Creature Commandos Tales Two By Two 1

What happens when you take a vampire, a werewolf and a reanimated man, force them to live and work together, and see what type of friendships develop as they get real?

Who knows?

This isn't a reality show, this is World War II, with a battle hardened Lieutenant gathering together 3 men, who have been scientifically altered into horror architypes, who will fight evil as....

....The Creature Commandos!

Here is a look at their first two adventures!

The Creature Commandos

The adventures begin in Weird War Tales #93 (November, 1980) by J. M. DeMatteis, Pat Broderick and John Celardo, all under a cover by veteran war artist, Joe Kubert.

Starting at a secret briefing, with Lt. Matthew Shrieve of U.S. Army Intelligence, as he addresses an audience of distinguished generals, admirals and senators...

...about the dark realm, and things which influence men on a basic level....monsters!  Using Project M (for Monster), scientists were able to take three military men...Warren Griffith, a 4F Oklahoma farmboy who thought he could turn into a wolf, which they induced a real transformation into a werewolf (though it is unstable in duration)....Sgt. Vincent Velcro who volunteered to avoid a thirty year prison sentence, being injected with the blood of a rare Mexican bat to get his vampiric powers, and marine Private "Lucky" Taylor, who was blown to bits in a battle on a Pacific island, only to be put back together as an enormous creature, reanimated to life, but without a voice to express his gentle soul.  These three then surprised the room, with a general declaring them the worst monsters he's ever seen, and to sent them to battle the Nazis immediately. 

The crew ended up in France, storming Castle Conquest, where the Nazis had been building robots to replace the world leaders.  Shrieve set explosives to destroy the base, which would have gone off if the Creature Commandos had gotten out or not, proving the Lieutenant to be the most heartless monster of them all.

The Faceless Enemy

The monster squad and their leader return in Weird War Tales #97 (March, 1981), under a cover by Ross Andru and Romeo Tanghal, with story by J. M DeMatteis and Fred Carrillo.

This time around, the team was sent to retrieve a Doctor Frederique from the Nazis in a storm covered area of occupied France.  

Velcro complained as he took the orders, while Taylor silently went into battle, following the changed Griffith.  The team freed the doctor from the Nazis, finding the doctor to be a she!  Shrieve got to know her, with Frederique worrying about seeing people as people, even the Nazi monsters, as the troop headed for what they thought was safety (facing a few menaces along the way), but as they arrived, the doctor revealed herself as a plant, with this whole mission being a trap to catch the Creature Commandos.  

The lady wasn't a doctor, but she died saving the Lieutenant as one of the faceless masses, as the other three decimated the Nazi forces.  When it was over, when asked if they should bury her, as Shrieve seemed to be growing close to her, he declined, as she was only the enemy.

The creatures survived these battles, but more were to be had....and, with luck, to be covered here soon!

Creature Commandos Invade The War That Time Forgot

Chocolate and peanut butter are two great things.  Each of them are made better by combining the two...and the same can be said about series set in World War II.

Two of the oddest features of World War II combined for an issue, when the Creature Commandos ended up on Dinosaur Island, fighting the War That Time Forgot in Weird War Tales #100 (June, 1981) by Mike W. Barr, Bob Hall and Jerry Ordway (under a cover by Joe Kubert).

Creature Commandos

But, first, a little history, starting with the premier of the Creature Commandos from Weird War Tales #93 (November, 1980) by J. M. DeMattteis, Pat Broderick and John Celardo, with the U.S. government via a group called Project M (for "Monster") created what would be the Creature Commandos...

...taking convicted con man Sgt. Vincent Velcro and injecting him with experimental chemicals including the blood of vampire bats until he manifested the ability to turn into a bat, with a desire for human blood (though no weakness to the sun or religious iconography); Warren Griffith, a 4F young man from Oklahoma who suffered from the belief he was a lycanthrope, and giving him treatments to make him change into a wolfman at random (not controlled by the moon) and Private Elliot "Lucky" Taylor, who stepped on a land mine on a Pacific island, yet was reassembled as a super-strong, silent patchwork man; with these men turned monsters led by Lt. Matthew Shrieve (whose lust for battle could make him the most monstrous of them all).  

The group continued as the main feature of Weird War Tales after this issue, missing only a few issues, adding a Dr. Medusa to their ranks, as well as teaming up with both versions of the G.I. Robot, right up until the end of the series with Weird War Tales #124 (June, 1983), where they were shot into space (later to be picked up by Brainiac and returned to Earth by Superman).

The War That Time Forgot

Dinosaur Island premiered in Star Spangled War Stories #90 (April-May, 1960) by Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito (though the island didn't get that name until later in the series), and started a series of loosely connected stories featuring soldiers versus dinosaurs during World War II, but with some regular sub-features that it introduced like...

...G.I. Robot (in Star Spangled War Stories #101), the Suicide Squadron (WWII's inspiration for the Suicide Squad, which came first, but this version started in Star Spangled War Stories #110) and the Bird-Man (who fought enemy forces on pterodactyls, starting in Star Spangled War Stories #129), with the series ending in Star Spangled War Stories #137 (February-March, 1968), though Dinosaur Island could still be found, being visited once by the crew of the Haunted Tank, then a few stories in Weird War Tales before the team-up (and a few after)...

...with Dinosaur Island "settling" post-Crisis to be a part of Warlord's Skartaris (and even being a place where Bat Lash and the Enemy Ace fought Vandal Savage in the 1920s before these stories....).

But, back to the task at hand....

 

Dinosaur Convoy

The Creature Commandos were assigned to follow up on missing recon patrols near a series of Pacific Islands, looking for a Japanese convoy.  

There, they encountered Japanese troops (as well as plenty of dinosaurs), with both Shrieve and the Japanese commander realizing that the dinosaurs could have uses as troops as well.  

 

The Creature Commandos reluctantly fought the dinosaurs, dispatched the Japanese troops, and even helped rally the dinosaurs to take out the Japanese convoy, with Shrieve taking pictures to document how the dinosaurs could be used by the government against the Japanese.  

Lucky (the patchwork man) destroyed Shrieve's camera, with Velcro (the vampire) explaining that he wouldn't let them exploit the dinosaurs, who were just mindless creatures, unlike the "monsters" of the Creature Commandos they already have in service.

 

Batman Vs. The Vampire

Batman has had a long history, and during the course of it, fought many incredible menaces.

They weren't all based on science and detective work.  Sometimes Batman fought the supernatural, here is the first case of that, predating Robin and Alfred, in some of the earliest appearances of Batman from Detective Comics, when Batman faced a vampire (in a story so old, they didn't even have proper titles at the time....the title of "Batman Vs. The Vampire" was added later).

Detective Comics 31

First up in Detective Comics #31 (September, 1939) by Gardner Fox and Bob Kane, Batman stops Bruce Wayne's fiancee, Julie Madison (her first appearance), from killing a man in the street....it appears she was hypnotized!

Out of concern for her, a visit to her doctor gets a recommendation to go to Europe for treatment....which she does by ship, but Batman follows in his just introduced Batgyro.  On the ship, Batman meets the Monk, who has hypnotic powers, who seems to get the better of Batman.  Leaving the area, Batman goes to find Julie in Paris, which he does, but is captured by the Monk.  Using his new tool, the Baterang (for the first time), Batman is able to escape with Julie, but the Monk escapes.

Batman follows the Monk to Hungary....and the next issue!

Detective Comics 32

Continuing where he left off, with Detective Comics #32 (October, 1939) by Gardner Fox and Bob Kane, Batman is pursuing the Monk. 

Near the Monk's castle, Batman captures Dala, a passenger in a carriage headed to the Monk's castle.  Bringing her back to the hotel where he was keeping Julie.  Batman finds Dala is a vampire, and forces her to take him to the Monk.  Batman takes the Batgyro to attack, but the Monk brings down the aircraft, and hypnotizes Batman.  Then, the Monk uses his mind control to send for Julie, so she can see the Monk throw Batman to the wolves.  Batman escapes, fashioning two silver bullets to stop the evil duo (and finding out the Monk is not only a vampire,  but a werewolf as well), and shoots the Monk and Dala, ending their supernatural existence.

Batman's secret origin, and aversion to guns had yet to be revealed, but would be in the next issue in a two page sequence.

These tales have been reprinted a few times, first in the 100 Page Super Spectacular #DC-15 (February, 1973), then in the Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told from the 1980s...

...and starts off every collection of Golden Age Batman stories whether they be Archives, Omnibus, Chronicles or more!

Oddly, the Monk and Dala have returned over the years, but thanks to Batman existing on alternate Earths, with the Earth-1 versions of them first appearing in Batman #346 and Detective Comics #511, respectively (with their story playing out over the next few issues), and then a more modern version showing up in Matt Wagner's 6 issue mini-series, Batman: The Mad Monk, being both a blessing and a curse to the Batman.

Detective Comics #31 had a classic cover, as Matt Wagner shown in the first issue of his mini-series.  Neal Adams did a couple of variants of it as well....showing the eternal appeal of Bob Kane's original cover!

Batman's Heart Of A Vampire

Batman faces off against a vampire in Detective Comics #455 (January, 1976), in "Heart Of A Vampire" by Elliot S! Maggin and Mike Grell (with Mike Grell also providing the cover).


Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth need help as their car breaks down in the woods.  They end up at a boarded house, where they find Gustav Decobra (an 18th century physician who was trying to prelong life, at least until he was set upon by vampires), who leaves his coffin as Bruce changes to Batman to face the vampire, but...

...Batman has a problem with this Christopher Lee look-a-like, as stabbing his heart with wood doesn't stop the creature.  Perhaps Batman would have been better off not to disturb Decobra's rest (being trapped in a coffin surrounded by sun lamps!).  

Instead, the battle makes the old clock in the house tick louder...and figuring out why is what allows Batman and his butler to survive this vampiric encounter!

Still, how did Bruce and Alfred fix their broken down car?

Horror is Sexy…See Vampirella

Back before Pamela Anderson made blonds synonymous with red swimsuits, there was a sexy brunette who did the same, and she did it all for fifty cents…and mostly in black and white as well!

Vampirella premiered in Vampirella #1 (September, 1969), with a stunning cover by Frank Frazetta.  Vampirella was created by Forrest J. Ackerman, and though Tom Sutton did the art of her first appearance, Trina Robbins came up with the hair and design of her iconic look.

Vampirella was an alien vampire from the planet Draculon, and for the first seven issues of her Warren Publishing magazine, she was the hostess of tales of horror…with tales of her own starting with her getting her regular costume (in a tale with art by Mike Royer in #2, in November, 1969) and with issue #8 (November, 1970), her adventures were a regular feature, when Archie Goodwin first took over editing of the book.

The magazine proved quite popular, and even added color inserts over time (but still stayed mostly black and white), and was published in magazine format, mostly to get into better circulation and avoid the Comic Code Authority of the time (the tales were a little racy…though nothing like the magazine 1984/later called 1994, and its tales, especially those of Frank Thorne‘s Ghita of Alizarr…very loosely based on his work with Red Sonja at Marvel…but, Ghita was a blond, not a redhead).

At one time, Vampirella was even to be a movie by Hammer Films (mostly noted for it’s sexy 1960s and 1970s remakes of classic Universal Horror films) with model/actress Barbara Leigh, but the studio failed before the project could get anywhere (though Barbara was immortalized in the red suit, as she appeared at conventions, and had seven covers of the magazine devoted to her as Vampirella…#67, 69, 71, 73, 74, 76, 77 and 78).  As the red suit proved to be very popular at comic conventions – with women wearing it, and the wide-eyed boys who followed them around – being an official Vampirella model became an important event (as Brinke Stevens began her modelling career that way!).

The series lasted for 112 issues (until March, 1983) at Warren (along with an annual and a special, that reprinted key issues), and Harris Publications even had an issue #113 in magazine size in 1988, before Vampirella came back again, this time in more traditonal comic book form…and her origin switched from science to a more traditional Earthbound vampire origin (making her the daughter of Lilith, the first wife of Adam….) and Harris Comics had a few different Vampirella models, including Cathy Christian, Kitana Baker, Julie Strain and Maria Di Angelis.

There was even a movie in 1996, with Bond girl Talisa Soto as Vampirella, and Roger Daltrey in there as well…but, well, it was direct to video, and…not really to talk about (though by this time, Drakulon became the preferred spelling of her planet’s name).

Dynamite Comics revived the character in 2010, and, along with publishing current comics about Vampirella, offers a series of graphic novels that reprint the original Warren tales and that incredible poster by Jose Gonzalez that opened this article!  Hope you enjoyed this little bite of Vampirella…and tell us if you need more bite to our coverage of Vampirella!  Check out the covers of the current ten volumes of Hardcovers produced by Dynamite…

Dynamite Archive #1 features Vampirella #1-7, with the stories that started it all, including that Frank Frazetta cover and work inside by Neal Adams, Don Glut, Mike Royer, Ernie Colon, Jerry Grandenetti, Jack Sparling, Gardner Fox, Tom Sutton and Jeff Jones!

Dynamite Archive #2 features Vampirella #8-14 features Vampirella art by Jose Gonzalez, as well as tales of horror by artists and writers like Neal Adams, Jeff Jones, Dave Cockrum, Frank Brunner, Steve Englehart, Denny O’Neil, Wally Wood, Steve Skeates, Don Glut, George Roussos, Jerry Grandenetti, Gardner Fox, Tom Sutton, Nicola Cuti, Sam Glanzman, Mike Ploog and more!

Dynamite Archive #3 features Vampirella #15-21, with work by Archie Goodwin, Jose Gonzalez, Doug Moench, Richard Corben, Pat Boyette, Don Glut, Jan Strnad, Steve Skeates, Reed Crandall, Denny O’Neill, Rich Buckler and, more, including Vampirella’s encounter with Dracula!

Dynamite Archive #4 features Vampirella #22-28, with work by  Esteban Moroto, Steve Englehart, Jose Gonzalez, Jose Bea, Don McGregor, Wally Wood, Steve Skeates, Bill DuBay and more, and the color sections are in color!

Dynamite Archive #5 features Vampirella #29-35 with work by Doug Moench, Steve Skeates, Jeff Jones, Bernie Wrightson, Budd Lewis, Richard Corben, Auraleon, Jose Gonzalez, Jose Bea and many more, and includes the introduction of Pantha, a beautiful were-panther in her own feature!

Dynamite Archive #6 features Vampirella #36-42, with work by Don Glut, Jose Gonzalez, Archie Goodwin, Felix Mas, Jose Bea, Esteban Maroto, Ramon Torrents, Steve Skeates, Doug Moench, Paul Neary, Budd Lewis, Jose Gonzalez and many more, celebrating the 5th Anniversary of Vampirella!

Dynamite Archive #7 features Vampirella #43-49, with work by Jose Gonzalez, Victor Mora, Esteban Maroto, Ramon Torrents, Gerry Boudreau, Isidro Mones, Auraleon, Luis Garcia, Len Wein, Budd Lewis and many more, adding new foes like the Blood Red Queen of Hearts and more battles with the forces of Chaos!

Dynamite Archive #8 features Vampirella #50-56, with work by Jose Gonzalez, Esteban Maroto, Ramon Torrents, Bill DuBay, Howard Chaykin, Zesar, Leopold Sanchez, Auraleon, Gerry Boudreau, Jose Ortiz, Enrich Torres, Bruce Jones, Gonzalo Mayo, Jan Strnad, Richard Corben, Manuel Sanjulian and many more, facing off against many menaces and the undead!

Dynamite Archive #9 features Vampirella #57-64, with work by Jose Gonzalez, Esteban Maroto, Dick Giordano, Carmine Infantino,  Bruce Jones, Gonzalo Mayo, Roger McKenzie, Budd Lewis, Bill DuBay and many more, with everyone's favorite vampire babe facing more horror than she could handle from Earth and beyond!

Dynamite Archive #10 features Vampirella #65-71, with work by Jose Gonzalez, Leo Duranoma, Jose Ortiz, Bruce Jones, Enrich Torres, Gonzalo Mayo, Roger McKenzie, Gerry Boudreau, Bill DuBay and many more, with our heroine facing mysteries, robots, aliens and more menaces...including photo covers!

Dynamite Archive #11 features Vampirella #72-79 has mostly photo covers of Barbara Leigh as Vampirella, though Enrich Torres, Bob Larkin, Jose Gonzalez and Jordi Penalva each painted one, with stories by Bill DuBay, Auraleon, Nicola Cuti, Cary Bates, Len Wein, Bruce Jones, Michael Fleisher and more, art by Jose Gonzalez, Auraleon, Gonzalo Mayo, Leo Duranona, Jose Ortiz, Val Mayerik, Alex Nino, Russ Heath, Jim Starlin and more on the insides as Vampirella goes through the end of the 1970s!