 STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES #126 May 1966 Joe Kubert original artist |
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Well, it doesn't get much goofier than this,
now does it? And considering this furry
little
fable offered a temporary breather
for the
"War That Time Forgot" feature
that regularly ran in these pages,
that's
saying a mouthful! You all recall the,
um,
unique concept behind THAT particular
battle
series, dont'cha? U.S. soldiers trapped
on
an island during World War Two, simultaneously
fighting Nazis AND dinosaurs!?! Not
that
the two groups were allied or anything,
but
even if they weren't working in tandem,
that's
an AWFUL lot to ask of our servicemen,
wouldn't
you agree? Under the circumstances,
maybe
drafting apes isn't such a preposterous
notion
after all?... |
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Actually, our friend Charlie here wasn't
inducted by the military, but his trainer--a
reservist with the unlikely name of
Pinky
Donovan--found himself called back
to active
duty and away from his circus act,
leaving
his gorilla friend to fend for himself.
Well,
due to a series of largely unexplainable
events, the sort typically found in
a Bob
Kanigher penned flight of fancy, the
hairy
half of the act finds himself fighting
in
the South Pacific alongside his erstwhile
master! Falling back upon moves taught
him
by long-time Marine Donovan, Charlie
brings
his faux gyrene moves to the jungle
and directly
to the enemy, triumphing over the Japanese--and
logic--every step of the way! Despite
the
ape's inexplicable success, the unit's
commanding
officer is not amused, impressed, or
at all
happy with the situation. But when,
at tail's--er,
I mean--TALE'S end, Charlie plants
and raises
Old Glory in a fashion that'd make
those
fellows at Iwo Jima proud, the C.O.
FINALLY
relents. Won over by the dizzying series
of events that preceded the flag waving
finale,
the stunned officer tentatively approaches
his units best "man", a slab
of
tin in his hand, and utters that immortal
line: "How in blue blazes do you
pin
a medal on a gorilla?" How indeed,
Bob,
how indeed? Did I mention that this episode boasted top-notch Joe Kubert artwork? Yeah, it sure did. On rare leave from the battle-weary pages of OUR ARMY AT WAR's ongoing Sgt. Rock saga, Kubert provides an art job that brilliantly straddles the war milieu he was already well celebrated for with the magnificent jungle material he was soon to provide DC with on the Tarzan books just a few short years hence. It's a rare combination, and for the pure, unbridled enjoyment the Kubert art delivers to the comics' connoisseur, it's well worth the effort of putting up with author/editor Kanigher's monkeyshines!! |
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