Gorilla Warfare

World War II.  A time of epic battles, where the world took sides, with countries all across the world being a part of the Allies or the Axis.

This even extended to the animal kingdom, as gorillas joined in with the U.S soldiers, and the Nazi forces as well.

Here are their stories.

You Can't Pin A Medal On A Gorilla

First up, the Allies, with Star Spangled War Stories #126 (April-May, 1966) by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert, under a Kubert cover, where Charlie, the simian friend of Sgt. Pinky Donovan, gets unintentionally enlisted in war in the Pacific Theater.  

How did this unlikely scenario happen?

Donovan was an entertainer, working with his gorilla, Charlie, to entertain the troops in the Pacific, when he got called back into duty.  Unfortunately, that meant Charlie had to be locked up in the ship's hold as he headed to his assignment.  But, an attack beached the ship, and set Charlie free.  The enemy attacked the soldiers, with Charlie going into action to save the day.  It worked, much to the surprise of Donovan's C.O....who kept demoting Donovan, even with Charlie's successes!  Charlie even helped them take on their original mission, and lead to them flying the American flag in victory, but ending with the tagline that was the title of the story!

This lighter war story was also felt very real thanks to the stylings of artist Joe Kibert, who usually did more realistic war stories with Sgt. Rock (but still great to see him flex his abilities here!).

Primate Patrol

Hearing from the Axis side, is Weird War Tales #89 (July, 1980) by George Kashdan, Ken Landgraf and Dave Simons, under a cover by Jim Starlin, with a whole group of intelligent gorillas working on behalf of the Nazi forces in Africa.

Here's how that happened!

Willy, Jake and the rest of their troop of American soldiers were taken captive by the Nazis, and given to their new jailers...gorillas dressed in Nazi uniforms.  The gorillas were intelligent, and could speak!  They were found by the Germans, and trained to do simple tasks (as they were natural imitators), with those who resisted punished.  But, they didn't take into account animal nature, as they still imitated, and learned from their American prisoners to fight the Nazis, then going to hide better in the jungle after freeing the American soldiers.

Now, whether or not these gorillas were a part of Grodd's Gorilla City, we'll never know.

The results speak for themselves, as to which sides the simians worked with, but one still has to wonder what would have happened had these apes crossed paths on the battlefield?

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!

Historic Formation of the All-Star Squadron

December 7th, 1941 was "a date which will live in infamy" as Franklin D. Roosevelt said, as the Japanese fleet launched an attack on Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States into World War II.

But, how did that date go in a fictional world where Superman was active since June, 1938, Batman since May, 1939, and there was a teams of heroes like the Justice Society of America and the Seven Soldiers of Victory?

So It Begins

That question was answered starting with Justice League of America #193 (August, 1981) in a special preview comic, by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler, Dick Giordano and Jerry Ordway, as readers saw Flash, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman race and be captured by Solomon Grundy; Sandman, Johnny Thunder and Starman be taken down by the Sky Pirate; Dr. Fate and the Spectre be defeated by Fate's foe, Wotan; Superman, Batman and Robin be defeated by the Alchemist, Professor Zodiak) while opening a USO function; but, Hawkman, Atom and Dr. Mid-Nite were able to defeat their foe, the attacking Monster (all while being watched by a man in a trenchcoat).  If there was trouble on this day (December 7th, 1941), who could FDR call?  (The answer would be, "The All-Star Squadron", but they didn't exist yet.).

The Team Forms

Answers came in All-Star Squadron #1 (September, 1981 by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway), as Pearl Harbor was being attacked, Hawkman learned of the JSA's capture, fighting off King Bee with Plastic Man, and Dr. Mid-Nite and the Atom meet the man in the trenchcoat, the original Robotman, and the lot head to the White House as people begin to think of "The World On Fire".

Heroes Johnny Quick and Liberty Belle (who are reporters in their alter egos, and were both present during events chronicled in the Justice League issue as Johnny Chambers and Libby Lawrence) meet outside the White House as Hawkman and FDR decide to gather all heroes to find out what's going on....and the villain of the piece, time traveler Per Degaton. is revealed to the reader while he attacks the Shining Knight (of the Seven Soldiers of Victory) with his villainous minions.

Taking Action

The newly formed All-Star Squadron head west (adding Quality heroine, Phantom Lady as well), as Per Degaton, "The Tyrant Out Of Time" works on attacking San Francisco with the villains he had recruited from 1947, as Degaton figures this will get the USA to attack Japan first, allowing him to take over the world...and the newly formed All-Star Squadron defeat the villains (with them going back to their own time) and freeing the captive Justice Society of America, Shining Knight and Danette Reilly (who had been exposed to mystic forces and volcanic gas) in All-Star Squadron #2 and #3 (October and November, 1981 by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway), and the heroes begin to get an idea of "The Dooms Of Dark December".

Grim Reality

The All-Star Squadron, whose members include all the heroes mentioned above, get a look at the results of the attack on Pearl Harbor by flying there on December 8th, 1941 in All-Star Squadron #4 (December, 1981 by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway) in the "Day Of The Dragon King"....the heroes had planned to go to Japan immediately, but a new villain, the Dragon King, is introduced, who uses the supernatural power of items like the Holy Grail, and Spear of Destiny to create a mystical shield that affects supernatural and otherworldly powered heroes like Dr. Fate, Spectre, Johnny Thunder, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and even Superman, making them work for the Axis forces, forcing the heroes to all retreat...and let the war be fought in conventional ways, as Danette Reilly learns her brother Rod was injured at Pearl Harbor.

In All-Star Squadron #5 (January, 1982 by Thomas, Buckler and Ordway), Danette learns her brother was the non-powered hero, Firebrand, now unable to be Firebrand for a time thanks to injury, and learns she received flame powers thanks to her time, takes over his mystery man name, and joins the All-Star Squadron in fighting a new menace, the Feathered Serpent, who is working with the Nazis...


...continuing the story, and adding Hawkman's girlfriend, Hawkgirl, into the mix as well....

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Continuing the Fight 

The heroes continued the fight against the Axis on the homefront, as All-Star Squadron lasted 67 issues (and 3 Annuals), eventually adding most of the Golden Age heroes to its roster (and covering comic history to about April, 1942).  The series also filled in DC history, exploring what happened to the Quality heroes on December 7th (and how they went to another Earth, stopping the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, allowing the Nazis to win World War II....and forming the Freedom Fighters under Uncle Sam), as well as adding to the history of Earth-2, and the Justice Society of America (including future members Hawkman's partner Hawkgirl,  Sandman's partner Sandy, Wildcat, Mr. Terrific and Robin), the Seven Soldiers of Victory, and even other Golden Age characters like Johnny Quick, Liberty Belle, Robotman and Plastic Man...

...with later additions to the team, like Tarantula, the Guardian, TNT and Dan the Dyna-Mite, Air Wave, Manhunter, Zatara, Sargon, Mr. America, Midnight, the Whip, Dr. Occult, and even World War II heroes created later, like Steel (renamed Commander Steel after the assistance of the All-Star Squadron in freeing him from Baron Blitzkreig), as well as new heroes like Firebrand and Amazing Man, and facing off against the Marvel Family and the Monster Society Of Evil...

...but it all started on one day, and the machinations of Per Degaton.

Remembering Our Veterans

For Veterans' Day, a quieter look at the cover of an issue of the Unknown Soldier, #250 (April, 1981), with art by comic book veteran and hero, Joe Kubert.


The Unknown Soldier was a character that gave up his own identity to fight for the United States during World War II...making the next to supreme sacrifice for us all; in this case, surrounded by friends and uneasy allies of Sgt. Rock and Easy Company, the Haunted Tank, Mademoiselle Marie and the Losers (Sarge, Capt. Storm, Johnny Cloud and Gunner).


A way to remember all those who made the supreme sacrifice, and those that survived the horrors of war as well.

Steel, A Patriotic Comic Book Hero!

“The lights are going out…and a great darkness is descending on the world.  America will soon be the last bastion of freedom.  That’s why I’ll go on fighting the forces of fascist tyranny until the day I die!  That’s why I became Steel!”  – Hank Heywood.

That’s the mission statement of the hero who premiered in Steel, the Indestructible Man #1 (March, 1978, by writer Gerry Conway and artist Don Heck).  Hank Heywood was just a Princeton biology student, on tour in Europe in 1939 with his mentor, Dr. Gilbert Giles, discussing their bio-retardant formula that would allow surgical replacement of damaged limbs and organs….and the pair were witness to Nazi brutality.  This so shook young Hank, that after returning home, he informed his fiance, Gloria Giles (the doctor’s daughter) of his need to enlist in the Marines and help convince America to prepare to fight the coming war in Europe.  While training, Private Heywood stumbled onto some Nazi saboteurs, and while he tried to stop them, they blew themselves up and severely injured Hank.

When Hank awoke, he convinced Dr. Giles to use the formula, in combination with steel alloy tubing to replace his crushed bones, micro-motors in his damaged joints and a new artificial lung to replace his burned one, all under regrown skin thanks to the formula.  The doctor wanted to keep the success of the operation a secret and Hank agreed, being rebuilt better than before, and didn’t tell Gloria.  Private Heywood was reassigned duty in the Marines as a desk jockey, but Hank wanted to do more for his country.  Hank fashioned a flexible steel alloy suit for added protection, and labeled himself Steel, the Indestructible Man.  With his new strength, speed, endurance and toughness, he then decided to arm himself (sadly, breaking the law to get advanced weapons from the Westchester Federal Armory), where Steel faced more saboteurs directed by Baron Death…but, this time, Hank, in his costume identity was victorious against them.

Soldiering On

Over his next four issues, Steel faced the Mineral Master (a Dr. Moag, who stumbled onto the “Omega” field, which he was immersed in, and changed the doctor, and allowed him a mastery of minerals), Sledgehammer (Emil Sledgeski, a Chicago mobster with half-ton hands that allowed him to toss Steel around), the Gadgeteer (Col. Roger Romaine, an army engineer who thought the army needed more inventions but struck out on his own as a thief and fought Steel with an ultra-sonic stunner, a prototype laser, and an auto gyro), and the Marsh Monster (and his brother, hiding out in the swamp with a few deadly secrets with the Hawk brothers).

Steel fought these menaces with a modified flare gun (his flash gun, to blind his foes), an anesthetic dart rifle (which fired mercy bullets to stun his foes) and a modified mountain climbing pike to allow him to cross long distances (by grappling between buildings)…all with his other enhanced abilities, to keep fighting for his country.

A Bitter Ending...Almost

It wasn’t easy for Hank, as Dr. Giles collapsed from a heart attack (brought on by stress, and the realization that Hank had gone against the doctor’s wishes becoming Steel), and Gloria grew more distant from Hank as his fervor to fight the forces aligning against America grew.  Though, with the last published issue, (#5), Steel had retrieved more of the bio-retardant formula (needed by himself because of injuries he suffered in an explosion caused by the Gadgeteer and to aid Dr. Giles recovery), Steel faced the worst doom of all, cancellation!  This, thanks to the DC Implosion…a collapse in the comic market that doomed many titles.

Still, even that couldn’t hold Steel down, as DC published what would have been Steel, the Indestructible Man #6 in the second issue of the Cancelled Comics Cavalcade (though only in photocopied black and white), and Roy Thomas used most of the story (with slight redrawings by Jerry Ordway, and a few changed words and missing pages) in All-Star Squadron #8 and 9 in 1982.  Here, we learned Dr. Giles recovered and told Hank he knew that Hank was Steel…and issued an ultimatum, that he should give up being Steel or leave his fiance, as the doctor wouldn’t have her engaged to an “overzealous, patriotic fool”.  Hank then left Gloria, and ended up in London, and got an assignment from Prime Minister Winston Churchill to kidnap Adolf Hitler!  Steel went behind enemy lines in January, 1940, realized he may have taken this suicide mission a little too easily (perhaps because he did not want to live without the love of Gloria) and ended up being captured and tortured in a Nazi concentration camp (where he  inadvertently allowed the Nazi super-menace of Baron Blitzkrieg to be created).

I Shall Return

In the updated parts of All-Star Squadron #8 and 9, we found Steel in Canada, saving Churchill again (this time after Pearl Harbor and the USA getting involved in what would be World War II), and how Baron Blitzkrieg planned to use Steel to kill Churchill and then President Franklin D. Roosevelt!  The All-Stars helped save the Allied leaders, and FDR even rechristened Hank as Commander Steel, and Hank joined the All-Star Squadron soon after in January, 1942.  Sadly, Steel found his mentor has passed away and Gloria had blamed Steel for his death, and moved on, marrying soldier Brad Farley, who was shipping out to Europe.  Commander Steel had a few adventures with the All-Star Squadron (included a team-up through time, meeting the Justice League and Justice Society in Justice League of America #207-209 and All-Star Squadron #14-15, where they faced time-foe Per Degaton and the evil Crime Syndicate of America…and this reunited Commander Steel with his original creative team of Gerry Conway and Don Heck, at least for the JLA issues, wherein he teamed with other Conway creations Firestorm and Power Girl!).  Gloria even returned into Hank’s life, telling him of how her husband disappeared on a mission in Europe, and Hank, still in love with her, did the right thing and headed to Europe to save Brad Farley.

But, in another twist, in All-Star Squadron #50, Commander Steel did free Brad Farley in April, 1942, but thanks to dimensional stresses caused by the Crisis on Infinite Earths, ended up on Earth-1 (from his home on Earth-2), in April, 1942, where there were no super-heroes yet (as the Justice League of America had yet to be), so he retired for a time, concentrating on making a new life for himself without Gloria, and saving his country by beating the Nazi menace.  Commander Steel lost his mentor, his girl, and even his world, and he soldiered on…for his country!  That’s a super-patriot!

Commander Steel had a legacy, and that…can be looked at on a future date!

Quality's Uncle Sam

Uncle Sam was a known figure (being based on New York meat packer Samuel Wilson), was referred to in the lyrics of Yankee Doodle Dandy in 1775, was a literary character in 1816, and was an image as he was usually known by in J. M. Flagg's recruitment poster of 1917 (for World War I).

He's even made it into a few other comic book companys...like Marvel's Captain America and Fawcett's Captain Marvel...

A Quality Uncle Sam

The spirit of America was made into an official comic book character at Quality Comics, with National Comics #1 (July, 1940, thus before Captain America even existed), and this Uncle Sam was created by Will Eisner (who also created and retained ownership of the Spirit), and the cover was drawn by Lou Fine (and interior story drawn by Dave Berg).

Uncle Sam was joining the fight for World War II to save us all!

Uncle Sam's origin appeared in National Comics #5 (November, 1940), with story by Will Eisner, and cover and interior art by Lou Fine (this issue also introduced Quality's speed hero, Quicksilver....).

Uncle Sam stayed to fight for America from National Comics #1-45 (that last issue in December, 1944, and Uncle Sam was on the covers up to #41 before being replaced by the Barker...).

During this time, Uncle Sam proved popular enough to even get his own book as well!

Uncle Sam Breaks Loose

Uncle Sam Quarterly #1 came out in Autumn, 1941, and the title wasn't quite quarterly...#2 was Winter of 1941 cover by Lou Fine, #3 was Summer of 1942 cover by George Tuska, #4 was Autumn of 1942 cover by Gill Fox, #5 was Winter of 1942 cover by Al Gabriele, #6 was Spring of 1943 cover by Ruben Moreira, #7 was Summer of 1943 cover by Al Bryant, and the last issue of the series, #8, was in Fall of 1943, and cover by Alex Kotzky.

The title then became Blackhawk, which is why Blackhawk started with issue #9 at Quality Comics!

Sam's last Quality appearance was in National Comics #45 (December, 1944)...but that wasn't the last appearance of Uncle Sam.  DC Comics had purchased the Quality characters, and kept the Blackhawks, G.I. Combat, Heart Throbs and Robin Hood Tales titles going under the DC banner (or is that checker?)...and even revived Plastic Man in the 1960s...but as for the rest...their freedom came in the 1970s...

Freedom for the Quality Heroes

Len Wein and Dick Dillin brought back 6 of these unused Quality characters as a team in Justice League of America #107-108 (September-December, 1973) as the Freedom Fighters.  Uncle Sam had recruited Phantom Lady, the Human Bomb, the Black Condor, Doll Man and the Ray to help him fight the Nazis who had won World War II on their Earth (Earth-X)...and with this story, also got the help of Earth-1's Justice League and Earth-2's Justice Society.

The Freedom Fighters then graduated to their own book, entitled Freedom Fighters, that lasted for 15 issues from 1976 to 1978, by writers Gerry Conway, Marty Pasko and Bob Rozakis and artists Ric Estrada, Pablo Marcus, Ramona Fradon, and Dick Ayers, facing a foe from Earth-X, the Silver Ghost!

While the JLA stories are reprinted in Crisis On Multiple Earths 3 under an Alex Ross cover, the Freedom Fighters tales have yet to be collected (and are wanted....)

The World War II origins of the Freedom Fighters got covered in All-Star Squadron #31-35 (March-July, 1984, by Roy Thomas and Rick Hoberg), and told how these (and other) Quality heroes (like Miss America, Magno and Neon the Unknown) had originally started on Earth-2, and left to help Earth-X, and unintentionally allowed the Nazis to win World War II!

Sadly, these Freedom Fighters saw their modern adventure together end soon after their appearance in DC Comics Presents #62 (October, 1983 by Bob Rozakis, Dan Mishkin and Irv Novick with a text piece resolving the Firebrand/Silver Ghost battle left from the original Freedom Fighters series) in Crisis On Infinite Earths (though others continue to pick up their legacy...

...most recently in two 8 issue mini-series of Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters by writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmioti, and artists Daniel Acuna on the first series, and Renato Arlem on the second series, and a Freedom Fighters series with the same writing team and with art by Travis Moore for 9 issues before it ended...reviving even more Quality characters under the DC banner).

More Uncle Sam History

Uncle Sam himself got a more recent origin with Secret Origins #19 (November, 1987, by Len Wein and Murphy Anderson, which is pretty faithful to Uncle Sam's stories from National Comics #1 and 5, and Uncle Sam Quarterly #1, and has a cover by Anderson for Sam, and Captain America co-creator Jack Kirby drawing DC's shield-slinger, the Guardian!), and if you still want more Quality and Uncle Sam comic history, check out the wonderful Quality Companion from TwoMorrows, by Mike Kooiman and Jim Amash with a cover by Dick Giordano!

Uncle Sam, we salute you!

Remembering D-Day

Remembering the real heroes of D-Day (June 6, 1944) as the Allies invaded Normandy in World War II.

Here, the fictional hero Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos cover the duty in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos Annual #2 from June, 1966, in a cover by Dick Ayers and Jack Kirby, and story by Roy Thomas, with pencils by Dick Ayers, Jack Kirby and Marie Severin.

Both Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers were veterans of World War II, Kirby having been in the U.S. Army (and landing on Omaha Beach in Normandy, though about 2 and a half months later), and Ayers serving in the Army Air Corps.

Sadly, neither artist is with us now, Jack having passed on February 6, 1994, and Dick on May 4th, 2014 (and, thankfully, Roy and Marie are still with us!).

Their work shall live on!