Savage Tales #3

The first volume of Marvel's Savage Tales was a black and white magazine edition that was slanted more towards fantasy adventure. Characters such as Conan the Barbarian and Kazar fit it's mold perfectly. Though there were a few exceptions, like the Man-Thing who's first ever appearance in the premiere issue, was rooted deeply in science fiction horror. 

In the mid-1980s, Larry Hama sought to revive the title. The second volume was a black and white magazine just like it's predecessor. But instead of sword and sorcery type adventures, this edition was geared towards war and conflicts from the past, present and near future. It's from this comic mag that we get a pair of stories set during the Vietnam War that the amazing comic book The 'Nam would come into fruition. 

In this issue alone, we see a episode set during the Bolshevik revolution of a forgotten police action carried out by American and Canadian troops to keep the Czar in power. A moonshiner takes revenge on a rival responsible for the death of his dog and the destruction of his impressive collection of Elvis vinyls. Desperate women seek military protection during an uprising set in 19th century colonial India. Airplane flying rebels seek to scavenge a crashed Soviet bomber in the aftermath of a nuclear Holocaust while in another different story set in a similar apocalypse, friends see medical attention for their critically injured mentor. A Nazi courier crosses enemy lines and angry live ammunition to deliver important top secret documents during the Watch on the Rhine. Lastly, The American Calvary tracks a legendary American Indian throughout the Sonoran Desert.

Unfortunately, this 1986 offering isn't one of the issues that features a The 'Nam precursor. I have that entire series run, plus a couple of Punisher tie-ins. So I would love to have those 2 issues to round out the full run. That means I'll be on the lookout for issues #1 and 4! Incidentally, a third story set in South Indochina was scheduled to appear in volume 2 of Savage Tales. Alas, the series was cancelled with issue #8. However, that story actually is not lost as it was retooled and saw print as The 'Nam #8!

Along with the editing talents of Larry Hama, there's a slew of Marvel greats including Dick Ayers, Herb Trimpe, Chuck Dixon (going by his Christian name Charles) and the fantastic John Severin. I've been a fan of his work ever since I was cutting my teeth on Cracked Magazine. Severin was the first artist I could recognize by his art style alone. He does double duty penciling the Russian Revolution and the American Calvary adventures. The cover art was by Mitch O'Connell.

An interesting read. I'm definitely wanting those The 'Nam forerunner stories but I don't think I'm in it for the entire 8 issue run.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley and Ron Powers

Sometime over my most recent Spring Break vacation, I stumbled across Flags Our Fathers. I caught about 90% of the 2006 live action drama directed by Clint Eastwood. It was such a an engrossing film that I immediately went on a deep dive to learn more about the events that took place on and after the invasion of Iwo Jima in 1945. It was such a an amazing experience learning so much extra detail. I even noted that the film was based on a book written by the son of one of the main figures in the film. (I don't want to say the word character as this is a true story of valiant men who gave their lives for our country. So figures it is throughout the rest of my review.)

I had pretty much forgotten interest in reading the book until I came across the movie showing recently again during my Summer break. I couldn't turn the channel even though I remembered a bunch of what I saw previously. It's that good of a movie despite being overlooked when in theaters. But thanks to the re-watch, I had the book on my radar to which a couple of weeks ago, I stumbled across it at a used bookstore. 

I didn't really care about the cost. As long as it was cheaper than the original cover price. The bookstore's asking price was less than half of cover. Immediately it was sold.

When Navy veteran John Bradley died in 1994, his son James knew that he had been one of the flag raisers on Iwo Jima. (Despite the invasion being a Marine operation, because of John's medical background, he was assigned to Easy Company as a medic.) Because of the horrors he witnessed on that tiny island of sulfur, John Bradley wouldn't talk about his time there, nor the instant fame he encountered when he was named as one of the six men in the famous photograph by Joe Rosenthal. Upon his death, James found boxes of citations and mementos of his father's service time, which included a cross-country war bond drive during the final months of World War II.

We now know that Bradley along with one other gentleman wasn't actually in that photo. There had been a previous raising of an American flag on the island's highest peak, Mount Suribachi. However, because the flag was too small and the head of the Navy wanted the banner of which he didn't even earn, the first Stars and Stripes was quietly replaced. Bradley helped with the first flag coming up and he was around when the transfer happened. Unbeknownst to Bradley and the other guy, Rene Gagnon, who had brought up the replacement, a photographer was taking the iconic photo which would later inspire the largest brass statue in the world. And if you asked John Bradley, that photo would become the bane of his existence.

Annually during every coming patriotic holiday, anniversaries of military powers or on the announcement of a death of a major figure in the war in the Pacific, reporters by the droves would request interviews with John Bradley. He'd have his kids answer the phone and lie that pop was unavailable as he was in Canada, fly-fishing. 

James Bradley decided to investigate the real story behind the famous photograph. By doing so, he interviewed the few remaining survivors of the invasion as well as family members and friends of the 6 men believed for decades to be putting up a flapping version of Old Glory. 3 of the men died within days of the photograph taking America by storm. If it had been published during the 21st century, it would have been referred to as 'going viral.' The other 3 men survived to return home once peace was officially declared in August, 1945. But 2 of those men would never receive recognition for their part in the second flag raising, though both men had ample time to reveal the mistaken identities. 

The lone man to be correctly identified while living was the Pima Indian Ira Hayes. He didn't want to be recognized at first and threatened to kill fellow Marine Rene Gagnon if he told military brass his role in the flag raising. Gagnon tried to stay mum until he was threatened with arrest and a court-martial and within hours, Ira Hayes was EVAC-ed from the Pacific theater and made a national hero despite his tribe's rule of not obtaining glory and personal prestige over others.

Flags of Our Fathers was written before the Marines conducted an investigation of the famous Rosenthal photo and corrected the identities of who was originally thought of as being Bradley and Gagnon. So the book doesn't explore a question that came up when I was researching for more information after seeing the movie. Was Bradley and Gagnon committing stolen valor by allowing the American public to believe that it's them in the picture and not someone else?

When it comes to Rene Gagnon, I don't know. He was the man sent up Mount Suribachi with the replacement flag. The book recounts how others didn't think he was a 'good Marine.' It was Gagnon who was asked to identify the men in the image. While he did initially keep his promise and didn't out Ira Hayes, Gagnon did point out one of the more obscured men as himself. Plus, his then fiance, and eventual wife, basked in the fame Rene received. Maybe he wanted to come clean and she would not let him. Son, Rene, Jr. states that it was an unhappy marriage and maybe the veteran's inability to tell the truth was behind all that.

As for John Bradley, I don't think he stole any valor. He did help raise the first flag and was around for round 2. He never saw the photo until after he was sent home to participate in the bond drive. So at first, when people talked about him raising the flag, he probably thought it was a picture of the initial event. When Bradley and Ira Hayes finally saw the photo in front of President Truman, Hayes pointed out that it was Harlon Block, not Henry Hansen as Gagnon originally said. However, Ira was quickly and quietly told to zip it as the 6 names Rene Gagnon ID'd were what the media was going with. 

I think this incident led Bradley to not speak up about him not being in the photograph. He never felt like a hero. To him, 'the heroes were the men who died' on Iwo Jima. I think that, plus the untreated PTSD he went through nightly for many years afterwards were reasons why John Bradley just wanted to be left alone and be a family man and small business owner.

Though Flags of Our Fathers has undergone some revisions, it's still a great and powerful read. Some parts are tough to read about. Men die in horrific ways. Some by unthinkable torture. Not something that should be on shelves in a middle school library. But it's a work that tells the truth that the American people were told. 

The edition I read was specially updated with a small selection in the back that talks briefly about the movie. I would be interested in an edition that talked about how James Bradley and his family reacted when the true identities were uncovered by the US Marine Corps.

A cool thing about this book is that after I bought it, I learned that it's autographed by the author. So, I guess I will keep it even though it's addressed to someone named 'David'. I guess even its readers can be misidentified too...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Nuts!: The Battle of the Bulge (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

The Ardennes Offensive, code-named the 'Die Wacht am Rhein'- the Watch on the Rhine, was Adolph Hitler's last ditch offensive to regain important ground lost in Europe since the Allied Invasion of Normandy. After an assassination attempt by one of his officers, Hitler regrouped. His tightened his inner circle and planned a campaign that was to throw the Allies into chaos. 

There were 2 main objectives:

1). Re-capture the railroads along the Meuse River.

2). Re-capture Antwerp; a major port city in Belgium.

Once both objectives were obtained, the Nazis would hammer the combined American and British forces in a circle and with their supply lines severed, slowly strangle them off unto surrender. In order to achieve this success, the Germans had to drive the Allies out of Bastogne and the surrounding region. Driving out the American troops from Bastogne would give the Nazis access to the key routes North to Antwerp.

Hitler did succeed in throwing the Allies forces into chaos. Along with catching the American troops off guard, as it was believed that an unofficial truce would go into effect with the upcoming Christmas holidays, the Nazis committed some serious sabotage. The Fuhrer had built into his plans for several Nazi squads of paratroopers, dressed as Americans, to drop behind enemy lines. They soon began to cut telegraph and telephone wires, mine roads, switch directional markers and straight up lead American forces on wild goose chases throughout the Ardennes.

The sabotage portion of Hitler's plan was perhaps the most successful part of 'Die Wacht am Rhein'. It took the Allies several days to figure out what was going on. By Christmas, 1944, 10 days after the campaign began, the Allies had eliminated most of the mischief makers. Unfortunately, the Allies became their own worst enemies. Several American bomber expeditions were marred by terrible navigation errors. One mistake in particular put the Americans 60 kilometers into Allied controlled territory ravaging the town of Malmedy. Huge mistakes such as this led to American GIs to refer to the Army's 9th Air Corps as the' American Luftwaffe'.

It wouldn't be until after the New Year that a major counter-offensive was launched. With a massive show of air superiority by the British, Hitler began to throw his biggest guns into the campaign, launching massive V-II rockets, super-sonic precursors to jets and super-sized tanks filled with untrained crew into the mix. By January 9th, victory for the Allies was all but certain. Hitler finally gave the order for his army to retreat; needing to re-fortify Berlin against the encroaching Russian forces coming from the East. 

On January 28th, the attack commenced. The victors crowned this final test of Nazi might as the Battle of the Bulge after the shape of the Allied lines that were pushed to the West by the Nazis. Generals George Patton and Anthony McAuliffe stand as major players in the Allied victory. Patton, leading the third Army, had an amazing clairvoyance, seemingly always one step ahead of his Nazi counterparts. McAuliffe, as acting Commander of the 101st Airborne exhibited tenacity as well as true-blue American stubbornness when he simply responded 'Nuts!' to a Nazi demand for surrender while defending Bastogne. 

His reply is the inspiration for this book's title.

Nuts: The Battle of the Bulge was painstakingly crafted completely by Willy Harold Vassaux. Born in Belgium, Vassaux's father was an American aviator, who fought in World War II. He too became a pilot, serving in the Belgium armed forces as a reservist. His own experiences as well as his father's service in the war gave Vassaux an amazing eye for not just detail, but field manual accuracy for his historical comics. He featured periods of history included the Iraq War, the early days of the Tour de France and the Knights Templar. In 2008, Vassaux was commissioned by the IOC to create the first ever official Olympics comic book for the Beijing games.

The Ardennes Offensive is Vasaux favorite subject, having created 3 different graphic novels about the Battle of the Bulge. Nuts! was his first work about the campaign. It was originally published in 1984 by the Belgian comic book publisher Lombard. The first edition was released in English and was 64 pages long. A French edition, along with an English revision debuted in 1994 for the book's 10th anniversary. When B.H.P. Editions reissued the book in 1999, the page count for the book ballooned to an impressive 95 pages. Editions of Nuts! has been released in several languages, including German, in which the cover shows Nazis soldiers in action instead of Allied Troops.

Completing this review completes Task #18 (A Work of Nonfiction) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Nick Fury Vs. Fin Fang Foom #1 (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

In 2024, shortly after stepping down as the head writer of Captain America, Marvel Comics announced that J. Michael Straczynski would be crafting an anthology team-up series. There would be no set main character, like with Marvel Two-In-One which saw the Fantastic Four's ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing pairing up with a different character every issue. This twist for the new series would be having 2 changing and unlikely characters interacting with each other. A sneak preview of the first issue showed the cover by Gary Frank depicting Rocket Raccoon dining inside the castle fortress of Doctor Doom!

In December, the idea of a monthly title was scrapped. But instead of Straczynski's hard work being banished to the Marvel vaults, it was decided that a slew of one-and-done specials would be produced. The 'Unlikely Duo One-Shots' would see Spidey taking on not the Sinester Six but a full SIXTEEN, the Voluminous Volstagg assisting Captain America and Ghost Rider offered a chance to be the galactic herald of Galactus. But the book that I absolutely had to have in my collection was the war time meeting of Nick Fury and the alien dragon Fin Fang Foom.

Set in October, 1940, World War II is raging across the globe, but the United States has yet to officially enter the conflict... officially. A few months earlier, Fury and his childhood friend Red Hargrove undertook a clandestine mission to the Netherlands. Now barnstorming throughout Europe in a dilapidated Fokker, Fury is once again recruited by Happy Sam Sawyer to investigate the disappearance of a number of planes owned by an American company in war torn China.

The American company is actually a front for a group of US Army based mercenaries called the Flying Tigers. Planes flying reconnaissance for the Chinese army fighting off the invading Imperial Japanese forces, have disappeared without a trace. Needing fearless pilots with military experience, Fury and Hargrove are perfect to uncover the secret of the missing airplanes. On one such mission, Fury attempts to get a closer look at a mysterious cloud that upon further investigation looks a lot like a dragon. But clouds aren't supposed to be green, have teeth and dive at you from a steep angle at a very high rate of speed!!!

J. Michael Straczynski does a fairly decent job of keeping this story in line with the established Marvel Comics canon. Fury and Hargrove 's first mission for Happy Sam in the Netherlands in Sgt. Fury #7 is referenced several times. Defeated at the hands of American mercenaries, Fin Fang Foom sets his hibernation chamber to reset for reemergence in 1961; the very year the character would make his Marvel debut in the pages of Strange Tales #89. Too bad Straczynski doesn't seem to know American history! The author has the Japanese attacking Pearl Harbor a year too early!

Can somebody say 'No Prize?'  Or is this part of a new timeline some fans are debating that will see the Axis powers somehow winning World War II? What unfolds in Stracynski's remaining one-shots due out this Summer could hold the answer.

Featuring artwork by Elena Casagrande. Cover by Gary Frank.

Completing this review completes Task #13 (A war Comic) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Cold War Correspondent (Family Comic Friday)

Book #11 in the Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales series goes back to the 1950s, along the 38th parallel. It looks at the beginning of the Korean War through the eyes of female war correspondent Marguerite Higgins. 

The forgotten war which took place from 1950-1953 is a period in American history, as well as personal history that means a ton to me. My grandfather, William Gordon Dillard, fought in that war. He was a soldier in the 7th Infantry at the Chosin Reservoir. During that battle, he was injured, by a mortar round, proclaimed dead and MIA for about 2 weeks. and suffered severe frostbite. Obviously, his survival meant that I'm here today to tell you that story. 

I learned a ton from this book which completely switches gears from the previous 10 volumes and allows Higgins to narrate this hazardous tale. First thing I can say is BOY, did we muck this up! After 5 years of battling Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito, America was more than ready to stop fighting and I get that. However, the Soviet war machine, despite losing almost 25 million soldiers and civilians in WW2, was more than ready to keep on rolling. And roll, they did! Tank battalions were ordered to clear out the Imperial Japanese occupational force from Korea and they had every intention to keep on rolling all the way from Pyongyang down to Pusan. So we stopped the Russians by putting up a barricade along the 38th parallel cutting off the industrial centers of the North from the fertile farmlands of the South.

From 1946-1950, war between the two halves of Korea looked inevitable. Syngman Rhee, the President of the capitalist backed South Korea, begged the United States for tanks, guns and planes. But because of a fear that by doing so, Rhee would use those weapons to invade the North, we never responded to those requests. So when the Communist backed troops of North Korea crossed the barricades in the Summer of 1950, the South was severely under armed and out-manned.

The key to the North's success were it's tanks: the T-34. It was a Soviet tank known to cut through Nazi lines like a hot knife through butter. When we sent American troops to repel the tanks, our weapons couldn't even put a dent onto the side. That's because America had pretty much paused any legitimate development in our defensive forces. In fact our reinforcements were so poorly trained, we had barbers, cooks and construction workers fighting hand-to-hand combat with literal commandos! And the food, uniforms and munitions were all surplus from World War II!

Our failure to begin the war with properly armed and trained forces as a result, would fuel an arms race that would bankrupt a small nation. In fact, we outspent the Soviet Union, the largest country on the globe at the time, to oblivion, resulting in the it's collapse in 1991. It's another reason we're not on very good terms with China, Cuba and many factions in the Middle East. While I'm more than proud of my grandpa's role in Korea, I'll also be the first to say that we really screwed up during that police action.

Cold War Correspondent marks my completion of having read the entire series. I just didn't do it in order. Thankfully, there's more fun on the horizon. In September of this year, the 13th volume will debut. It's a spooky collection of true tales of terror. I have no idea what to expect. But I can't wait to read it as part of my Halloween reads for 2025.

Great stuff for kids ages 12 and up who love history and graphic novels. Maybe they had a relative who fought in Korea like I did. Though this book stops before the end of 1950, meaning there is still 2 and a half years of war left  untold, this can be a valuable tool to help them understand what it was like for their loved ones who fought along the 38th parallel.

Worth Consuming!

Rating:  9 out of 10 stars.

Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #101

If you ever wondered how such a mish-mash of lunatics get paired together to become the Howlers, this is the issue you've been waiting for. If you thought it was all because of selective service randomly drafting recruits for the war effort, I don't think you really understand the Marvel Way of storytelling. Sure, most of these guys got drafted into the Army. A couple volunteered to fight. However, the way the unit came together was a story of fate, heroics and teamwork.

I thought it was a very good story. However, a couple of things seemed a bit far fetched to me. For example, my favorite Howler, Dum Dum Dugan, was a strongman in a European travelling circus when he met Fury and his CO, 'Happy' Sam Sawyer. Because of how well they worked together, Dugan was put in Fury's outfit upon request. Would that sort of placement been allowed back in 1942? I've glossed over how Dugan's trademark bowler isn't GI. But could just anyone say 'that guy has moxie. Enlist him. Then put him in my platoon!' 

While all of the Howlers appear here, in all honesty, this story is more about how the Fury/Dugan team came about. It's also about Nick's good friend Red Hargrove, whose death during the attack on Pearl Harbor inspired Fury to become a commando. 

Reprinting issue #34 of the series, this issue is a bit of a rarity as it's the first half of a 2-parter. Most issues up to this point have been stand alone. With 1 or 2 exceptions. It's possible that we get more of the Howler's origin in the following issue. Hopefully, the origins of Dino, Izzy and especially my next favorite Howler, Gabe, will be presented in the next issue giving those hardworking grunts their just due!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #32

One of my favorite issues of the series thus far. Yes, the Howlers fight Nazis, while strapped to some skis in the Bavarian Alps. But what takes this story to 11 is the main story which sees a Nazi spy infiltrating the Allies' British base and posing as a doctor. This physician hypnotizes the group's lone Jewish commando, Izzy Cohen, turning him into a traitor against the rest of the Howlers.

The irony of a Jew becoming an unwitting weapon of evil of the Nazis isn't lost on me. It's a thrilling story that speaks of the atrocities of the Holocaust without actually mentioning the horrors by name. It was Stan's brilliant way of making readers think without being preached at and dutiful discipline Roy Thomas put this Marvel Way of story writing to masterful use here! But I just got to ask: were Allied military bases just crawling with Nazi saboteurs?

Two issues in a row see Hitler's goons covertly operating within a stone's throw of London. We're 32 issues into the series and I think we've had a least a dozen spies and traitors in our midst. As much as I have praised the stories of this series being original; I mean we had hypnotism and G.I.s on skis in this issue alone. But was it really this bad during World War II to basically have half of all the occupants of your typical European theater military instillation be spies?! 

According to MI5's (British Intelligence Agency) website, 115 Nazi spies were apprehended in The UK alone. Apparently, all of them operated out of the same base as Fury's Able Company...

No wonder it took us over 4 years to win the war against the Germans!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars. 

Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #92

The plans for the Allied invasion of Europe have been finalized. The Howler's C.O., 'Happy' Sam Sawyer, has been kidnapped thanks to a Nazi spy on the base. It's up to Fury and his men to rescue Captain Sawyer before a squadron of allied bombers destroy the instillation in France where the officer is being interrogated. 

It's a thrilling race against time because success of the war effort takes priority over the life of just one man. Even if it's a man as highly regarded as Captain Sam Sawyer.

I knew that Fury and most of the Howlers would survive. Unless Nick, Dum Dum and Gabe are all secretly LMDs in the pages of Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD. However, as other members of the team, as well as other operatives and Allied soldiers have lost their lives in the 30 previous issues, I wasn't sure if Sawyer was going to make it. It gets really hairy there and the tension was so palpable that the last 4 pages felt like I was watching a suspenseful action thriller instead of reading a comic book. Great story telling by Roy Thomas!

Reprinting the main story from Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #31.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #132

Reprinting issue #30.

It's a change of scenery for Nick Fury and the Howlers. Instead of going behind the lines of Nazi Germany, the Howling Commandos are sent to fascist Italy; where they're immediately captured and sent to a POW camp.

Fury's men are immediately hated by the Canadian Air Force captain whose become the de facto leader of the prisoners in the camp. Capt. Andre has been able to forge an uneasy truce with his captors and any slight disruption to the apple cart could cause ripples to that relative calm. As rowdy as Fury and the Howlers get, it turns out that the Sarge's bad boy behavior in captivity is a ruse so that he can meet with the camp's commanding officer who is secretly a member of the Italian resistance against Mussolini. 

Now the mission completely changes. The Howlers are tasked with playing Hogan's Heroes by faking an escape, disguised as Italian soldiers in order to steal a massive shipment of gold in hopes of crippling Benito's war machine.

There's one thing to say about this series: no matter how far fetched and insane the Howler's missions are, they never get old. Like switching over from Germany to Italy. Or staging a robbery of Fascist gold. This story originally came out in 1966, 4 years before that amazing war-comedy starring Clint Eastwood, Kelly's Heroes, did. Since I've now encountered 2 different stories involving American troops stealing enemy gold, I'm wondering if that was something that actually happened during World War II... If so, I'd like to read a book about such heists.

Very interesting and exciting read.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #29

Fury and Baron Von Strucker battle with the fate of of a tiny French village literally in their hands. The Sgt. has the detonator in his mitts while his Nazi foe has the overriding kill switch within his grasp. 

Roy Thomas takes over the writing responsibilities from Stan Lee in this issue and the toe-headed wunderkind does a heck of a job. Artist Dick Ayers does one fine job as well and that thrilling cover by him- Amazing! Why isn't it considered one of the best of the Marvel Age of Comics?!

I had mentioned in my review of the last issue that I was surprised how wavering the Baron was feeling towards the final solution of Hitler. This issue, which may or may not, be the future leader of Hydra's last appearance in the World War II adventures of Nick Fury. If it is, then I have a sufficient explanation as to how Von Strucker becomes such a heartless would-be world leader of the Marvel Universe's most evil organizations!

An underrated classic!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

The Sheriff of Babylon Deluxe Edition

I waited a long time to read this book. Now that I have completed it, I really wish that I had kept on waiting. The Sheriff of Babylon is based on writer Tom King's experiences in Iraq as a member of the CIA. Because a lot of his work is still marked as Top Secret, this is less of a direct biography about King's post 9/11 stint in the middle east and more of a Impressionist painting of that period of his life. The scenery is right. Characters involved reflect the complicated mission of making a country free for democracy in whose citizens don't want American involvement. The beliefs and covert centrifuge is accurate. But the story is completely made up. Oh, God, please let this story have been made up.

Remember the first 15 minutes of Saving Private Ryan and how that realism of the invasion of Normandy was such a gut punch for the viewers? Well, that's what The Sheriff of Babylon is like. Only the abuse of the reader lasts for 12 whole issues. 

The story begins when American soldiers discover the mutilated corpse of an Iraqi citizen who's been training to become a part of Baghdad's police force. The victim's American supervisor, military consultant Christopher Henry, is tasked to return the body back to his family. Calling in a favor from an influential member of the interim government, Christopher is assisted in claiming the body by Nassir, a former member of Saddam Hussein's secret police who continues to work as an enforcer of the law in Baghdad despite a price that hangs eerily over his head. Once the body is claimed, Christopher and Nassir fall into the middle of a giant CIA quagmire that will result in the deaths of innocents, miscarriage, conspiracy and torture. 

Adding to the stark realism of this book is the art of Mitch Gerads. A frequent collaborator with Tom King, Gerads' artwork always looks photo-realistic. His scenes are worthy of a portfolio review in National Geographic. His characters evoke a myriad of emotions. To the point you get connected to many of the characters, which makes it even harder to absorb when they're mercilessly killed off.

There was an aspect of this book that felt anything but realistic that got on my nerves: the dialogue. I understand why superheroes and the villains always wax poetic. Super-hero comics are a form of melodrama. But why do non-cape comics and graphic novels have to fall into that same trap? There's a complex mystery being kept under wraps by spies, double agents and shadow governments. I don't need every character speaking in riddle like the Sphinx on crack. Just tell me what you want to say without making allusions to some ancient fable that maybe only 2% of the entire population of human history has ever heard of.

Sometimes a cigar is just a freakin' cigar!

A tough story. Harsh on the stomach. Cancerous to the human spirit. Full of dialogue that needs assistance from the Encyclopedia Britannica. At least I should be able to get some trade credit for something else that is more fanciful and family friendly.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #39

Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos ran from 1963-1981 for a grand total of 167 issues. However, if you want to read about every mission Nick Fury and his troops conducted during the Second World War, you only have to purchase about half of those issues! Starting with issue #80, new material alternated every other issue with reprints. The series switched to reprints only with issue #120 after sales reports showed that those 2nd chance stories sold as well as the originals did. Some later issues reprinted material that members of the Howling Commandos interacting with members of the Leathernecks lead by former Naval commander Captain Savage who spun off earlier in the pages of Sgt. Fury. 

The first 23 issues of the series were collected in the pages of Essential Marvel Sgt. Fury, Vol. 1, along with material from the debut annual. While ownership of the black and white omnibus is rather pricey, as the book is out of print, it beats trying to pay thousands of dollars for those first few books. Sgt. Fury #167, the last issue of the series, is like a snake biting its own tale, reprinting issue #1. If you wish to go the color route, there's the premium priced Marvel Masterworks, although the House of Ideas hasn't produced an edition past Volume 4, reprinting issues 33-43, released in 2012.

As for this collector, I bit the bullet on the Essential Marvel collection. Then I found a mix of first run and reprint issues in order to have a copy of each story printed from the original run. Sgt. Fury #39 is a first run issue. It introduces readers to Colonel Fritz Klaue, a Nazi officer with an iron hand- literally. Over the years, his son Ulysses Klaue will grow to become an internal thorn on the side of the nation of Wakanda.

The Howling Commandos are sent behind enemy lines to discover the secret of the Fortress of Fear! G-2 has received word that the Nazis are developing a top secret weapon code-named 'Thunderer.' Once the soldiers learn what the Thunderer is, they are to neutralize it by any means possible. Seeing that the super weapon is a jet propelled plane and the Howling Commandos have no way out of the Bavarian Alps, it looks like the Thunderer is going to be taxing some Americans back into Allied territory!

Written by Roy Thomas and Dick Ayers, who also pencils this issue. Inks by John Tartaglione.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

G.I. Combat #170 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

The Haunted Tank became the main feature of the war anthology comic book with its debut in issue #87 (May, 1961). This occurred shortly after National Publications (DC Comics) acquired the properties from floundering Quality Comics. Under Quality, G.I. Combat focused on war stories that warned against the Red Scourge of Communism. Under new ownership, the book's tone changed to having a more dovish perspective against war to the point that in the 1970s, all of DC'S war comics carried a bullet that proclaimed 'Make War No More.'

The primary protagonist of the Haunted Tank stories is the American G.I. Jeb Stuart Smith. A Northerner, Stuart Smith, later rectonned to being named without the Smith, is sent to basic training in the deep South. He eventually comes to command a M3 Stuart tank whose crew are all good ol' Southern boys. At first Jeb's crew protest a Yankee being named after a beloved Confederate general. However, Stuart's ingenuity and grace under fire earn him the respect of his crew.

One reason the tank commander is so successful is due to the supernatural assistance he receives from the ghost of rebel general J.E.B. Stuart. Only the American G.I. can see and hear the legendary ghost. This leads his crew to think Jeb Stuart might be up for a section eight. However, as the guidance of the general continues to lead true, Stuart's men place a rebel flag atop their vehicle and christen it, the Haunted Tank.

There would be several incarnations of the Haunted Tank. Perhaps the most famous version is the Jigsaw Tank. After being damaged in a fire fight behind enemy lines, the crew of the Haunted Tank picked from some damaged Russian tanks to create an ersatz version of a Stuart tank. Before the end of World War II, Stuart's crew would be assigned to a Sherman tank which was originally guided by the ghost of the Union general William T. Sherman before being reunited with the spirit of General Stuart.

In this issue, Jeb Stuart has his eyes set on revenge against a one-armed Nazi soldier responsible for the death of a young woman the commander had a dalliance with a couple issues prior. In a twist, the Nazi is bent on revenge over the loss of his arm, which was taken in a firefight with a Stuart tank bearing a Confederate flag! As Stuart and the German play a deadly battle of cat and mouse, the church in which their confrontation occurs is falling down around them meaning that the next wrong step could be their last.

Featuring art by Sam Glanzman and story by series editor Archie Goodwin. In typical fashion, Glanzman's illustrations are so perfect, the only thing that has this much attention to detail are the technical guides used by G.I.s in order to operate the weapons and vehicles that pepper the feature adventure.

The backup feature titled 'Every Battle... Y'Die A Little!' is by the creative team of writer Frank Robbins and artist Jack Sparling. It's about a veteran soldier known to work alone, who reluctantly takes up a partner when the grunt saves him from a Nazi soldier sneaking up upon the older G.I. in a blizzard. The tragic ending is typical of DC's anti-war slant and though this is a tale set in the European theater of World War II, this is clearly an allegory about the many young men who die prematurely in Vietnam.

G.I.s. Nazis. Tragedy. Dovish views on war. This is a nearly perfect example of a DC war comic. Only there's no contribution by DC's quintessential talent of the war genre titles, Joe Kubert. Not even the cover. Instead, the artwork is by Ken Barr.

Completing this review completes Task #15 (A War Comic/Graphic Novel) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Vietnam Journal #1 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

The time just seemed right. It's the mid-1980s. Darkly realistic films about the conflict in Vietnam are becoming big box office draws. Platoon and Full Metal Jacket show how American culture glorified a righteous war while our troops who fight over in Vietnam are faced with horrors unimaginable and for some, inescapable, years after the fighting has ended. 

For artist Don Lomax, the 1980s were a chance for him to show comic book readers what the Vietnam War was really like. Lomax was drafted into the Army in 1965. A year later, he was sent to Vietnam with his unit, the 98th Light Equipment Maintenance Company, conducting a series of odd-job missions along the Cha Rang Valley. During this time, Lomax would sketch out the villagers, soldiers and equipment he came into contact with, thinking all the time "This would make a great comic." However, it would be almost 2 decades before any comic book publisher would agree to any such project. 

The Vietnam War had left a giant wound on the United States. It was a very unpopular war that saw many of the veterans returning from Southeast Asia not getting the warm welcome of their grandparents from their time in Korea and Japan in the decades prior. Only a small number of movies even attempted to focus on the war in the 1970s and most film experts would agree that a majority of those films were anti-war pictures. With films like 1985's Rambo: First Blood, Part 2 making American's feeling a sort of pride about our involvement in Vietnam again, the barometer was starting to shift in Don Lomax's favor in order to see his Vietnam comic dreams become a reality.

In 1987, Lomax pitched his project to Apple Comics editor Michael Catron. Issue #1 debuted that fall. It introduces readers to the main character of Scott Neithammer, a war correspondent who has traded covering the conflict from the perspective of officials at the Pentagon to digging into the trenches with the soldiers stationed near Plieku. Lomax could have told the war from his perspective. He had hundreds of stories and sketches from his time in Asia. However, by adding 'Journal' Neithammer to the action, the character acts as a link between the reader and the G.I. to make the war more relatable to those who wouldn't understand because 'they weren't there.'

In the first issue, Journal is introduced to the men of Plieku base. Covering the action is going to be difficult as his typewriter is destroyed during a firefight when the Huey transporting the reporter lands. At evening chow, Neithammer meets some of the troops. Readers get a small background of the war prior to Neithammer's arrival when the correspondent is offered a replacement field jacket by the supply Sargent. Journal's story entertains the G.I.'s who are desperate for any sort of 'entertainment', while educating the reader about the growing anti-war sentiments brewing back in the States.

The jacket first appears in Vietnam when a Sargent on leave in the States takes it from a group of hippies burning an American flag. The clothing switches hands several times among soldiers who deem the jacket to be lucky. Ultimately, Journal ends up with the weather beaten coat after it is gifted to him by an unlucky vet who is ultimately killed by an errand brick thrown by rioting protesters at an American airport. It is Journal's hope to present the jacket to an active G.I. in need of lucky back in 'Nam.

Vietnam Journal would be published by Apple Comics for 16 issues sporadically through 1991. A few one-shots and limited series would continue the narrative before Apple Comics would declare bankruptcy in 1994. Lomax would continue the adventures of Journal Neithammer with the inclusion of several short stories in the pages of the short-lived Harvey Kurtzman's The New Two-Fisted Tales and later as a one-page strip in the adult magazine Gallery. 

A little bit of a spoiler: Journal would survive his time in Vietnam, going on to Iraq to cover the invasion of Kuwait in 2004's aptly named Gulf War Journal.

Completing this review completes Task #22 (Comic Book Starting With the Letter V) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Above the Trenches

The Eagles, Lions, Chickens, Beavers, Bunnies and Bears are back! Nathan Hale, both the cartoonist and American patriot return to Europe during the early days of the first World War to examine the war front not from the land or seas; but from the sky!

World War I saw its fair share of aces- pilots who scored a confirmed 5 kills or more! The famed Manfred von Richthofen, known amongst his fellow pilots on both sides of the war as the Red Baron, had a record 80 victories in the sky! The pilot in second place behind the Red Baron for confirmed kills had 75 and according to a chart in the back on this book over 60 pilots from France, Britain, Canada and Germany has at least 28 confirmed victories from the years of 1914-1919. The top ace for the United States was Eddie Rickenbacker with 26 aerial wins and he didn't even make the list!

Hale does his best to cover all sides of the battle in air. But in order to keep this historical graphic novel from covering too broad a picture of the war above the trenches, Hale tries to keep the focus on the volunteering American pilots who made up the French squadron called the LaFayette Escadrille, reverently named after another hero who has appeared in a previous volume of Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales. 

Next to the first World War I volume, Treaties, Trenches, Mud and Blood, Above the Trenches is the most violent and deadliest recollection of them all. Hale makes an effort to warn readers that alcohol flows freely and cigarettes fill the air with smoke like exhaust from a Fokker DR1. (That's a war plane- not a German cuss word.) Yet there's no trigger warnings about the numerous pilots and their sighters and gunmen who die in horrific ways. Maybe this is just proof that our society is desensitized to violence but whoa unto us if we see an early 1900s Frenchman sipping wine while taking a drag...

Loved this book. Honestly, I didn't want it to end and I feel that considering how much time was spent on the formation of the LaFayette Escadrille compared to how quickly things wrapped up, this book should have been broken up into 2 parts. I guess technically, you could say this volume was part two. But really, we've yet to see America's official entrance into the Great War. Maybe the two Nathan Hale's have plans for a trilogy? I'd be okay with that.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Ender's Game: War of Gifts One-Shot

An interesting story about fanaticism vs. totalitarianism. 

I'm not a fan of the Ender's Game universe. In fact, I've never read any of the books. I happened across this book from a grab bag and if I wasn't intrigued by the title 'War of Gifts', I would have overlooked this Christmas time set comic book.

A young boy named Zeck Morgan is taken from the home of a pair of religious fanatics who are staunch pacifists, by representatives of the Battle School. The lad does everything he can to refuse to participate in the war games of the school due to those beliefs. But for some stubborn reason, the headmaster of the Battle School refuses to let the child wash-out.

On what would be the Christmas season on Earth, Zeck observes a Dutch lad providing a gift from Saint Nicolas to a fellow cadet. As any sort of celebration of faith, including holiday observances is strictly forbidden by the Battle School, Zeck rats the kid out. But the headmaster refuses to do anything.  In protest to this, Zeck starts a miniature holy war at the academy. For if he can't be allowed to practice his religious beliefs then nobody should be allowed to either. Hopefully, child prodigy Ender Wiggin can put this young man in his place...

I enjoyed this book. It's not turned me into a devotee of Ender's Game or Orson Scott Card or anything like that. It was a good single issue read and that's all I need unless there ever is another holiday themed issue set in the Ender's Game universe. 

I personally feel terrible for Zeck Morgan. His parents just seem awful. The boy is raised to be a pacifist and yet he and his whole family are angry, bitter people. Everyone isn't good enough to be a Christian in their opinion and something like Santa Claus is considered a gateway drug to Hell instead of an opening door to Heaven. These kind of Christians give believers like myself a bad name and I very much wish atheists and those who hate religion understood that the body of Christ isn't all like the Morgan family. 

Oddly enough, the Battle School seems the more reasonable institution. Well, at least the headmaster does. He overlooks these small acts of faith of his students as long as it doesn't interfere with the mission. Zeck thinks the practice of religion should be all or nothing. He doesn't realize that the headmaster of the Battle School is giving Zeck as much grace as that Dutch boy in allowing them both to express their beliefs. 

As for how this story aligns with the views of Orson Scott Card, I understand that there are some critics who believe the author to be homophobic. Maybe he is. But I've never met the man personally and other than this adaptation, I've never read anything else he's written before. I collect holiday themed comics. It's one of my favorite genres to collect and this book will stay as a part of my collection. If this causes me to lose readers of my blog, I won't apologize as I refuse to participate in censorship and to me, cancel culture IS censorship. I give my opinions on the books I read based on personal taste and quality of both the storytelling and art. The story by Jake Black was very well crafted. The art by Timothy Green II, was a little rough as I sometimes had trouble discerning who was who. But then again, I think that sort of homogeneity is part of the point behind the Battle School; like when a soldier is in basic training and the drill instructors try to strip away individuality for the good of the outfit. 

I liked it. It might not be your traditional holiday story. In fact, those holidays are verboten and basically all but ignored. But it was set during the holidays of the future and had holiday themes. So despite looking like a generic sci-fi comic, this issue is really a Christmas miracle if you dig deeper to examine the content of the story.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

DC Horror Presents: Sgt. Rock Vs. The Army of the Undead #6

After a series of missteps, Sgt. Rock Versus the Army of the Undead ends on such a high note. There's mention of a department that specializes in the military investigating paranormal and extraterrestrial activity. It's almost like SHIELD but with weird phenomenon. I'd order this series new and monthly if it ever came to pass. However, it's been over a year since issue #1 of this series debuted and I feel like if we've not heard about such a series coming forth by now, it's not going to happen.

The individual issues must not have sold as well as DC had hoped. No surprise there. DC has been tanking in sales for some time now. However, a hardcover collected edition is coming out sometime this month; just in time for All Hallow's Eve. Maybe if the hardcover sells very well, it might re-start the gears for that foretold future series. But if that happens, I expect the paranormal Sgt. Rock story to be repackaged as a graphic novel instead of floppies. 

This final issue was wild. If you are familiar with how Inglourious Basterds ended, then you'll probably love this finale. Add in the penultimate scene of the under-rated Tom Hanks vehicle, The 'Burbs and you'll almost forget some of the errors made in the storytelling in issues #2 and 5. 

The covers by Gary Frank have been awesome. I've also liked the interior art crafted by Eduardo Russo. Some might not like his minimalist technique. But I appreciated the use of shadows and dark voids to heighten the intensity of the drama. Russo's style reminded me a lot of Mike Mignola. So if you are a fan of Hellboy, you'll really dig the artwork of this book.

This was Bruce Campbell's first comic book. For a first effort, it was pretty darn good. I just felt that things kept going back to the starting line instead of going for the finish line. That might not even be the author's fault, but poor story advice from the editor. If not for that, this offbeat World War II horror-fantasy would have been perfect. Still, this was a good read to start off my October, 2023 reads.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

DC Horror Presents: Sgt. Rock Vs. The Army of the Undead #5

When the last issue ended, Sgt. Rock was positioned outside the secret compound of Adolf Hitler. So you'd expect this issue to have Easy Co. arrive and under Rock's leadership, they'd all unleash Hell on the Fuhrer. Instead, the penultimate issue of Sgt. Rock Vs. The Army of the Undead starts back at HQ with the regiment aboard a transport vehicle about to parachute onto the compound. 

I had to double-check and make sure I hadn't missed something. Did I skip an issue? Why would Sgt. Rock go back to England and then get on a plane back to Nazi Germany? Let's be honest, if this was Nick Fury and his Howling Commandos, they would have stormed the compound immediately. There wouldn't have been any backtracking.\

I'm no four-star general but it seems to me that going back to home base increases the possibility of everyone getting wiped out and Hitler survives to live another day. Sure, if you are the writer, you'll do everything to keep the main character from dying. But if this was real life, it just seems an unnecessary risk to venture back through enemy territory just to regroup and pick up more fire power. I understand why you'd want reinforcements. It just seems too big of a risk. Plus, don't you run the risk of Hitler moving on to another secure location. Did Easy Co. leave a spotter???

As you can tell from the cover, the story is no longer historically accurate. Like having zombie storm troopers was historically accurate. But, with Hitler turning himself into a member of the walking dead, we're no longer trying to match the events of the last days of World War II. Actually, with this mission being Hitler's last hurrah, we're venturing into Inglourious Basterds territory as this European campaign is about to come to a close in 1944- almost a full year before things came to a close in real life! 

How we would have fought the war if Germany was defeated before the bomb was complete is an interesting prospect. I wonder if that concept has ever been explored. I'd definitely be interested in reading that alternate history. 

An action packed next-to-last issue. The logistics of things don't make a lot of sense to me and the complete 180-swing in the story was confusing to the point, I thought I had accidentally starred reading issue #4 or #6 out of order. But it's always nice to see Adolf Hitler getting his ass handed to him!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

DC Horror Presents: Sgt. Rock Vs. The Army of the Undead #4

In this issue Rock and Easy Co. locate Hitler's personal physician after having destroyed the facility being used to make the Nazi army of the undead. Up next, track the doctor to Hitler's hidden lair.

Finally, an issue that really moves things forward. Well, actually, last issue saw the destruction of the zombie making facility. It's complete destruction wasn't made totally clear until this issue. I kept wondering why Sgt. Rock was so intent on tracking Doctor Morell when his primary mission was to eliminate the Nazi's ability to make resurrected troops. Turns out that Hitler only had the one place to create his own army of darkness. Thus objective #1 is complete.

Other than the gore, I've been wondering why this series has been rated for readers aged 17 and up. In this issue, the swears start being added to Easy Co.'s vocabulary. I haven't seen the big one yet. But this is a Bruce Campbell venture and I expect it's singular appearance to be a doozy.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

DC Horror Presents: Sgt. Rock Vs. The Army of the Undead #3

Issue #3 sees Sgt. Rock and his troops back at headquarters. They've located Dr. Morrell, the personal physician of Hitler's. That means the Further can't be too far away. Armed with a new set of hi-tech (well, hi-tech for 1944) weapons and a plan, Easy Company must re-locate the Nazi doctor, follow him to the site where the undead are being produced and destroy it. Then, possibly kill Hitler if the chance arises. 

Basically, we're back where we were at the end of the first issue. The only thing that has progressed is that the US Army knows what city/region the factory making the zombies is. The only thing that has changed is the tech now being welded by Rock's regiment of soldiers. Plus, by issue's end, Easy Co. will have split into 2 groups; one led by Sgt. Rock and one by his second-in-command, Bulldozer. After another run-in with some Nazi ghouls, Rock's group have uniforms to disguise themselves. So if we're lucky, issue #4 will actually start going somewhere. 

This really isn't a bad story. It just keeps going around in circles. It reminds me of the classic Doctor Who TV series where episode one would set everything up, episode 2-5 would see the Doctor and his companions doing the same thing, over and over and over, and then the final episode of the story arc wraps everything up. If that's the way Bruce Campbell is doing things with this story, no wonder publishers like DC Comics are in trouble. Stop stretching things out in order to make a buck. Clean and concise is much more appreciated than a story with too many chapters that do nothing except repeat what happened up until that point. 

More than anything, I just feel a little cheated having bought each issue new. But at least I supported my favorite LCS in the process. Supporting small businesses. That's something to cheer about even though it doesn't exactly help my wallet.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.