts to it. 

For instance, when the decorations are stolen, the Mayor of Gotham City declares a state of emergency. I've read hundreds of Batman comics where the Joker is threatening to destroy Gotham with his gas. Or Bain wants to blow up the City. Or Mister Freeze is going to create a permanent winter. Yet in each of those instances, never once has the Mayor made such a proclamation. But he's willing to send out the National Guard when someone steals the town's nativity scene?

Then there's Batman's whirly-bat. I love the little helicopter. But are you telling me that Batman's corvette style Batmobile could really fit that thing in the trunk? No Way!

Bob Haney penned this Christmas themed story and he's usually very good at writing the Brave and the Bold stories. But this time around it was just a little bit inconceivable!
Still a fun read, but riddled with plot holes.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.