80-Page Thursdays: G.I. Combat #205!

I don't have a ton of these, but it was usually a bigger book, and at least eight were 80-pagers: from 1977, G.I. Combat #205.

Three more Haunted Tank stories this month, with them fighting in the Pacific for one, then two back in Germany: the crew nearly gets sent to the Japanese emperor as a trophy, Lt. Jeb Stuart nearly gets sent home on a section-8 for talking to ghosts, and a Nazi tank commander going Captain Ahab after the Tank nearly gets them. All close calls! I would hope this one would have put an end to Jeb's crew worrying about him talking to the ghost, but there were never a lot of continuity in these. (Three stories, all written by Bob Kanigher, art by Sam Glanzman.)

Then, two O.S.S. features: in the first, "Death is a Dummy," the spy agency is 0-for-2 in assassination attempts on Nazi Rudi "the Exterminator" Kelbst. You can tell he's evil, not just because of the name, but his raucous laughter at...a ventriloquist act. (Shudder!) Kelbst was like the ventriloquist's biggest fan; maybe he shouldn't have sent the guy's family to the gas chamber. (Written by Bart Regan, art by E.R. Cruz.) Then, in "60 Minutes to Massacre" an O.S.S. agent has to find out why a tribe on a small Pacific island resists Americans landing there--obviously, they know something of American history. No, a Japanese spy was trying to use them as a weapon; but I still think maybe the tribe shouldn't let anyone on the island? (Written by Bill Dennehy, art by Ric Estrada.)

Round out the book with two more shorts: "Soldier in Pigtails!" and "Stop--War Ahead!" The latter is about a cop turned M.P. but still all cop (grudgingly, in as good a way as possible) and the former a young woman fighting Nazi occupiers with a short, if successful, career as a sniper.

An aside: I picked up a fistful of Garth Ennis's War Stories the other day; I might have to scan those covers for the GCD. Annoyingly, that title was usually three issue arcs, and I don't think I completed a single one! But I would've loved to see Ennis redo that Haunted Tank one with the 'Ahab' commander after them, because he would probably go full Downfall there: "Our tanks are bigger, better armed, better armored. We know the area, the terrain. In a typical engagement, we outnumber our foe four-to-one. SO WHY (desk pounding begins) ARE WE GETTING--REPEATEDLY--CLOWNED BY THIS--THIS BABYTANK, FLYING AN ANTIQUE FLAG FOR FAILURES? HOW?" I'm also trying to recall if General Stuart ever gave, like legit intel, or just seemingly vague advice.