STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES 200: "Deathride!"

Well, couldn't have planned this better if I'd planned it better, but the 200th issue of STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES falls on Independence Day.

Parts One and Two here:

http://pulphero.blogspot.com/2009/06/star-spangled-war-stories-198-traitor.html


http://pulphero.blogspot.com/2009/06/star-spangled-war-stories-199-crime-of.html





The Unknown Soldier, still disguised as Nazi Lt. Holbach, is about to be ventilated by a super-pissed Mlle. Marie, French rebel, flanked by her Maquis fighters. At the Soldier's feet is the recent suicide, guard Sgt. Schepke, whom he'd come to find. As Marie draws down on the Soldier, Nazis guards slam into the room and begin a firefight with the Maquis. Mlle. Marie is trying to escape via a window, but the Soldier knows she will sign his death warrant with the Allies by confirming his guilt as a double agent. "Holbach" quickly captures Marie, demanding the Maquis stand down before he kills her.






Holbach knocks out Marie before she can reveal him to be a spy. The Nazis are unaware that Holbach is the Soldier, and so he continues the pretense. Ordered to tie Marie in the Colonel's office for questioning and, no doubt, torture, Holbach is on the spot when Marie regains consciousness and explodes with anger. Holbach convinces her to play along, with the possibility of striking a "blow for France."






Marie pretends to still be unconscious while the Nazi Colonel returns, gloating over the Fatherland's victory. The "Sonic Shell" has been loaded on a train headed to the French Front, where it will be used against the Allied Forces there. Holbach gets the Colonel to reveal how the Nazis fooled the Unknown Soldier into delivering a deadly bomb to the Allied Foreign Forces leader Lethin. Once Marie has overheard this information, Holbach breaks a wine bottle over the Colonel's skull and frees her. Together, Holbach and Marie gather the design plans for the Sonic Shell and prepare to stop the train. However, they find that Marie's Maquis have been tied to the exterior of the train engine to discourage attacks. Marie is distrought, convinced there is a way to save her men. The Soldier knows there's no time, and locks Marie in a utility shed to keep her out of the way while he goes to destroy the train.






Marie breaks out of the shed, but the Soldier reaches the train engine and gets it rolling. The Maquis tied nearest explains he understands the situation, that they will all die destroying the train. The Maquis knows how to run the train. The Soldier frees him, and the Frenchman gets the train up to speed while the Soldier lays down cover fire. Once out of range of the Nazis soldiers, the Maquis tells the Soldier to jump free. The Soldier refuses, taking full responsibility for the suicide mission, but the Maquis pushes him off: "...you are the most valuable weapon ze Allies have. And I'm afraid zat our mistake in not believing that makes the responsibility ours!"






The barreling train smashes into the munitions factory, erupting in a massive conflagration, killing the Nazi Colonel and all of Marie's fighters strapped to it. The Soldier slips away, but is stopped by Mlle. Marie, her weapon trained on him. She agrees that the train had to be destroyed, but the Soldier is responsible for murdering her friends. Walking away, Marie relates that she will report the Soldier's innocence to the Allies, but "I warn you, monsieur: should you ever return to France when ze War is over, watch carefully ze shadows, because I will be among them...and I will be waiting..."




Another solid gem from Michelinie and Talaoc. Their timing and execution is impeccable by this time. Again, this particularly three-parter isn't as strong as some of the individual stories, but the depth gained by adding Mlle. Marie makes up for it. There's a strange and unique interaction beneath the surface of the War-bound warriors, something in the art I think. And I find it a shame Marie isn't in more stories of this run, because Talaoc has a fascinating touch on her, finding a nice balance between courage and vulnerability, allowing Marie to be a woman while still formidable as a rebel leader.





Out of Five 3D Men

STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES 199: "The Crime of Sgt. Schepke!"

Part One Here http://pulphero.blogspot.com/2009/06/star-spangled-war-stories-198-traitor.html

Disguised as the unfortunate Georges Ronsard in Avignon, the Soldier is immediately spotted by the Nazis, confirming he was, indeed, set up for the murders at Allied HQ. After a quick getaway, the scene switches to the hidden-behind-a-waterfall HQ of one of the famous French rebel fighters, Mlle. Marie and her men. Intelligence reports the Soldier must be found and stopped, and Mlle. Marie is hot to kill any traitors to France. She's on the hunt.

Meanwhile, the Soldier kills a Nazi in an alley, a Leutnant Holbach, and "steals his face."

At the moment, Sgt. Schepke reports to his superior, who informs Schepke he is being dishonorably discharged for his incompetence. Schepke begs for his position, but the Colonel has no choice. Schepke leaves, weeping and eating a candy bar.

The false Lt. Holbach arrives, seeking Schepke, and freely searches the munitions factory. As he's passing a mop-woman, Holbach is struck from behind by the mop. The attacker is Mlle. Marie herself, along with her Maquis fighters. Revealing she deduced the Soldier's identity by the fact that his mask does not sweat in the factory heat. Before Marie can kill him, the Soldier breaks free and begins fighting the Maquis hand to hand, as gunfire will alert the Nazis all around them.

Simultaneously, Sgt. Schepke is in his quarters, cleaning himself up, regretting his sad existence. He puts on his best uniform, contemplatively.

The Soldier stems the tide of battle by convincing Mlle. Marie that he was set-up, though she remains highly skeptical. The Soldier assures her he can produce "the man who did it." As Holbach, the Soldier leads Marie and her fighters to Sgt. Schepke's quarters just as a shot rings out. The Soldier breaks in to find Sgt. Schepke, and his alibi, dead. Mlle. Marie draws a bead on the Soldier with her machine gun, to dispense justice.

Things just seem to be getting worse for the Soldier, as this is the end of Part Two. The inclusion of Mlle. Marie is a nice touch, as she's a recognizable historic figure within the DC Comics universe, created in 1959 by Robert Kanigher and Jerry Grandenetti http://www.toonopedia.com/mllemari.htm.

David Michelinie and Gerry Talaoc produce another solid winner here...the worst that can be said is that most of these stories are too short. At the time, and for whatever reason, the War Comics had back-up stories, usually of far inferior quality. On some of these back-ups you'll recognize some future stars of comics, like Frank Miller for instance. In general, the back-up stories tend to prevent us from getting even more Unknown Soldier story, which is a shame.

Out of Five 3D Men.

STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES 198: "Traitor!"

The Unknown Soldier is a prisoner awaiting trial for, you guessed it from the story title, treason.

The story opens with the Soldier being locked up, and thinking back on his mission prior to his traitorous acts. Hours before, the Soldier had been receiving orders from Marshall Letain, an officer of the Allies in charge of the French Front. The Allies' "Operation Anvil" is ramming the Nazis back toward Paris, but the Axis has plans to counter-attack with a new weapon "said to make standard explosives obsolete." However, no one knows exactly what the weapon is, but it's the Soldier's job to find it and destroy it.

The Soldier parachutes into a small Occupied French town called Avignon, where he uses his make-up affects to become a standard peasant. He locates the munitions factory, but hasn't a clue how to get inside. At that moment, while having a beer in a watering hole listening in to a clutch of Nazi guards off-duty, the Soldier sees his opportunity in the form of a Sgt. Schepke, a sad, plodding little guard whom the others mock. Sgt. Schepke nervously gobbles one of his chocolate bars, leaving the derisive laughter of the other guards. Schepke runs into a Frenchman named Georges, who is Schepke's friend. The two discuss Schepke's helpless indulgence of the other men's cruelty, and Schepke admits he is a career soldier with nothing else to endeavor for. Georges is a widower and a toy-maker, whose only joy is in the faces of happy children in his shop. The Frenchman and the German are fast friends because of their mutual powerlessness against the external forces battering them.

When Georges returns home, he is greeted by a pistol pressed to his temple. The Soldier shackles Georges hands and hangs the man from his wrists, to keep him from touching the floor while the Soldier fashions a mask of Georges' face. Now "Georges," the Soldier departs, leaving the real Georges to attempt his escape. Georges knows the Soldier is a spy, and fears he will harm Schepke. Valiantly, Georges struggles to slide his shackles along the length of the wooden bar he is suspended by. But when he drops, he is impaled by one of his own toy-carving knives.

The other Georges, meanwhile, goes to Schepke while he's on guard duty and asks if he might have an escort about the munitions factory. Though forbidden, Schepke agrees to show his friend what he can.

The two men watch, hidden, during a test of the new weapon the Soldier is searching for. In a field are a herd of sheep. From the ground rise small extended mechanisms all around the sheep. In less than a minute, all of the animals convulse and immediately die. Schepke points out to Georges that the new weapon is "shell(s that) don't explode--they emit sounds waves that disrupt the nervous system, bringing death in seconds!"

During the test, Schepke had been eating one of his candy bars, and dropped the wrapper. Later, Nazi guards discover the wrapper, leading the Commandant to the identity of the watcher. Schepke is confronted and tries to deny it, but the Commandant uncovers the sheeted corpse of the real Georges. Schepke must reveal what he knows of the espionage agent who has impersonated Georges.

The Georges double, unknowing, breaks into the munitions offices, to steal the "sonic shell" plans. He even finds a "wave transmitter", a small box-like device, which he takes for the Allied scientists to study. The Soldier sneaks out of the town, making his way back across Allied lines. However, the Soldier's journey is intercut with the Nazi Commandant at a radar console, watching his progress. At Allied H.Q., the Soldier and Marshall Letain enter a scientific lab, where a Dr. Forster is busy analyzing the wave transmitter in hopes of designing a jamming signal for the weapons. Too late, Dr. Forster realizes the device isn't a transmitter, but a bomb, which is detonated by the Nazis.

The Soldier is farthest from Letain and Forster, who are both killed. The Soldier has been set up, and he is presented as a double agent having succeeded in murdering an important stradegist. Back in the present, the Allied guards have returned to haul the Soldier before a court martial, but they find an empty cell. Also, the Soldier has retrieved his make-up kit. Orders are issued by Allied command that the Soldier be apprehended, "dead or alive!"

More of the usual excellence from David Michelinie and Gerry Talaoc, as this is Part One of yet another multi-part story, which Michelinie is doing more and more by this point in the run. I don't think at any other point in the Unknown Soldier's original stories were there any multi-part stories. Mostly in keeping with the War Comic traditions of one-and-dones, but Michelinie kinks the formula to produce some of the best war stories of the era.

Out of Five 3D Men.

STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES 197: "The Henschel Gambit"

An Arab in collusion with the Nazis named Hassan Ben Haroun is captured by covert guerrillas at an airfield. The rebels are led by a white woman. Hassan is actually the Unknown Soldier in disguise, who has been sent to North Africa to take Hassan's place and sabotage the Nazis last line of defense in the desert: a set of three Henschel HS 129 experimental bombers. Without these bombers, Rommel and the Afrika Korps will be defeated and the desert war won.

However, the unknown white rebel with the Arabs is determined to take Hassan back to face justice. The Soldier manages to escape by alerting the Nazi guards, but the white woman, still believing him to be Hassan, tracks him for the kill. The Soldier, meanwhile, recalls more information regarding his primary orders, preventing him from killing the white woman.

Back at Allied HQ, the Soldier was introduced to a Senator Evans, a brusque, entitled man whose daughter Jeannie is the white woman leading the guerrillas. Being a woman, Jeannie has a need to join the war effort, and has fled her father's political world for something real. Senator Evans has assurances from the Soldier's superiors that the Soldier will find and return Jeannie to the States. Obviously disgusted by such pandering and the Senator's short-sightedness (as the Soldier points out: "Seems I do remember rumors concerning a white woman leading a band of guerrillas. Only from what I heard, she's doing an excellent job.") the Soldier will perform his duty.

Back in the present, the Soldier as Hassan is about to be executed by Jeannie Evans, and he turns the tables on her, still disgusted by his orders, and renders her unconscious. Taking Jeannie to one of the Herschels, the Soldier fires up the bomber and flies from the airfield. The other two Herschels take off in pursuit, but they are ill-prepared for the Soldier's dive-bombing of the airfield, using the mounted 75mm anti-tank gun to destroy the other planes.

After that, the Soldier flies the limping Herschel several miles before it crashes in the desert and itself is destroyed. The Soldier carries the still-unconscious Jeannie Evans from the wreckage. Soon he discovers she is dead, however.

The story ends on the Soldier's righteous anger at the Senator, and his lament that he would not be able to forget Jeannie's face, "in restless dreams."

It's interesting that writer David Michelinie never explicitly states whether Jeannie has been killed by the bullets of the Nazi soldiers during the escape, or more darkly whether his own blow to Jeannie's head to knock her out might have killed her.

I didn't catch this subtle hint the first time around. Though obviously easy enough to suspect Jeannie was collateral damage during the Soldier's mission, still the Soldier's deep regret seems especially poignant...and I wonder. Was the Soldier's blow the moment Jeannie Evans died? Either way, the Soldier holds himself and a selfish bureaucrat responsible for the loss of a spirited fighter with integrity.

This is a quick little story, hardly a story more than an incident, as most of the tale occurs in the past. The Soldier's determination to follow orders, no matter what, has killed Jeannie Evans, whose own contributions to the War effort had been immense. It's a bleak look at the Soldier's military strength and human weakness, at how what he became to end the War seems to erase whatever he knew of decency prior to his horrific scarring.

Out of Five 3D Men.

STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES 196: "Target Red"

The Soldier, as Klaus Oster: Nazi assassin, doesn't know which of the dignitaries is about to kill General Volochisk (see part one http://pulphero.blogspot.com/2009/04/star-spangled-war-stories-195.html ). He's already in mid-karate kick and decides to slam that boot into the Russian General, displacing him just as a shot is fired.

The General is saved, and the assassin Gherner, disguised, breaks for his freedom through Russian troops. For his trouble, Oster gets beaned by a Russian rifle butt (he is still in a Nazi uniform, after all) and can only shout out at Gherner. The shout causes Gherner to hesitate, and the Russian soliders kill him. The soldiers are about to kill Oster too when he manages to say, "Mazeltov." This is a recognized codeword for the Soldier to the Russians, saving his life.

Later, the General reveals to the Soldier that the Russians have leaked that the assassination of the General was successful, and that Gherner escaped. The head of the School of Assassins, the Count Witschenbach, has returned to his villa in Germany to continue plotting for Nazi supremacy. The Soldier creates a mask of Gherner's face and is dropped into Germany, using a cane and pretending to be wounded. He's spirited to the Count's villa, where he's congratulated. Wishing to know the Count's "next project" for him, Gherner is stonewalled by the Count, who doesn't trust Gherner's short disappearance and keeps the new plot secret.

Irked, Gherner activates a trigger on his cane, which leaks a line of phosphorus on the floor as he walks. The phosphorus reacts with the air and billows smoke, signaling a fire. Gherner slips away to investigate the villa for possible hints of the Count's new mission, when he runs into a young woman with a pistol. He's about to kill her when the woman runs into his arms, revealing herself to be Anna Gherner, his sister. Six months had passed since their mother died, but Anna has been held prisoner in the villa, writing letters to Gherner to convince him their mother was yet still ill, and still in need of medicines. This, to keep Gherner's top-flight abilities in line with the Count's wishes. Anna has come with pistol in hand, after hearing of Gherner being "lost" in the Odessa mission, to kill the Count herself for the evils against their family.

At that moment, the Count and some soldiers arrive, and Anna attempts to shoot him but her aim is thrown off by Gherner. This convinces the Count that Gherner is loyal beyond doubt and can be trusted. The Count brings Gherner to the South Wing of the villa, where Gherner runs smack into General Volochisk, who can now reveal Gherner is a spy. However, it turns out the General and the other Russian commanders are disguised surviving members of the assassin school, and their mission will be to kill and replace the officers they represent.

Gherner realizes his mission has taken another turn. He decides on a course of action, reporting to the other assassins that a change in plans has occurred and the Count expects them in his office in twenty minutes. This gives Gherner time to reach the Count, who has just finished torturing Anna Gherner. Knocking out the Count, Gherner ties him to a chair, plants a German grenade on him, pulls the pin and shouts an alarm to the arriving assassins. Leaping free with the girl, the room, the Count, and the assassins are destroyed.

Gherner carries Anna to a secluded spot, where she swoons in pain and expresses gratitude for at least still having her brother, after all their family has perished in the War. The Soldier tries to be reassuring, but he is about to tell her her brother is dead, as the story closes.

Again, more superb economy from Micheline and Talaoc, who nail the evergreen beats of their offbeat War story and offer up another painful episode. The emotional turmoil is never entirely forgotten with the introduction of Anna Gherner, who again reminds the Soldier of war's true face, and the costs.

Out of Five 3D Men

STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES 195: "The Deathmasters"

This story begins with a Kommando named Oster breaking into the Nazi HQ of a "School of Assassins" located on a remote Rumanian island. Oster has come to kill the head of the school, Count Witschenbach. However, Oster is captured, having been tracked since stealing his way onto the island. The Count demands Oster's orders, while Oster reflects back to his briefing at Allied HQ, as he is the Unknown Soldier in disguise as Klaus Oster.

The School of Assassins is preparing a counter-offensive against the Russians in Moldavia, and so the Soldier has been sent to stop it. As new "trainee" Oster, the Soldier has infiltrated the School, and the Count prepares him as he does all new recruits. Oster is trained vigorously in the days following, but he learns nothing of the School's plans.

Finally he encounters a fellow recruit named Gherner, who is said to be the Count's "number one man." Oster decides to sabotage a routine training session involving the planting of wired dynamite; Oster insures the dynamite is real, not fake, and that his name will correspond with Gherner's on the duty list. During the training, Oster waits for Gherner to plant the bomb, before taking action and saving both men's lives. Oster relates that the live explosives must have been a mix-up, as "...luckily, I recognized the code numbers on the charges just in time!"

The Count, though, isn't convinced of the accident, and decides to keep a closer watch on Oster. Meanwhile, Gherner brings Oster to his cabin for drinks, and to relate a bit of backstory. Gherner's family is Communist, yet obviously this is an unpopular position in Germany. Gherner's mother is very sick, and Gherner has become a Nazi assassin to afford her medications. The friendship continues, until the evening when Gherner is ordered to report personally to the Count. Oster follows, taking up a position on the roof to listen in to the plan: Gherner is to kill an important Russian General at a ceremony in Odessa.

Oster is then nearly captured, as the Count's spy has discovered Oster's ruse. Oster kills the spy but is too late to stop Gherner from starting off on his mission. Oster can only race to Odessa and hope he is not too late.

Oster, on his way, blows up the entire School compound. At Odessa, Oster reaches the presentation honors for the Russian General, and realizes Gherner is in disguise as one of the dignitaries. Knowing it could be any one of them, Oster concludes the issue by racing forward toward the dignitaries and launching into a karate kick.

Another solid issue, replaying some themes writer Micheline uses often in these stories. Talaoc's art is settled into a grimy groove perfect for the work. Another two-parter here as well, as Michelinie continues to evolve the War Comic format. Though the War Comic would eventually return to its former creaky execution, this comic displays yet more evidence of what could be done with the formula.

Out of Five 3D Men.

STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES 194: "The Survival Syndrome"

Continuing our look at the 1970s 20-issue run of Unknown Soldier stories by David Michelinie and Gerry Talaoc...

This story begins in occupied France, at night, as a Nazi courier on a motorcycle spots a trap on a lonely road. A line of wire has been drawn taught across the roadway, at just the height to decapitate the soldier. Having easily spotted the wire, Conrad Vorst goes to cut the wire and is electrocuted. From the shadows, the Unknown Soldier steps out, his trap successful. The Soldier opens his make-up kit and assembles a mask from dead Vorst's face.

The Soldier reflects on his orders, provided him by a superior, in which he is to find a vital Nazi communications center in the French town of Beaulieux. This communications center is providing information about Allied troop movements, and the Soldier must destroy it. While putting on the dead courier's uniform and face, the Soldier wonders why Conrad Vorst had no identification papers. With no time to ponder, Vorst makes his way to the French town and is meeting with the Mayor, to find out the communications location. Nazi soldiers burst in and knock Vorst unconscious. When awakened, Vorst discovers he is a deserter, and is placed under arrest.

Meanwhile, the Mayor is chastized by his daughter for being spineless in the face of the Nazis. The Mayor follows the Law, and the Nazis are the Law in their world now. He asks his daughter to accept their predicament, for her own sake.

Vorst is put into a cell, to await execution the next day. The Major's daughter Yvette visits Vorst with his last meal, the next morning, and reveals to Vorst that she is a rebel. She distracts the guard, enabling Vorst an upper hand. The two make their escape, and Vorst retrieves his equipment from the motorcycle. The Mayor's daughter, head of the Underground, knows the exact location of the communications center, in the basement of a building heavily guarded by Nazis. Needing to wait for night, Yvette takes Vorst to her home, the Mayor's house. The Nazis would not, she reasons, seek rebels in the home of a collaborator. However, she has been seen by the Mayor, who promptly alerts the Nazis.

When the soldiers arrive, Vorst is showing Yvette the "K-6 Disruptor," a device which "has the same effect on radio equipment as a hand grenade in a bowl of pudding." However, this espionage device is a back-up to the vast amount of explosives on hand. The K-6 Disruptor can only work at extremely close range, unlike the explosives. But before any action can be taken, Vorst and Yvette are caught by the Nazis, with her father leading them. The Mayor is a "good citizen" and, though condemning his own daughter, he must follow his principals. Vorst and Yvette are led away to be killed. Vorst quickly overpowers two captors and escapes, leaving behind Yvette to fulfill his mission. He intends to return for her once the communications center is put out of commission.

However, after killing a guard and obtaining two German grenades, Vorst stumbles upon Yvette before a firing squad. She is executed a moment later.

Enraged, Vorst leaves behind the grenades, and the next scene cuts to the following day. The Mayor has been invited to the Nazi General's quarters, and the General rewards the Mayor with a box of cigars and special privileges. The General even leads the Mayor to the communications center in the house basement, a room full of sophisticated equipment. The moment the Mayor enters the room, the equipment explodes in a shower of sparks. The General has disappeared, but a moment later charges into the communications room, demanding to know why the Mayor is there. After a quick search, the Nazis discover the K-6 Disruptor inside the Mayor's cigar box. The Mayor pleads that the General himself had given him the box, but the General knows the truth: while the Mayor set up others for espionage, he himself was the master spy. While the Mayor screams that he only obeyed the Law, the General shows him the Law, ending in a gunshot.

While escaping the village, the Soldier removes his "General" mask, "...mission accomplished...and debt paid."

A swift, sharp little tale, in which one man's desire for conformity has twisted him into a fearful coward. I really like the more calculating decision on the Soldier's part, to gain revenge on the Mayor for Yvette's death in the most ironic way possible. Generally, the Soldier is slightly damaged on his missions, as the War gains its attrition of innocents killed. However, in this case, it is the Soldier who coldly determines the fates of the story's characters. Again we are privvy to the Soldier's rage, but it is the War which gives personal satisfaction to the dead in Its boot heels.

Four and a Half out of Five 3D Men

STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES 192: "Vendetta"

When last we saw the Soldier, he had been wounded and captured, leaving him at the mercy of Lt. Rico Strada, the young man with the serious vendetta, due to the Soldier being responsible for the death of Strada's "only family," a priest named Memmoli way back in ish 187. Also, the Soldier's wounding of Strada left him with only one arm. And on the end of that arm is his Luger.

Lt. Strada gloats how he will be turning over the "mask-making" kit to the Gestapo, once the Soldier is dead. He has sent away everyone except himself and the Soldier, isolating them in the countryside so Strada can enjoy his kill.

The Soldier, hands chained in front of him, kicks dirt into Strada's face and flees. Strada however is confident that the Soldier must face him eventually, to retrieve the mask kit. Should it fall into Nazi hands, the Soldier knows he will have committed a treasonous act resulting in irrepairable damage to the Allied cause. The Soldier breaks his chain using a boulder. Lt. Strada waits with the leather attache, knowing the Soldier must come for it.

As night falls, the Soldier begins to stalk Strada, hoping to get close enough to avoid Strada's pistol. He soon discovers a pack of wolves are hunting him. A savage battle begins as the Soldier begins killing wolves with his bare hands. Worn down during the fight, the Soldier is nearly overwhelmed when bullets scare off the animals.

Lt. Strada steps forward, Luger trained, while the Soldier again tries to reason with him, that Father Memmoli's death could not be laid at the Soldier's feet. Strada refuses to listen. The Soldier manages to throw a stone at a broken tree branch above Strada as he fires. The branch falls, disarming Strada, who leaps for the pistol. However, he is on the edge of a cliff and topples over. Catching a protruding branch with his one arm, Strada hangs there, the mask kit slung over his shoulder.

The Soldier attempts to reach him, prompting Strada to question why. Even when the Soldier explains Strada still has the make-up kit, Strada points out the attache will be destroyed when he falls. What is the point? The Soldier responds that Strada is wrong about him, about the circumstances behind Father Memmoli's death. Understanding at last, Strada is too ashamed to allow himself to be saved. He has been used by the Nazis, all he had remaining as a symbol of his worth. Strada releases the branch, falling to his death. The Soldier walks away into the night.

Another good issue, summing up the Monte Grande storyline from Michelinie's earlier issues. The Soldier's knockdown-drag out with the wolf pack is the highlight, with Gerry Talaoc shining. Strada seems hesitant to actually murder the Soldier, despite having the drop on him twice in this story. Strada's hesitation, something the Soldier does not share, hollows out his vendetta. Without true passion, Strada's desire is murder only, and thus he is unable to accomplish his goals. The Soldier has no qualms about letting any man die who impedes his missions, but makes the attempt to save Strada...even though he had not given his word to Father Memmoli, still the Soldier had compassion for the younger man. He'd already spared him once at Monte Grande and again, here, to save Strada from his own intellectual folly.

Out of Five 3D Men

STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES 191: "Decision at Volstadt"

The story opens with Gudren Schopfer, the child the Solder saved last ish, captured by "Brownshirts," Austrian children being trained as Nazi soldiers. The Soldier had left Gudren alone in the forest while he went into a local village for clothing to replace his Nazi uniform. By the time he had returned, Gudren had been found by Hitler's Youth. Worst than that, the Brownshirts have obtained the Soldier's "mask-making gear" in a leather briefcase. This is cause for serious concern, as the "secrets and innovations" it contains cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of Nazi Intelligence. The Soldier must get it back, but doesn't want to risk Gudren being killed in the melee. He follows instead.

With a Luger trained on the child, the Brownshirts prod Gudren back into the village. The Soldier, face bandaged, is stopped by a Nazi officer, curious why his face is hidden. The Soldier attempts to bluff his way out, but the Nazis aren't convinced, forcing him to attack them and flee. Turning down a blind alley, the Soldier is hidden by the Volstadt Resistance. The woman to whom the Soldier communicates his needs is named Joanna. She informs him that his briefcase, and Gudren, have been taken to Nazi General Von Bittschwann, head of the Occupation Forces in Volstadt, and also the man who has lured the children of the village into the Hitler Youth.

In an office nearby, General Bittschwann is meeting with Lt. Rico Strada, who pierces the General's sense of national pride by being "a mere Italian...(risen) to Officer's rank and have orders directly from the Fuhrer...orders that supercede your own authority!" Strada's righteous mission is to find the owner of the make-up kit, the man who Strada believes "cost me my arm--as well as the only family I ever had (Father Memmoli, the slain village priest from ish 187's "A Death in the Chapel.)"

The Volstadt Resistance helps the Soldier infiltrate the Nazi HQ, and find Gudren. The Soldier senses a trap too late, as Lt. Strada's soldiers cut off the Resistance. The Soldier quickly acts however, providing an escape route. With Gudren in hand, the fighters make it outside. A lone Brownshirt with a Luger draws down on them, and Joanna has the closest shot to kill the boy. However, she cannot bring herself to do it. The next moment, the boy shoots her in the back.

Back in the catacombs of the Resistance HQ, Joanna dies while pleading that "it was dark...and (Erik) couldn't...see...couldn't..."

The Soldier is informed that the boy who shot Joanna was named Erik, her own son. The Soldier takes up a rifle to return to Von Bittschwann, to get the make-up kit and with "a debt to pay."

The Soldier again sneaks into the Nazi HQ, but before he can kill Bittschwann and reclaim his briefcase, young Nazi Erik appears with his Luger, holding the Soldier at bay. Bittschwann orders Erik to execute the Soldier. The Soldier reveals to Erik that the woman he shot in the alley was his mother. Further, the boy may "have held the gun...but sure as hell it was Von Bittschwann who pulled the trigger!" When the Soldier illustrates who really deserves to die, the boy agrees and shoots the Soldier.

Von Bittschwann is relieved, and proud, but Erik quickly informs the General that he'd done his duty, but "this is for--my mother!" He empties his pistol into Bittschwann. A moment later, the boy is shot by alerted Nazi guards.

The wounded Soldier awakens to find himself a prisoner of war, with Lt. Strada proclaiming, "It is over. You gambled once too often--and you've lost."

Great little hard-hitting story here, as Michelinie continues to orchestrate the subplots expertly with his wartime mini-dramas. Again, it isn't the power of the Nazis which instills the greatest fear, but the corruption of the soul. While the Soldier fights on a superior moral authority, still his primary responsibility is to obtain his make-up gear, his "identity" as the unstoppable secret weapon of the Allies. And again, amid the espionage, the small crushing loss of love and family, a mother and her son sent to early graves, wounds the Soldier just as truthfully as the bullet he received.

Out of Five 3D Men

STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES 190: "Project: Omega"

The creative team wastes no time, as the Soldier, disguised as Colonel Rolf, one of the few men with access to "Project Omega" is about to be shot from behind with a Luger.


After a brief flashback sequence to establish the first part of the story, Col. Rolf meets with Dr. Schopfer to obtain vital information from him. As Rolf turns away, the scientist pulls the pistol. However, Rolf is contacted that a Nazi General Olbricht and his staff have arrived for the demonstration of Schopfer's Nazi super weapon. Dr. Schopfer hides his pistol, unable to pull off the assassination. The General and his people greet Col. Rolf, and the demonstration begins.



Massive steel doors open to reveal strange ape-like men, towering tall, and the General is assured the creatures are fully controlled. Dr. Schopfer's experiments involved "strengthening" the Nazi soldiers into practically unkillable monsters, but at the "cost of their minds!" Schopfer has implanted electronic devices in the creatures' brains, not only to keep them docile, but to control them.


Dr. Schopfer ends his speech by addressing the General directly, "But that's all wrong, can't you see? I only wanted to save lives, not turn men into mindless zombies!"



To which the General replies, "But my dear Doctor--what do you think good soldiers are?"


Resistence fighters attack the Castle at that moment. The General is overjoyed at a chance to see the "Super Soldats" in action, live. Col. Rolf is instructed to activate the creatures, but the false Rolf has no idea how. The General takes over, ordering Dr. Schopfer to intiate the monsters' attack. The Underground is swiftly destroyed by the beasts.


Col. Rolf slips away while General Olbricht crows about using the Jews as "raw material" for mass producing the monsters. At the lab once more, Rolf is faced down by Dr. Schopfer, who begins firing at him with a pistol. The Soldier removes his Rolf mask, revealing himself before Schopfer can wound him. The Soldier asks Schopfer to sabotage his own implants, which he does, causing the creatures to go berserk, killing Nazis and anyone else in their way.



Back at the lab, the Soldier is about to spirit Schopfer and his little daughter away from the castle when the General arrives, tattered and wielding his Luger. Dr. Schopfer attempts to shoot the General and is himself mortally wounded. The Soldier snatches Schopfer's falling Luger out of mid-air and guns down the General.


The dying scientist sends the Soldier to take his daughter from the castle, in order to set off explosives that utterly destroy Project Omega and everyone involved in it. Only the Soldier, his face hidden by rags tied over his horrible scars, and the child who bears the knowledge of his father's death, walk from the smoldering ruins.



An epilogue shows Nazis investigating the rubble the next day. A one-armed Leutnant searches for clues as to what happened. Other soldiers describe him as "obsessed with finding the Amerikanisch spy who cost him his arm!"


Lt. Rico Strada stands, displaying the discarded Col. Rolf mask worn by the Unknown Soldier. Strada promises to kill the Soldier, who "...took more than mere flesh--for he also murdered my soul."



There's an odd schism this issue between Michelinie's script and Gerry Talaoc's art, regarding the "monsters." Michelinie must have wanted something a bit more like, well, zombies...actual soldiers enhanced in some grotesque way. Perhaps even linking to Anton Arcane's "un-men" from SWAMP THING a couple years earlier. Talaoc renders the monsters as gorillas with very long arms and legs, standing upright. Though not actual gorillas, they're built like the Harlem Globetrotters, with little menace.


Strange to consider, but I'm wondering if this was a case of Michelinie going too far with the whole science-fiction/horror aspect and Joe Orlando or some other editorial force put the nix on the thematic choices. I feel like it wouldn't have been Orlando, per se, but someone "got" to Talaoc to slap the old gorilla motif atop Michelinie's gene-altered zombies. DC Comics was the old dependable company, and though dabbling in horror was one thing, I suspect DC might have a hard time spinning an Unknown Soldier vs Nazi zombies comic to readers of war comics who bought the Unknown Soldier. Believe it or not, comic book companies once upon a time didn't change a character's modus operendi at the drop of a hat, in order to satisfy some "hot" writer or artist. The Soldier was a war comic, incorporating aspects of horror, but not a horror comic. Case closed.


Thus, this short foray into a more fantastical arena for the Unknown Soldier comes to an end. There's a lot crammed into this issue, and not a lot for the Soldier to do (though certainly the Talaoc-rendered catch-the-falling-gun and blast-the-General panels are a nice innovation.) This war formula story clashes uncomfortably with the horror aspects, but is entertaining overall.





(2 1/2)
Out of Five 3D Men

STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES 189: "The Cadaver Gap Massacres"

Here comes perhaps the craziest story in the Michelinie/Talaoc run of Unknown Soldier.

Some American soldiers on the Austrian Front are set upon by huge, monstrous figures who are unstoppable by bullet or bayonet. Three units end up ripped to pieces by these creatures.

Watching a short film obviously shot by one unit's cameraman, the Soldier receives his orders from Allied HQ in Corsica. The intel is sketchy, as all the Allies have are rumors of experimental research in an Austrian castle. An important SS Officer is traveling to the castle to provide a demonstration of the new "weapon" for the Nazi higher ups. The Soldier must take the place of the Officer and discover what the weapon is, and sabotage it.

On a road in the Alps, a car carrying SS Major Wollheim is stopped by an obstruction. The driver struggles to move the rocks and branches. Wollheim is garroted while the driver is occupied. When the road is clear, the driver is met by Wollheim, returning from "the call of nature." Wollheim arrives at Castle Todesfall, greeted by an eyepatch-wearing Colonel named Rolf.

Moments later, local Resistance fighters escape their cells, and take off across the fields. This gives Rolf the chance to demonstrate one of the Reich's new inventions: small pipe jets in the field release what appears to be lasers which utterly incinerate the Rebels. Afterward, Wollheim is introduced to the lead scientist, Dr. Schopfer and his small daughter Gudren. A brief conflict erupts between Schopfer and Col. Rolf over the morality behind murder, even during war. Rolf makes implies once again that Gudren will be harmed if the scientist does not remain loyal to the Reich.

Wollheim is led about by Col. Rolf, who introduces him to "...everything from gases that turned the nervous system into jelly--to land mines set to explode at the mere heat of a human body." But none of these deadly weapons match what the Soldier saw in the film. Wollheim quickly finds the most guarded project and attempts to bluff his way inside "Project Omega." Col. Rolf arrives curious why Wollheim would try to enter, since it was under his orders that only Rolf, Dr. Schopfer and the Fuhrer himself be allowed in. Wollheim passes it off as a "security check" to insure his orders are being carried out. Later, the Soldier determines he must take the place of Col. Rolf, become Rolf, if he is to infiltrate "Project Omega."

However, the suspicious Col. Rolf has baited Wollheim, and holds a gun on the spy, taunting him. The Soldier quickly disarms Rolf and batters him into unconsciousness (Talaoc's art shows Col. Rolf with one staring eye, quite dead...but this is a mistake, or Col. Rolf sleeps with his eye open.) When the Colonel awakens, he looks up to find himself. The duplicate Rolf forces a Wollheim mask over the Colonel's face, and leads the new "Wollheim" gagged and at gunpoint outside.

Col. Rolf instructs "Wollheim" to begin running, and the real Rolf flees directly into the field of lasers. The Soldier as Rolf takes a long time to finally push the button, milking the sadistic Rolf's terror before finally obliterating him, and the Wollheim personae.

The new Col. Rolf determines to get inside the guarded room. Meanwhile, Dr. Schopfer stands over his sleeping daughter, whom Rolf has threatened. Coming to a final decision, Schopfer takes up a Luger and promises to assassinate Col. Rolf at the first opportunity.

The story is more science fiction oriented than perhaps any Unknown Soldier story ever written anywhere (outside of the unfortunate revision series from the 1980s that cast the Unknown Soldier as a "super soldier" via chemical enhancement, giving him quick healing and a measure of superior physical strength...good stories but just not quite right.) Massive lurking man-monsters and lasers aside, the story concentrates on the brief test of intellects between Col. Rolf and the Soldier (which Rolf actually wins, resulting in a gruesome death.)

The SF elements actually don't harm the formula of the war story, and as usual Editor Joe Orlando follows the compelling story wherever it leads. Also, here in this comic and ish 188 as well, the letters pages begin to reveal reader opinion on the new direction. One reader , Bob Rodi, calls the Unknown Soldier comic the "most promising series of 1975." Joe Orlando calls out for more feedback, asking if readers want, "more two-part stories? Or feature novel-length adventures...more frequently?"

I miss the way the world used to work, when an actual letter meant something, both for the writer and reader.

STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES 188: "Encounter"

A rarity, Joe Kubert doesn't provide the cover for this issue...Ernie Chan, one of the second-generation artists post-Silver Age, renders a basic mirror image of the Soldier and a Nazi antagonist effectively enough.

"Encounter" is almost like "Part Three" of the two-part Monte Grande story previous, with the Unknown Soldier in his "non-mission" trenchcoat and stingy hat and facial bandages, on a hospital ship full of wounded soldiers heading to Corsica. The "last mission left a bad taste," and the Soldier is eager to move on from it. So eager that the near-zero visibility of dense fog slowing the ship is a welcome opportunity for the Soldier to be "alone."

While brooding on deck, the Soldier is surprised by Nazi soldiers invading the ship. The Soldier swiftly reacts, escaping into the hold. Stalking one of the Nazi hunters, the Soldier kills him, but is concussed during the fight and blacks out. A flashback occurs of several hours before, with the Soldier's arrival on the hospital ship. While visiting the head nurse onboard, a woman named Lt. Molly Barnes, the Soldier walks in on Nurse Molly and her wheelchair-bound fiancee, Sgt. Cross, having a tender moment. Sgt. Cross is immediately agitated, and seems to recognize the Soldier. This arouses the Soldier's curiosity, since he is, well, "unknown." When asked about her involvement with Cross, and his odd antagonism toward the Soldier, she relates Cross' paralysis and bitterness over his wounding. The Soldier is privvy to Molly's new-found romance with Cross, how a woman who is "not very...attractive" is treated so well by a man like Cross.

Unconcious only a few seconds, the Soldier uses his make-up kit to assemble a mask of the slain Nazi. Appropriating the SS uniform, and dressing the corpse in his own clothing, the Soldier tosses the body over the side and opens fire on it. The other soldiers arrive with "Stefan" claiming to have killed the escapee. Stefan joins the rest of the Nazi boarding party who have taken the , crew, doctors and nurses prisoner. One of the Nazis relates the mission objective to the prisoners, pointing out their destination of Port Boursin contains the largest of the Allied Naval Support Group in the Mediterrean, and the entrance to the harbor is narrow enough to be blocked, crippling the American Fleet. The hospital ship itself is to be scuttled, creating an impassible barricade. When the Nazis reach for the explosives they will plant for this task, Stefan draw his weapon on them. The next instant, Stefan is knocked out from behind by Sgt. John Cross, out of his wheelchair with Luger in hand, revealing himself to be Hauptmann Johann Kraus, a Nazi spy. Molly Barnes is confused, and Kraus explains to her that he recognized the Soldier by his face bandages and determined to neutralize him. Kraus sets the task of throwing the Soldier overboard to two soldiers and takes Molly into the Captain's Quarters.

While apologizing for betraying Molly's confidence, Kraus admits he has fallen in love with her. When expecting her loathing, Kraus finds Molly truly loves him as well. She cuts off the light, promising herself to Cross/Kraus, unable to let true love slip from her hands.

Meanwhile, Stefan/the Soldier is being dragged topside when he awakens and kills the soldiers. Taking a weapon, he makes his way to the explosives the Nazis have activated, discovering them welded to the hull with no chance to be defused in time.








Molly and Kraus discuss their issues in the face of the War, how their love is forbidden. Molly is willing to live as best they can, as long as they can.





In the hold, the Soldier determines the only thing to do about the bomb is to set it off prematurely, before the ship reaches the Port. He fires his weapon at the explosive, which tears a massive hole in the hull. The Soldier then begins evacuating the wounded Allied troops onto lifeboats, just as Kraus and Molly arrive to stop him. Kraus gets the drop on the Soldier, pointing out he cannot have the soldiers leave. They are the enemy, and even though his prime mission has failed, it is best the soldiers die on the vessel than in battle. Molly is incredulous the man she loved would murder innocents, and Kraus reminds her "There's no such thing as murder in war, Molly--and very little innocence either!"







Pleading to Molly to understand his actions, Kraus is distracted long enough for the Soldier to tackle and disarm him. With water fast rising, the two struggling men are stopped by Molly, who holds the Luger now. While the Soldier and Kraus continue to battle, Kraus asks Molly to shoot the Soldier, preserve their love. Molly fires the weapon. Leutnant Kraus falls, dead.







Eventually the hospital ship is fully evacuated, and the Soldier rides in one lifeboat with Molly. He tells her she made the right choice, to save all those lives and help the War effort. Molly, weepingly, points out what a sheltered life she'd led, how she'd learned little of men, or weaponry. She then tells the confused Soldier: "...You see (sniff) I was really aiming that pistol--at you!"




One of the best of the Michelinie/Talaoc stories, "Encounter" is a remarkable achievment in story economy and characterization. With little to support the doomed love between Nazi spy and lonely Allied nurse, the writing effortlessly details the conflict. Again, the individual tragedy has been lost amidst the struggle of Wartime, with only the Soldier aware of the details. The story ends on the lifting of the fog and the dawn's light, but the realization is apparent: Molly cares nothing for flag and country in the face of agonizing mortality, and if not for the whims of Fate, she could have altered the course of World War 2. The individual choices do affect the tides of history, but those choices have meaning only to those who make them. History does not acknowledge the "faceless" dead.







The best issue of the run so far.

Out of Five 3D Men.

STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES 187: "A Death in the Chapel"

Part One http://pulphero.blogspot.com/2008/12/star-spangled-war-stories-186-man-of.html

This was actually the first issue of the Michelinie/Talaoc run I read. I'd picked up most of the run without knowing its quality, simply because I'd always liked the surreal Unknown Soldier "weird war" type character. I was about to get an education, and it didn't take long to figure it.

The Nazi who attacks Aschermann is killed in seconds by the Faceless Commando, and Aschermann proceeds to relocate the bodies to Father Memmoli's church.

Memmoli does indeed discover the bodies, and the ruse of Colonel Weile. Confronting Weile, Father Memmoli vows the villagers will learn of the deception. However, Weile places Memmoli under armed guard...the guard of Father Memmoli's young orphan-turned-soldier, Rico, with orders to kill the priest should he attempt to leave. Memmoli pleads with the young man to understand the wrong the Nazis represent, but Rico wishes to remain a loyal soldier. Father Memmoli will not be deterred from his duty to inform his people, and Rico is unable to shoot the kindly man of God.

Father Memmoli is off to find his people, and Aschermann follows to "insure" Memmoli's passage. However, Memmoli strays too close to the American lines and is accosted by a unit of GIs. Knowing if the Father is detained, the mission will be in jeopardy, Aschermann takes out the GIs barehanded and sends Memmoli on his way. Confused, Memmoli proceeds. Soon, the villagers and their weapons are turned on the Nazis.

Colonel Weile finds Father Memmoli in the church, discovering Memmoli's involvement. Accompanying him is Leutnant Aschermann. Before Aschermann can stop him, Weile kills Father Memmoli. Aschermann executes the Colonel, who manages to tear the Soldier's mask. Father Memmoli's last words are for the Soldier to help young Rico. The Soldier cannot promise to help, and after Memmoli dies, he says "I'm sorry, Father...but I'm afraid that's not part of the job."

Just then, Rico himself arrives, witnessing the Soldier/Aschermann kneeling over Memmoli's body. The young soldier tries to gun him down, and the Soldier blows apart Rico's right arm with his own Luger. Thus, the Soldier has spared Rico, and delivered a wound that will "be a ticket home for the duration."

The Soldier realizes the "kid" will hate him forever, believing him responsible for killing the only family Rico ever had. Rico crawls to Memmoli's body and collapses atop it. The Soldier escapes, accepting (once again) the anguish of the individual lost under the tidal wave of history.

The epilogue shows the Soldier being congratulated by Intelligence, only to learn the Americans are pulling out of the village and abandoning the once-critical mountain pass. The Soldier is enraged and storms out, sickened.

Again, the Soldier's primary drive, to end the War as soon as humanly possible, is betrayed by his own efficiency. His mission succeeds but "when you're playin' a game with thousands of lives, the individuals always tend to get lost in the shuffle..."

The Soldier's "big picture" continues to get smaller as Michelinie shows the "killing machine" having a poignant understanding of tragedy. No matter how "dehumanizing" the Soldier's training, he is still a man and still affected by the details of the War, swept under the bootheels of history.

The last is not seen of the young Rico, as this particular drama, as in life, will have long-reaching effects for the Soldier.

Out of Five for the Two Parter

STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES 186: "Man of God...Man of War"

The first multi-part story from Michelinie/Talaoc begins in an Italian village called Monte Grande in the Apennine mountain range. The village is occupied by the Nazis, though the village itself does not actively support the Axis. At this time, the Nazis are battling Americans in the mountains, with villages like Monte Grande caught in the middle.

After the Nazis have captured an American soldier in the village, the Nazi commander Colonel Weile attempts to convince Father Memmoli, the village priest, to sway the villagers to fight the Americans. Father Memmoli refuses, as "war is not God's way."

Just then, a small unit of American soldiers intiates an escape for their comrade, running down and killing several innocent village children with their jeep. Father Memmoli, grief-stricken, finds himself ready to assist the Nazis. The villagers battle the Americans at a "bottleneck" in the Apennines, keeping the Allies off-balance while the Nazis fortify.

As reported to the Unknown Soldier by Intelligence, this village's efforts undermine the Allies, and thus must be stopped. The Soldier is directed to infiltrate the village as an "escaped" Leutnant named Aschermann, using one of his mask disguises. Once there, the Soldier must eliminate Father Memmoli.

In order to authenticate who he is, the Soldier as Aschermann uses a GI's .45 to wound his own left arm. Aschermann then stumbles to a villager unit, who take him to Colonel Weile.

Once at the village, Weile directs the only local doctor, Father Memmoli himself, to dress Aschermann's wound. Father Memmoli reveals his inner conflict over having been "forced" to choose between the Allies and Nazis. While Memmoli's back is turned, Aschermann is about to kill him when a young Nazi footsoldier named "Rico," a former orphan raised by Father Memmoli. While the two greet warmly, Aschermann learns why Memmoli has joined the Nazi cause. Aschermann is secretly incredulous however, as no Intelligence record of the rescue exists, as far as the Soldier knows.

Taking his leave, Aschermann finds a Nazi-guarded house, raising his suspicions. After dispatching the guards, Aschermann overhears two Nazi soldiers discussing why they are in hiding. Working for Colonel Weile, these men portrayed the "American soldiers" who raided the village and intentionally killed the village children, to sway Father Memmoli.

Aschermann executes the two and prepares to display their bodies in Father Memmoli's church, surreptitiously unveiling the deception. Preparing to drag the bodies, Aschermann is unaware of another Nazi soldier approaching with a knife, to kill him.

This issue is set up, and a lesser entry in the Unknown Soldier run. However, some nice character bits with the Soldier at the Intelligence HQ, and his jarring self-wounding, along with some Talaoc-rendered karate, keeps the story snappy and visually interesting.

Also of note, the events begun here will influence another conflict later in the run. Michelinie is already preparing to usurp the usual formulae of the "one and done" war story.

STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES 185: "The Hero"

This story begins on a train traveling in Switzerland, wherein a wheelchair-bound Dr. Zeitman and his nurse enter their compartment to find a man in trenchcoat and hat waiting for them. The man turns to reveal himself as the Unknown Soldier, with a .45 automatic in his hand.

The Soldier has been sent to intercept Zeitman, who is on his way to a Nazi prison to assist a British Lord, Buford Rodney, a medical researcher studying in Germany who has not been allowed to leave. Dr. Zeitman requested to assist Rodney in his continuing experimental research. The Soldier disguises himself as Zeitman in order to reach Rodney and break him out of the prison; the British believe liberating Lord Rodney will boost national morale, to "bring England a hero." German Nationals will attack the Nazi prison as cover for the Soldier to extricate Lord Rodney. The Soldier is also sent with a "partner" on this mission, as Zeitman's nurse is replaced with young, inexperienced agent Lisa Forbes. Though dismissive of her, the Soldier begins his impersonation in earnest.

Once at Durstagg, Zeitman and his nurse are directed to Lord Rodney's extensive lab within the prison. Rodney is immediately attacked by one of his "assistants," a one-armed prisoner who is quickly shot by the Nazi Commandant. Later, Zeitman and his nurse are witness as Lord Rodney performs a new amputation technique on a prisoner strapped to a table. The prisoner is a guinea pig, testing the combat amputation process, completely devoid of anesthetic; the prisoner dies from the shock as Lord Rodney reveals "the knowledge gained is reward enough for me." Lord Rodney's assistants in his lab, in fact, are all former experimental amputees of one stripe or another. Under Nazi guns, the deformed prisoners perform menial tasks in Lord Rodney's lab. Rodney goes on to introduce Zeitman to the other ongoing prison experiments: skeletal prisoners under the conditions of starvation in "Project 37," while "Project 14" details various forms of gangrene rotting the bodies of the "specimens." Lord Rodney has no concern whatsoever about the "lives" he is destroying--results fully occupy him.

Zeitman's fake nurse flees the lab in horror. Zeitman chastizes her for nearly compromising the mission. The nurse is sent to secretly inform Lord Rodney of the extraction, and almost immediately Zeitman hears a shot and discovers his nurse, dead, with Lord Rodney and the Commandant standing over her. "Your pretty nurse here was a spy!" Zeitman is informed by the Nazi. "Unfortunately, she was shot while trying to escape--before we had a chance to question her!" The smug Nazi agrees Zeitman knew nothing of the deception, but Zeitman is placed under guard.

In the night, the German Nationals assault the prison. Zeitman goes into action, killing his guard and climbing down to Lord Rodney's lab window. Rodney himself continues to work under armed guard. The Soldier kills the guards and informs Rodney of the escapeway: "C'mon, Rodney. You may be a crud in my book, but a brave little lady died to bust you outa here..."

Rodney refuses, however, and pulls a Luger on the Soldier: "I don't want to leave! The Nazis have provided me with opportunities I couldn't possibly give up! Which is why I had to kill the girl!"

Rodney understands that Britain would never allow him the alacrity under the Nazi regime, and thus he decides to kill the Soldier as well. However, Rodney is struck by one of his amputee assistants, losing his gun. As the deformed prisoners close in on Rodney, the Soldier snatches up the gun to hold them at bay. The prisoners articulate the horrors of Lord Rodney's callousness to the Soldier, while Rodney begs for his life. In the end, flanked by grotesque reminders of rotting, dying prisoners, the Soldier leaves Lord Rodney in the hands of those he'd tortured and maimed: "So long, hero."

Lord Rodney's screams follow the Solder, who returns to England. The Brits are celebrating Lord Rodney with placards and signs, as the Soldier's military liason laments the "official" story of Rodney's death: "It's a shame (he) had to give up his life trying to save Miss Forbes..." The Soldier's response? "...some heroes are better off as martyrs."

This issue, Michelinie's script smashes in with his most prominent theme during his run: moral choices made under the most extreme of circumstances. In the first two stories, the Soldier's mission takes precedence, but here, confronted with Lord Rodney's atrocities, he acts with a clear moralistic decision. Lord Rodney deserves to die, at the hands of his tormented, and the Soldier allows it.

The understated part of this decision is how the Soldier has already "created" the cover story of Lord Rodney's death, minus any implication in the horrors of the prison. In fact, the Soldier's story is his own, not a government "cover-up." His choice, clearly, is to allow the Brits to believe the heroic sacrifice of Lord Rodney; the larger decision is to buoy England's morale. Lisa Forbes remains a lost patriot instead of a murder victim, and it seems the Soldier has, again, sacrificed some part of his greater morality to help end the War.

This is a great story by Michelinie, deft and hard-hitting, with Gerry Talaoc's aggressive pencils expertly detailing the atrocities. The story brings into light the Nazi human experimentation, a subgenre in itself of empowerment through torture. This is a bold story as well, considering this is the mid-1970s at DC Comics, a company dedicated to the tried and true story-telling formulae for general audiences. Even considering the "Speedy on heroin" storyline from O'Neil/Adams' GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW comic and other topical subjects a few years earlier, a tale about Nazi science-torture could only appear in a war comic under Joe Orlando's editorship. I imagine a few blind eyes were turned, as "The Hero" comes close to defying a couple of staunch Comics Code Authority guidelines.

However it happened, it's worth noting, and Micheline/Talaoc have hit their stride. The best is yet to come.

Out of Five 3D Men.

STAR-SPANGLED WAR STORIES 183: "8000 to One"

David Michelinie and Gerry Talaoc's first issue begins with the revelation of the face of a soldier, horribly disfigured by a grenade blast. Informed by the doctor that "plastic surgery is a young science," the man with the skull face breaks down.

Michelinie's introductory caption then succinctly brings the reader up to date: "And so it began. The war had stripped away my humanity, left me with nothing but bitterness. And so I dedicated myself to the destruction of that war. Through intense training I became a human killing machine, a special agent taking missions only a man with nothing to lose would attempt. In short, I became...THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER."

Next, Michelinie establishes the formula for his "man on a mission" stories, beginning with the Unknown Soldier's briefing by a usually unnamed military intelligence officer. In this case, the Soldier is told that an SS Kommando named Shreik was captured and died, revealing that Hitler in 1943 has already established Death Camps in occupied Denmark, and Jews are being slaughtered. The Danes are attempting to transport eight thousand Jews to Sweden, and the Gestapo's man in Copenhagen, Von Kleeg, intends to intercept them in some manner.

The Soldier creates a life-like mask of the SS man, Shreik, and parachutes into Copenhagen to arrive, under faux-fire from the Danes, back to the Nazis. Once back at Von Kleeg's HQ, "Shreik" is immediately attacked by three Nazi soldiers. Swiftly killing them all commando-style, the Soldier learns he has just been tested by Von Kleeg, to verify he is really the highly-trained Shreik. Still, Von Kleeg remains skeptical of Shreik's sudden reappearance. Shreik is introduced to a lovely Jewish woman named Inger. In order to escape the camps, Inger has informed on her own people. While being shown about the Gestapo grounds by one of Von Kleeg's trusted aides, Shreik and Inger are brought under fire by a Jewish man seeking revenge with a lone pistol. Shreik saves Inger while the Nazis gun down the man. Shreik's integrity is immediately brought into question, while Inger reveals the man killed was her own brother.

Von Kleeg, though suspicious of Shreik, puts "Operation Eliminate" under Shreik's command. With details of the raid in hand, Shreik relays the information to a Resistence agent. Back at the Gestapo HQ, Von Kleeg learns of Shreik's meeting, and determines a final test of Shreik's loyalty: execute Inger on the spot. Balancing in his own mind the scales, the Soldier coldly shoots the terrified Inger.

Meanwhile, the Resistence attacks the Nazi raid while the eight thousand Jews escape via boat. Once more at the Gestapo HQ, Shreik has given way to the Unknown Soldier, who kills his way to Colonel Von Kleeg and delivers a final rough justice.

The story ends with the Soldier on a ship ruminating on history's view of his actions, how no one will care how the Jews were saved, or who died and suffered to save them. The last panel shows a ghostly apparition of Inger looking over him, sadly, a tragic incidence of the War.

Talaoc's pencils are especially "cartoony" in this first installment, and later he would tighten them up considerably. Not bad by any means, but interesting to note how Talaoc subtlely changes over the course of his time on the Soldier, including long after Michelinie has departed.

This is a fine story by Michelinie, simple and assured, even if nowhere near the peak of the run. Still, it's a nice piece of story-telling that doesn't try to do more than it sets out to do.

The Unknown Soldier is shown to have the ability to regret his decisions, but by no means does he question what he has to do. I find it interesting that Michelinie doesn't fall into a Romantics trap and have the Soldier hesitate at all. To hesitate is to fail the mission, and die, and the Soldier is far and away the best commando the U.S. has. The mission is bookended by the flashback of the Soldier seeing his shattered face for the first time, and Inger's ghostly resonance. Both people have been damaged by the War, and the link between them is the probability that history will not record them. For Inger, erased from the memory of her people as a betrayer, and the Soldier who is no longer a man but a codename, Michelinie has begun his epic STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES run with the psychological remnants of a world at war, inescapable and hellish.

Rating:

Three out of Five 3D Men