{"id":30726,"date":"2024-10-16T08:00:05","date_gmt":"2024-10-16T08:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=30726"},"modified":"2024-10-15T09:24:24","modified_gmt":"2024-10-15T09:24:24","slug":"showcase-presents-the-haunted-tank-volume-1-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2024\/10\/16\/showcase-presents-the-haunted-tank-volume-1-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Showcase Presents the Haunted Tank volume 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Robert Kanigher<\/strong>, Russ Heath<\/strong>, Irv Novick<\/strong>, Jerry Grandenetti<\/strong>, Joe Kubert<\/strong>, Jack Abel<\/strong> & various (DC Comics)
\nISBN: 978-1-4012-0789-2 (TPB)<\/p>\n

Robert Kanigher (1915-2002) was one of the most distinctive authorial voices in American comics, blending rugged realism with fantastic fantasy in his signature war comics, horror stories and superhero titles such as Wonder Woman<\/strong>, Teen Titans<\/strong>, Hawkman<\/strong>, Metal Men<\/strong>, Flash<\/strong>, Batman<\/strong> and even other genres too numerous to mention here. In 1956, he scripted \u2018Mystery of the Human Thunderbolt\u2019<\/em> – the first story of the Silver Age, introducing Barry Allen<\/em> as a new Flash <\/strong>to the hero-hungry kids of the world.<\/p>\n

Kanigher sold his first stories and poetry in 1932, wrote for the theatre, film and radio, and joined the Fox Features shop where he created The Bouncer<\/strong>, Steel Sterling<\/strong> and The Web<\/strong>, and provided scripts for Blue Beetle<\/strong> and the original Captain Marvel<\/strong>. In 1945 he settled at All-American Comics as writer and editor, staying on when the company amalgamated with National Comics to become the forerunner of today\u2019s DC. Writing Flash <\/strong>and Hawkman<\/strong>, he also created Black Canary<\/strong> and, decades later, debuted another memorable female lead in Lady Cop<\/strong>, as well as so many memorable villainesses like Harlequin <\/strong>and Rose and the Thorn<\/strong>. That last torrid noir temptress he redesigned during the relevancy era of the early 1970s, launching a \u201cschizophrenic\u201d crime-busting super-heroine to haunt the back of Superman\u2019s Girlfriend Lois Lane<\/strong>… which Kanigher also scripted.<\/p>\n

When mystery-men faded out at the end of the 1940s, the ever-resourceful scribe \u00a0shifted over to westerns and war stories, becoming in 1952 writer\/editor of the company\u2019s combat titles: All-American War Stories<\/strong>, Star Spangled War Stories<\/strong> and Our Army at War<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

He created Our Fighting Forces<\/strong> in 1954 and added G.I. Combat<\/strong> to his burgeoning battle-boutique when Quality Comics sold their titles to DC in 1956, all the while scripting Wonder Woman<\/strong>, Johnny Thunder<\/strong>, Rex the Wonder Dog<\/strong>, Silent Knight<\/strong>, Sea Devils<\/strong>, Viking Prince<\/strong> and a host of others.<\/p>\n

Kanigher was a restlessly creative writer and used his uncanny but formulaic adventure arenas as a testing ground for future series concepts. Among many epochal war features he created were Sgt. Rock<\/strong>, Enemy Ace<\/strong>, <\/em>The War that Time Forgot<\/strong> and The Losers<\/strong>… as well as the irresistibly compelling \u201ccombat ghost stories\u201d collected in this stunning, economical monochrome war-journal. This terrific first tome re-presents the early blockbusting exploits of boyhood friends Jeb Stuart Smith<\/em>, Arch Asher<\/em>, Slim Stryker<\/em> and Rick Rawlins<\/em>, as depicted in G.I. Combat<\/strong> #87-119 (April\/May 1961- August\/September 1966), and also includes guest-star missions from The Brave and the Bold<\/strong> #52 (February\/March 1964) and Our Army at War <\/strong>#155 (June 1965).<\/p>\n

The eerie action opens with \u2018Introducing – the Haunted Tank\u2019<\/em>, illustrated by the sublime Russ Heath. In this debut the now-adult pals are all assigned to the same M-3 Stuart Light Tank<\/em>, named for a legendary Confederate Army General who was a strategic wizard of cavalry combat. During a patrol, the underdog neophytes somehow destroy an enemy Panzer even though they are all knocked unconscious in the process…<\/p>\n

Narrated by Jeb as he mans the Commander\u2019s spotter-position (head and torso sticking out of the top hatch and completely exposed to enemy fire whilst driver Slim, gunner Rick and loader Arch remain inside), the tanker recounts how a ghostly voice seems to offer advice and prescient, if veiled, warnings. These statements and their midget war machine soon draw the jibes of fellow soldiers who drive bigger, tougher war machines…<\/p>\n

Eventually the little tank proves its worth and Jeb wonders if he imagined it all due to shock and his injuries, but in #88 \u2018Haunted Tank vs. the Ghost Tank\u2019<\/em>, Jeb is actually seeing and conversing with his phantom namesake as he and the boys solve the utterly rational mystery of an enemy battle-wagon which seems to disappear at will. \u2018Tank with Wings\u2019<\/em> in G.I. Combat<\/strong> #89 was illustrated by Irv Novick, describing how old General Stuart\u2019s impossible prophecy comes chillingly true after the M-3 shoots down a fighter plane whilst hanging from a parachute, after which Heath is back to limn a brutal clash against German \u2018Tank Raiders\u2019<\/em> who steal the Americans\u2019 haunted home on treads.<\/p>\n

Throughout the early days Jeb\u2019s comrades continually argued about what to do with him. Nobody believed in the ghost and they all doubted his sanity, but ever since he began to see the spirit soldier, Stuart Smith has somehow become a tactical genius. His \u201cgifts\u201d are keeping them all alive against incredible, impossible odds…<\/p>\n

G.I.C <\/strong>#91\u2019s \u2018The Tank and the Turtle\u2019<\/em> sees a chance encounter with a plucky terrapin lead to clashes with strafing aircraft, hidden anti-tank guns and a booby-trapped village, whilst \u2018The Tank of Doom\u2019<\/em> (art by Jerry Grandenetti) sees the snowbound tank-jockeys witnessing true heroism and learning that flesh, not steel, wins wars. In #93 Heath depicted a \u2018No-Return Mission\u2019<\/em> which depletes American tank forces until the Ghostly General takes a spectral hand to guide his mortal prot\u00e9g\u00e9s through a veritable barrage of traps and ambushes, after which \u2018The Haunted Tank vs. the Killer Tank\u2019<\/em> seeks to widen the General\u2019s role as the phantom protector agonises over intel he is forbidden to share with his Earthly namesake during a combined Allied push to locate a Nazi terror-weapon. This time, the young sergeant must provide his own answers…<\/p>\n

The rest of the crew are near breaking point and ready to hand Jeb over to the medics in #95\u2019s \u2018The Ghost of the Haunted Tank\u2019<\/em>, but when Slim assumes command he too starts seeing and hearing the General amidst the blistering heat of battle…<\/p>\n

In \u2018The Lonesome Tank\u2019<\/em> Jeb is back in the hot-seat and scoffing at other tank commanders\u2019 reliance on lucky talismans, until the General seemingly abandons him and he is pushed to the brink of desperation, after which G.I.C<\/strong> #97\u2019s \u2018The Decoy Tank\u2019<\/em> proves that a brave man makes his own luck after a Nazi infiltrator takes the entire crew hostage. \u2018Trap of Dragon\u2019s Teeth\u2019<\/em> allows the Ghostly Guardian to teach Jeb a useful lesson in trusting one\u2019s own senses over weapons and machinery in combat, and issue #99 greets legendary Joe Kubert who starts a stint on the series in the book-length thriller \u2018Battle of the Thirsty Tanks\u2019<\/em>, with the Stuart labouring under desert conditions which reduce both German and American forces to thirsty wrecks as they struggled to capture a tantalising oasis.<\/p>\n

The crew reveal their fathers had all been tank jockeys in WWI and who disappeared in action when \u2018Return of the Ghost Tank\u2019<\/em> in #100 finds the lads back in Europe. Shock follows shock as they realise their sires had all been part of the same crew, with credibility further stretched when the M-3 begins to retrace and re-enact the last mission of their missing dads…<\/p>\n

Any doubts about whether the General is real or imagined are laid to rest in #101\u2019s \u2018The Haunted Tank vs. Attila\u2019s Battle Tiger\u2019 <\/em>(illustrated by Jack Abel), as the barbarian\u2019s evil spirit becomes patron to a German Panzer, opening a campaign to destroy both living and dead Jeb Stuarts, after which Kubert returned for \u2018Battle Window\u2019<\/em>: a moving tale of old soldiers wherein a broken-down, nonagenarian French warrior gets one final chance to serve his country, as the American tank blithely trundles into a perfect ambush…<\/p>\n

A particularly arcane prognostication in #103 drives Jeb crazy until \u2018Rabbit Punch for a Tiger\u2019<\/em> shows him how improvisation can work like magic in a host of hostile situations, whilst \u2018Blind Man\u2019s Radar\u2019 <\/em>helps the crew complete a dead man\u2019s mission after picking up the sightless sole survivor of an Axis attack.<\/p>\n

In the mid-1960s before the Batman<\/strong> TV show led to rampant \u201cBat-mania\u201d, The Brave and the Bold<\/strong> featured team-ups of assorted DC stars. Issue #52 (February\/March 1964) grouped Tankman Stuart<\/strong> with Sgt. Rock<\/strong> and Lt. Cloud<\/strong> as the 3 Battle Stars<\/strong> in \u2018Suicide Mission! Save Him or Kill Him!\u2019 <\/em>(by Kanigher & Kubert). In this superb thriller, the armoured cavalry, infantry and Air Force heroes unite to escort and safeguard a vital Allied agent… who had been sealed into a cruel and all-encompassing iron suit. Fast-paced, action-packed and utterly outrageous, the perilous chase across occupied France is one of the best battle blockbusters of the era.<\/p>\n

Back in G.I. Combat<\/strong> #105 the \u2018Time-Bomb Tank!\u2019<\/em> starts seconds after the B&B<\/strong> yarn, as the Haunted Tank receives intel that Rock\u2019s Easy Company are under attack. As they dash to the rescue, however, circumstances cause the M-3 to become a mobile Marie Celeste…<\/p>\n

The \u2018Two-Sided War\u2019<\/em> finds Jeb promoted to Lieutenant and suffering apparent hallucinations when he and his crew are trapped in the Civil War, after which #107\u2019s \u2018The Ghost Pipers!\u2019<\/em> details how the tankers aid the last survivor of a Scottish battalion in an attack that actually spans two wars, before again teaming up with Rock in \u2018The Wounded Won\u2019t Wait\u2019<\/em>. As Rick, Arch and Slim are injured, the Easy Co. topkick rides shotgun on the brutal return trip back to base…<\/p>\n

Issue #109\u2019s \u2018Battle of the Tank Graveyard\u2019<\/em> downplays supernatural overtones for a more straightforward clash deep within a deadly mountain pass, whilst \u2018Choose Your War\u2019<\/em> has the Confederate General chafing at his role assisting \u201cUnion\u201d cavalry – until circumstances again seem to place the modern soldiers in a historical setting and the two Jebs work out their differences.<\/p>\n

For #111\u2019s \u2018Death Trap\u2019<\/em> the uncanny crew again work with Easy Company – in the desert this time since continuity was never a big concern for Kanigher. However, when the M-3 is captured, Jeb and the boys endure a bloody taste of infantry fighting before taking it back.<\/p>\n

\u2018No Stripes for Me\u2019<\/em> is actually a Rock tale from Our Army at War #155 <\/strong>(June 1965) with the Haunted Tank in close support as a battle-hungry General\u2019s son continually refuses the commendations and promotions his valiant actions deserve, no matter what the cost to men or morale around him…<\/p>\n

Rock and Jeb stayed together for G.I. Combat<\/strong> #112\u2019s struggle against the Luftwaffe \u2018Ghost Ace!\u2019<\/em> who is Attila the Hun\u2019s latest mortal avatar: a blistering supernatural shocker that once more forces the Phantom General to take a spectral hand in the battle against evil, after which \u2018Tank Fight in Death Town!\u2019 <\/em>sees the war follow the M-3 crew back into a much-needed leave. Luckily Rock and Easy Co. are around to provide vigorous fire-support…<\/p>\n

After nearly four years in the saddle, scripter Kanigher decided to revamp the backstory of the crew and issue #114 (October\/November 1965) featured the Heath illustrated \u2018Battle Origin of the Haunted Tank\u2019<\/em>, with the General revealing he had been assigned to watch over the M-3\u2019s boys by Alexander the Great<\/em>. In the afterlife, all great military commanders sponsor mortal combatants, but Stuart had refused to pick anybody and was stuck looking after \u201cDamned Yankees\u201d. Happily, the mettle and courage under fire of the boys changed many of his opinions after watching their first battle in the deserts of North Africa…<\/p>\n

Heath also drew the team-up in #115 wherein Jeb is reunited with Navajo fighter-pilot Johnny Cloud<\/em> as \u2018Medal for Mayhem!\u2019<\/em> pits both spiritually-sponsored warriors against overwhelming odds and forced to trade places in the air and on the ground. (Cloud regularly encountered a cirrus-mounted \u201cIndian Brave\u201d dubbed Big-Brother-in-the Sky<\/em> galloping across the heavens during his fighter missions…) Novick then illustrated a sequel when Cloud and Stuart help proud Greek soldier Leonidas <\/em>fulfil his final mission in the stirring\u00a0\u2018Battle Cry of a Dead Man!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018Tank in the Icebox\u2019<\/em> in #117 is another Heath martial masterpiece wherein a baffling mystery is solved and a weapon that turns the desert into a frozen hell is destroyed, before Novick assumes the controls for the last two tales in this volume, beginning with \u2018My Buddy – My Enemy!\u2019<\/em> wherein bigoted Slim learns tragically too late that not all Japanese soldiers are monsters, and #119 again asks difficult questions when Jeb and the crew must escort an American deserter to his execution, with German forces attempting to kill them all before they get there in \u2018Target for a Firing Squad!\u2019 <\/em>An added attraction for art fans and battle buffs are the breathtaking covers by Heath, Kubert & Grandenetti, many of them further enhanced through the stunning tonal values added by DC\u2019s brilliant chief of production Jack Adler.<\/p>\n

These spectacular tales cover The Haunted Tank<\/strong> through the blazing, gung-ho early years to a time when America began to question the very nature and necessity of war (Vietnam was just beginning to really hurt the home front in 1966), and combat comics started addressing the issues in a most impressive and sensitive manner.<\/p>\n

The war fare here combines spooky chills with combat thrills but always offer a powerful human message that has never dated and may well rank amongst the very best war stories ever produced. This is a series long overdue for a modern archival and digital renaissance.
\n\u00a9 1961-1966, 2006 DC Comics, Inc. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Robert Kanigher, Russ Heath, Irv Novick, Jerry Grandenetti, Joe Kubert, Jack Abel & various (DC Comics) ISBN: 978-1-4012-0789-2 (TPB) Robert Kanigher (1915-2002) was one of the most distinctive authorial voices in American comics, blending rugged realism with fantastic fantasy in his signature war comics, horror stories and superhero titles such as Wonder Woman, Teen … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Showcase Presents the Haunted Tank volume 1”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[305,232,122,225,93],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dc-horror","category-dc-war","category-historical","category-mystery","category-war-stories"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-7ZA","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30726"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30728,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30726\/revisions\/30728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}