The art is good. Winslade is certainly a competent artist.
The story is OK, but nothing special, nothing that makes me say, "Gee, I wanna read more of these!"
I never read any of the old "Haunted Tank" stories, so I can't compare this story to them.
Maybe I'm wrong, I do seem to recall that the Haunted Tank used to fly the Confederate Battle Flag. If it's true, they don't anymore, apparently.
Views: 79
You need to be a member of Captain Comics to add comments!
The Haunted Tank flew the Confederate battle flag in the 2008 Vertigo miniseries set in Iraq in 2003 -- which bore little resemblance to the classic Haunted Tank stories in G.I. Combat, much to its benefit.
Okay, I finally read this one ... it's very much like the old "Haunted Tank" stories. Not exactly, but close enough.
Probably the best period for the Haunted Tank was when Russ Heath was the artist, but then, Russ Heath is a phenomenal illustrator. However, the stretch I'm most familiar with was the '80s when Sam Glanzman was the artist and Bob Kanigher the writer, and the book was indeed in a deep rut. As noted over here:
They were like Law & Order in that every story was the same but different. Like so:
● You always had an introductory scene that put the guys in the situation of the month.
● The General would show up and say something cryptic.
● Jeb would act befuddled because he couldn't figure out what the riddle meant.
● Cut to: inside the tank, where the three guys -- Slim, Arch, and Rick -- would comment. Slim would always (always!) complain that Jeb's crazy, talking to that ghost of his. Arch would always (always!) say maybe he's not so crazy, it's a crazy war. Rick would always (always!) say Jeb has never steered us wrong yet, so maybe we should trust him.
● They would get on with the mission of the issue, which always meant being chased by Nazi Panzers, usually (though not always) through ravines and mountains where they'd do some tricky maneuvering to get away.
● They would do something to fulfill the cryptic message The General gave them back on the first page, and Jeb would go "So that's what The General meant!"
● And they'd ride off into the sunset.
Years after I dropped the book, I got one of the later issues that had two different guys in the tank -- Bill and Gus instead of Arch and Slim -- who might have been different characters but fulfilled the exact same roles. And with the way Sam Glanzman drew them, I couldn't tell them apart anyway, except one guy gained a goatee, and one of the new guys was Black.
Now, this story was like all the others in one way that is one of the book's drawbacks: All the characters are ciphers, and, as they're all in the Army and all dressed alike in combat fatigues, it's nearly impossible to tell them apart. Only Jeb has any hint of a personality, and of the three other guys, Slim, Arch, and Rick, I knew one was the driver, one was the gunner, and one loaded the cannon, but I never knew which was which. Along the way, Sam Glanzman gave one of them -- I think it was Slim, but it could have been Arch, the one who always (always!) complaned that Jeb's crazy, talking to that ghost of his -- a non-regulation Van Dyke beard, to make him stand out just a little.
Over in Sgt. Rock they handled that problem better: Rock wore .30-06 ammo belts on his shoulders for no good reason; Bulldozer did likewise, but then, he actually needed them, as he carried a Browning M1917 heavy machine gun; Wildman had bright red hair and wore a non-regulation beard; Four-Eyes wore eyeglasses; Zack also wore a beard; Ice Cream Soldier had mosquito netting on his helmet; Little Sure Shot was short and wore feathers attached to his helmet; and Jackie Johnson was Black. Little Sure Shot and Jackie Johnson shouldn't even have been there, but I'm not willing to revoke DC's dramatic license on that point.
I always liked how the great John Severin dealt with the problem on this Sgt. Fury cover. Most of the guys are in dress greens, but Severin gave each one distinctive headwear (although some of it is non-regulation):
Replies
Probably the best period for the Haunted Tank was when Russ Heath was the artist, but then, Russ Heath is a phenomenal illustrator. However, the stretch I'm most familiar with was the '80s when Sam Glanzman was the artist and Bob Kanigher the writer, and the book was indeed in a deep rut. As noted over here:
They were like Law & Order in that every story was the same but different. Like so:
● You always had an introductory scene that put the guys in the situation of the month.
● The General would show up and say something cryptic.
● Jeb would act befuddled because he couldn't figure out what the riddle meant.
● Cut to: inside the tank, where the three guys -- Slim, Arch, and Rick -- would comment. Slim would always (always!) complain that Jeb's crazy, talking to that ghost of his. Arch would always (always!) say maybe he's not so crazy, it's a crazy war. Rick would always (always!) say Jeb has never steered us wrong yet, so maybe we should trust him.
● They would get on with the mission of the issue, which always meant being chased by Nazi Panzers, usually (though not always) through ravines and mountains where they'd do some tricky maneuvering to get away.
● They would do something to fulfill the cryptic message The General gave them back on the first page, and Jeb would go "So that's what The General meant!"
● And they'd ride off into the sunset.
Years after I dropped the book, I got one of the later issues that had two different guys in the tank -- Bill and Gus instead of Arch and Slim -- who might have been different characters but fulfilled the exact same roles. And with the way Sam Glanzman drew them, I couldn't tell them apart anyway, except one guy gained a goatee, and one of the new guys was Black.
Now, this story was like all the others in one way that is one of the book's drawbacks: All the characters are ciphers, and, as they're all in the Army and all dressed alike in combat fatigues, it's nearly impossible to tell them apart. Only Jeb has any hint of a personality, and of the three other guys, Slim, Arch, and Rick, I knew one was the driver, one was the gunner, and one loaded the cannon, but I never knew which was which. Along the way, Sam Glanzman gave one of them -- I think it was Slim, but it could have been Arch, the one who always (always!) complaned that Jeb's crazy, talking to that ghost of his -- a non-regulation Van Dyke beard, to make him stand out just a little.
Over in Sgt. Rock they handled that problem better: Rock wore .30-06 ammo belts on his shoulders for no good reason; Bulldozer did likewise, but then, he actually needed them, as he carried a Browning M1917 heavy machine gun; Wildman had bright red hair and wore a non-regulation beard; Four-Eyes wore eyeglasses; Zack also wore a beard; Ice Cream Soldier had mosquito netting on his helmet; Little Sure Shot was short and wore feathers attached to his helmet; and Jackie Johnson was Black. Little Sure Shot and Jackie Johnson shouldn't even have been there, but I'm not willing to revoke DC's dramatic license on that point.
I always liked how the great John Severin dealt with the problem on this Sgt. Fury cover. Most of the guys are in dress greens, but Severin gave each one distinctive headwear (although some of it is non-regulation):