Friday, May 08, 2026

A true story this issue? At least one, I guess; I can't confirm the rest.

I know I joked "every time Hitler appears somehow, drink!" but none this issue: instead, an actual true story! From 1975, Weird War Tales #40. Cover by Ernie Chan.
The opener, "Back from the Dead," follows a couple G.I.'s during the Battle of the Bulge, as they survive a couple close calls--or do they? Yeah, no. (Story by Jack Oleck, art by Fred Carrillo.) Then, we get another short that was reprinted in Showcase Presents: the Great Disaster, as the last man on earth finds an unbroken plate glass window, in an otherwise demolished city; and contemplates everything that glass probably saw, all that history. Then he smashes it. Well, that was only two pages, I don't know what I expected. (Story by Len Wein, art by Howard Chaykin.)
Then, a Revolutionary War tale, "The Warrior Breed" Written by Jack Oleck, art by Buddy Gernale. It's not entirely historically accurate: Robert Shurteff is nearly turned away from enlisting in the Revolutionary Army as being 'puny,' but was actually tall for the time, like 5-foot-7! Shurteff won the respect of his fellow soldiers, and was wounded twice; yet strangely refused medical treatment, eventually contracting a fever. That would lead to 'his' discharge: 'Robert Shurteff' was actually Deborah Sampson, who passed herself off as a man and served for 17 months! As usual, I'm not up on my history, this was actually the first time I heard of this; so at long last comics are educational!
Finally, the oddball "The Soldier from Space," wherein an alien scout finds earth loaded with the sustenance his people need, if the humans don't wipe each other out first. After he's shot down, the Germans find the scout injured and amnesiac, and try to get him to turn his weapons on the Allies. Another bump on the noggin restores his memory, and he turns on the Germans; all the better to gather the blood his people drank! (Written by George Kashdan, art by Ric Estrada.)

3 comments:

Mr. Morbid said...

How sad is it that the only real place to see Nazis get theirs these days is in old war comics & magazines? We may not have always been a proper society, but at one point the general consensus amongst most Americans were that Nazis were bad. Oh how times have changed. I can only imagine how any surviving WW2 (there can’t be any at this point right?) must feel seeing our current situation.

That short story definitely feels like it could’ve been the ending to a Twilight Zone story, and it goes without saying that the art is the least Howard Chaykin-ist Howard Chaykin art I’ve ever seen.

H said...

There are at least a few- Mel Brooks and Dick Van Dyke are both around 100, and they can’t be the only ones that old so somebody who served must still be around.

I think most of the Day After Doomsday stories were like that. I mean literally- they were usually 1-3 pages and ended with a building or something man made collapsing. At least the last man on Earth wasn’t under it when it collapsed this time.

Mr. Morbid said...

Yup, you’re right, both Mel Brooks & Dick Van Dyke are thankfully still with us, unfortunately they have to live through these very frustrating times, with the official US government policy doing a 180 from what they’re used to.