The Brave and the Bold #52 (February/March 1964)

The top-secret story of the war that fighting men have only dared to whisper about-- explodes with the thunder of a blockbuster-- as Sgt. Rock of Easy Company, Sgt. Stuart of the "Haunted Tank", and Lt. Johnny Cloud, the Navajo Ace-- find themselves for the first time teamed against death in... SUICIDE MISSION! A Four-Part "Time Bomb" Novel!

Johnny Cloud was a tight-lipped Navajo warrior, so he was entrusted with a mission that could shorten World War II in favor of the allies. Even his fellow pilots couldn't know he was on a mission, instead working under the cover of a two-day pass. Cloud would take off from a wooded area with barely adequate take-off length that saw him brushing against tree limbs on the way up. Making it more worrisome, Cloud knew there was a bomb aboard his plane set to explode in the event of extremely rough conditions, to insure he died rather than be captured. Cloud wasn't even told his mission on the ground, having to tear open an envelope once he was in the air. It would have to wait, as German fighter planes were immediately on him. It took some maneuvering, but Cloud won the battle.

Learning that he was to pick up a valuable agent codenamed "Martin," Cloud are his information paperwork and followed a flare fired by an old man in a horse drawn wagon. The elderly Frenchman was the last survivor of the party who rescued "Martin," but wounds he sustained meant that he was not long for this world. Martin was hidden in some hay, and Johnny was surprised to find that the agent was also sealed in a suit of armor. "The Nazis captured me! And diabolically locked me inside thees heavy iron suit! So I could not escape! Or be recognized! Luckily, one of our girls working in the soup kitchen of Nazi H.Q. saw me when I was first brought in-- and notified my unit!" Cloud helped "Martin" to his plane, as the agent sobbed for his dead and dying comrades.



A Nazi tank rolled toward the allies. The old man drove his carriage into the enemy vessel, sacrificing himself to give Lt. Cloud time to get into the air. It was only then "Martin" revealed that their savior was Martin's father. More enemy planes set upon Cloud, and one was sure to down the Navajo Ace, until a friendly tank shot it out of the sky. Johnny was forced to make a rough landing, but blessedly, did not trigger the bomb in his plane. Sgt. Jeb Stuart had been alerted about "Martin," and his "Haunted Tank" was at their disposal.

Nazi tanks pursued Stuart's tank. One was destroyed by artillery fire, while the other brushed Johnny's booby trapped plane. Guided by the ghost of Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart, his descendant took out a final tank with a shot to an overhanging rock. However, as it turned out, this was not the rock J.E.B. meant to be the Haunted Tank's salvation.

Easy Company were on patrol in search of "Martin" when a shell landed near them. Only a few survived the explosion, and Sgt. Rock was ready to give up. However, the pleading look of Dead-Eye compelled Rock to crawl to his bazooka. With one shot, the tank was routed. "Dead-Eye-- Dead-Eye-- You made me do it-- You made me do it-- Look! It's your shot, Dead-Eye-- not mine! It's yours! Yours-- and Easy!"

Sgt. Rock eventually gathered his strength and walked on alone. Rock reached the Haunted Tank, which had sustained damage, so the occupants would have to be escorted on foot. There was no way they could reach safety dragging a suit of iron around, so after a bit of time under fire, dried out "Martin" from with. He was a she, Mlle. Marie of the French Resistance, already acquainted with Rock. Amusingly, the Nazi's had locked her in beret and all.



No longer encumbered, the group marched on, Sgt. Rock being instrumental in gunning down enemy troops on foot. An enemy tank was another thing altogether. Rock, Cloud and Stuart had previously ripped off their dog tags, so that when the tank commander demanded "Martin" give himself up, each declared himself Spartacus. Being a Nazi, the commander was plenty willing to kill them all, so Sgt. Rock made a break for it. Feigning injury from gunfire, Rock collapsed to the ground, then shoved a couple of bazooka rockets into the tank treads as they rolled by. The blast knocked Rock out, but did worse for the tank, and earned Joe a kiss. "The last thing I remember was a taste like no k-rations ever had.

Back at base, Mademoiselle Marie was decorated, while Captain Cloud and Lieutenant Stuart enjoyed their promotions. Marie kissed each on the cheek, but was met by a scowl as she reached Lt. Rock. "Don't call me Lieutenant! How can I face the combat-happy Joes of Easy Company as a brand new shavetail? I've got to figure out a way of gettin' demoted-- so I can be myself again-- Sgt. Rock of Easy!"

These three battle stars presented in a rare crossover of wartime heroes was brought to you by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert. It did a swell job of differentiating the different "flavors" of each lead's solo tales, but it's hard not to notice how much more visceral punch and personality Sgt. Rock had. One of the most compelling and best looking installments of this series!

For more blazing battle action to commemorate Veterans Day in these United States, scope the hashtag #WarComicsMonth on on Twitter and Google+!

DC Comics Presents

• Aquaman & Hawkman in "Fury of the Exiled Creature" @ Justice League Detroit
• The Atom and the Flash in "The Challenge of the Expanding World" @ Power of the Atom
• Martian Manhunter & Green Arrow in "Wanted--The Capsule Master!" @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• Wonder Woman & Steve Trevor in “The Time Traveler of Terror!” @ Diana Prince

IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time: 80-61

In 2009 or so, the comics department of the popular video game website IGN.com put together a list of their Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time, and have finally followed up with the vastly less well considered Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time. There is much here to mock and debate (in that order,) so I'll have to do it on an installment plan. Watch the video if you like, but expect a poverty of speech content...

More IGN Videos

Review:
100-81

80) Nightcrawler
I bought the first issue of Dave Cockrum's '80s Nightcrawler mini-series off the newsstand, and realized that however much I liked the character in the context of the X-Men, I just couldn't get excited about him as a solo character. I don't want to see him try to be funny or mournful or determined or anything else on his own. I just want him to be a protagonist's sounding board, a wonderful team player and a nice guy who has moved beyond his past.

79) Captain Britain

I tried for several years in the '80s to like Brian Braddock, but not even Alan Moore could get me to see past his being a privileged abusive douche bag sorely lacking any personality. How this guy has managed not to get killed and permanently replaced is beyond me. Even the British don't particularly like him. Give me Dragon's Claw or Death's Head any day.

78) Sgt. Rock

This is another character that totally matters, that I absolutely respect, but I have never been particularly interested in.

77) Sub-Mariner

I'm glad an effort is being made to recognize Namor as the first mutant and a mover in the Marvel Universe. He was the original anti-hero with a bad attitude, and a load of abrasive fun in a team book.

76) The Rocketeer

GTFO. My apologies to his fans, but this guy just does not matter in the grand scheme of things. He was drawn by Dave Stevens as part of his paltry output of sequential art, helped turn Betty Page into a cultural icon, and starred in Disney's second attempt to ride the wave of Tim Burton's Batman. Otherwise, the Rocketeer was a nostalgic relic thirty years ago, and all the more so today.

75) Marv

Frank Miller's Sin City could never top its initial outing, and was the creator's too brief return to greatness. That said, Marv should totally haunt these latter parts of the hundreds while more important and prolific characters (many already discussed) exceed him.

74) Black Widow

Very much Marvel's Black Canary. An early character who has spent several gaps in limbo and too much of the Bronze Age as the fairer but lesser half of a romantic super-partnership. Several half-hearted solo attempts in the '80s and '90s finally yield a modestly successful series of mini-series, some multi-media exposure, and increased relevance in their universe. However, Dinah's pulled it off better, even accounted for her unfortunate backslide with Green Arrow for a couple of years.

73) Jonah Hex

Too high on the list, but still the most successful western character since the Bronze Age.

72) Luke Cage

I personally find the character a lot more embarrassing and possessed of much less potential today than when he was a baldly blaxploitative '70s refugee, but I still love and respect the guy.

71) Wildcat

This is one of those listings that kind of slap me across the face. I just talked about another streetwise tough guy, but where Luke Cage has been one of the eminent black heroes of the past four decades, Ted Grant is just a likeable but forgettable old fart. Seeing Wildcat on a greatest heroes list is like seeing Ed Asner on a greatest actors list. Asner is one of the great crusty old boss character actors, but he's no Ernest Borgnine, much less an Olivier. Wildcat was a back-up strip in a Wonder Woman comic and a lesser JSA member before '70s revivals chose to emphasize the Earth-2 exclusive members, and he's still just a roughneck in a silly costume among giants.

70) The Spectre

The cutting edge of both unbelievably powerful and remarkably brutal characters. Not often handled well, but deserving nonetheless.

69) Scott Pilgrim

I have read exactly one short story that was thoroughly okay. That's the sum total of my noteworthy exposure.

68) Iron Fist

Marvel Comics had two successful bids at cashing in on the '70s kung-fu craze, and Iron Fist was the lesser of the two in every single respect. That's why his short-lived series was merged with the more popular Luke Cage, Hero For Hire to form Power Man and Iron Fist (note second bill.) Less a "Top" and more an "Afterthought."

67) Hank Pym (Ant-Man)

I do not like Hank Pym. I do not like the original Ant-Man. I do not like Giant Man. I do not like Yellowjacket. He has never worked, he has never been loved, and he serves no purpose others couldn't handle better. I can't believe he hasn't died spectacularly and stayed that way.

66) Invisible Woman

I'm not really a fan, but she's nice and I recognize her power/importance.

65) Gambit

People friggin' hate Gambit for his sleazy costume, his stinky trenchcoat, his stupid accent and his central role in the decline of the X-Men franchise. I disagree, and the chicks dig him, so there.

64) The Atom

I love how the article with this entry is entirely about Ray Palmer, but they picture Ryan Choi. No respect for either, and it's hardly uncommon. Doll-Man might have been the biggest of the early tiny heroes, but the Silver Age Atom clearly eclipsed him to become the best of a bad lot. I've got love for the Ray Palmer version, and contrary to popular misconception, the guy has a lot of cool potential that remains less than fully realized. At least he ranked above the wife beater.

63) Blade

I still have trouble getting past my conception of Blade from Tomb of Dracula, and I wish Marvel could figure out how to do the guy right, but a movie trilogy, TV spin-off, and contribution to the popularity of tribal tells the tale.

62) Dashiell Bad Horse

I've read one issue of Scalped. It was okay. I've read a few Jason Aaron scripts. He's no Alan Moore, and I'm no fan of Moore, but they were alright.

61) Blue Beetle

The original was one of the bigger Golden Age heroes from a smaller publisher, and the star of his own radio show. The new kid just appeared on Smallville, and is a positive image of a young, Latino super-hero. The one in the middle is the only one acknowledged. Ted Kord was an industrialist recasting of Steve Ditko's Spider-Man more in that co-creator's image. He was funny in JLI, and I know he has a vocal following, but I just fell very "meh."

1989 Mayfair Games DC Heroes Sergeant Rock Character Card

Gerard Jones in The Comic Book Heroes opened his chapter on 1986 with a paragraph full of sentence fragments that made the case for it being essentially the greatest year for comic books ever. Think about it: Miller on Batman and Daredevil. Moore on Watchmen, Swamp Thing, and "Whatever Happened to the Man of Steel?" Byrne on Superman and Action Comics. Chaykin on the Shadow. The Charlton Heroes resurrected at DC. The CBLDF established. Murray & Golden's The 'Nam. Maus. Fleisher vs. Groth & Ellison. Kirby vs. Marvel. Dark Horse Comics founded. Marvel bought by New Line Pictures and launching the New Universe while DC rolled out it's first post-Crisis on Infinite Earths offerings. It was as though Jones were riffing on Billy Joel's 1989 hit "We Didn't Start the Fire."

Speaking of '89, that was all over by then. The Shadow was canceled. The Legion of Super-Heroes were screwed by the "Five Year Gap" and retroactive removal of Superboy. The promise of Cosmic Odyssey flamed out in another misguided attempt to reclaim the glory of Kirby's Fourth World Saga. Miller was off making movies. Moore had sworn off DC entirely. Byrne left DC, and in his place were Action Comics Weekly and the long dull road to the Death of Superman. The draining of Justice League International dry had begun. There was the noble but doomed experiment of Piranha Press. Perez was off the art on Wonder Woman, and only on Action Comics for a few months before the one-two punch of War of the Gods and The Infinity Gauntlet left him sitting on the sidelines for much of the next decade. Hawkworld ruined Hawkman continuity and made him a murderous junkie fascist. Emerald Dawn made Green Lantern a drunken convict. Most of DC's Silver Age relaunches were middling or busts, its history was in tatters, and all those '80s titles you loved were dead or dying. Rather than being the beginning of comics as a widely accepted art form, 1986 was the peak from which to descend, one superficial knock-off of DKR & Watchmen at a time. There were bright spots, like Neil Gaiman's The Sandman and Morrison's Doom Patrol, but the onset of '90s ennui was imminent.



I mention all this because here's a Sgt. Rock RPG card, surely because after fifty years of near continuous publication, a toy line, and a still simmering (but eventually aborted) Arnold Schwarzenegger feature film adaptation, his ongoing series had been canceled in 1988. Sgt. Rock Special continued as a (mostly) quarterly reprint series until the movie plans were official dead in 1992, and sporadically ever since. Rock was one of the last living reminders of a time when DC reached out for mainstream audiences beyond the valley of the dorks, and clearly there wasn't enough love from the cape & cowl set to save it. This card's inclusion was itself a commentary on how out of place Sgt. Rock was within the comic scene.

That said, Frank Rock had surprisingly good dexterity and a completely predictable hardcase constitution. I've never read that many of his comics, so I'm really impressed with his Intelligence of 7. That cache of strong Hero Points, martial skills, and the Danger Sense kept him alive through more action than most in The Great War, and he can actually use lethal weaponry without being in any way out of character. I suddenly find myself wanting to pit Rock against a bunch of street vigilantes like The Huntress and The Question in a craphole like Hub City for some urban warfare. It could be like Death Wish 3, or when Jonah Hex got transported to a post-nuke wasteland. It's so wrong, and yet, Easy Company versus the Watchmen fills my mind with such imagery...

• 1989 Mayfair Games DC Heroes Character Card Blank & Checklist