We begin this "BIG" issue with one of the original stories in it, "Sand, Sun & Death" starring the Haunted Tank, written by Robert Kanigher an drawn by Russ Heath. In the desert of North Africa, the Haunted Tank in surrounded by enemy tanks. When they run out of ammunition, Jeb orders the tank to take cover in a sand storm. When the storm clears, they are lost, but they soon find a crashed bomber.
The pilot is still alive, but he has gone mad. Jeb convinces him to get back into the fight when the enemy tanks arrive. Rick, Slim, and Arch man the plane's guns while the pilot and Jeb strike at the enemy from behind. They win the battle, but the pilot is killed during the fight. This story was reprinted in Showcase Presents: Haunted Tank Vol. 2 TPB.
Next we have the first of the reprints, "A Hatful of War" by Bob Haney and Mort Drucker and reprinted from G.I. Combat #61 (1958). A green recruit asks his Sarge what the tightest spot he could expect to be in, to which the Sarge replies, "You'll know it when you're in it." Out scouting one day the kid gets pinned sown by a machine gun and his helmet starts to feel real tight, but the kid manages to get close enough to use a grenade to end the threat and his helmet suddenly feels much looser. Shortly, while guarding a deserted farmhouse, the kid sees a German grenade flying at him and uses his helmet to knock it away, He crawls under the farmhouse steps and from there is able to take out the Nazi who threw the grenade, making his restrictive helmet feel loose again.
A few days later he is in a foxhole when a German tank arrives and once again his helmet begins to tighten. He jumps onto the tank and manages to take it out. Later when the Sarge asks if he has found the tightest spot in the war yet, the kid points to his head and say, "Right in here!"
Our next reprint is "The Iron Punch" by France Herron and Arthur Peddy and reprinted from Our Fighting Forces #5 (1955). When Seabee Bob Tully is ordered to get supplies through a jungle he uses his bulldozer, Peg, to get the job done, promising to go "straight through the jungle." When attacked by snipers from up in some trees, Peg knocks them down. when attacked by machine guns in pillboxes, Peg bulldozes them over, and when challenged by an enemy tank, Peg pushes it over a cliff. Later at Seabee headquarters, Tully is shown an aerial photo of his rad and it is anything but straight.
Next we have a new two-page Battle Album, "Terror in the Sky!" on different types of anti-aircraft shells used during World War II. The art is by Sam Glanzman.
The next reprint is "Hot Corner" by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert and reprinted from G.I. Combat #59 (1958). When ball player Arnie gets his chance in the big leagues, his hitting is fine, but his fielding at third base, what his manager called the "Hot Corner" was so bad his career was over before it started. Too embarrassed by the stories in the papers to return home, Arnie joins the army and is shipped out to North Africa where he hopes to prove himself on the front, but it is not to be. He is ordered to babysit some supplies till another platoon comes to pick them up.
While waiting he sees a platoon of Nazi infantry approaching and prepares to stop them with his machine gun. He is so distracted by the approaching men that he fails to see the Nazi sneaking up behind him, and they knock each other out in a fist fight. He awakens to the approaching Nazis and opens fire on them. Suddenly he is attacked from the air by a Stuka which in his mind is a running trying to score on him. He manages to shoot the Stuka down, but later he sees a tank attack as another runner trying to get past his corner. He manages to get a grenade into the tank and later when the second platoon shows up for his supplies and asks what he thinks he is doing just sitting there, he says he is, "Sitting on a hot corner!"
That is followed by "Mile-Long Step" by John Reed and Jerry Grandenetti and reprinted from Our Fighting Forces #2 (1954). After landing on a beach, an infantry group has to help another company three miles away. Their transport by truck is interrupted by a Nazi tank, which they mange to take out but they now have to hoof it to the next company. After dealing with some more Nazis, they arrive safely. A few weeks later they parachute into enemy land and are once again attacked but manage to fight their way out, one remarking that "War's only a step away--one after the other---a million of them."
Our last reprint is "Glory Dive" by France Herron and Joe Kubert and reprinted from Our Army at War #32 (1955). On a US held island the soldiers put on a mini Olympics, but when one of the men from a submarine crew, Barney, participates in the high diving event, he does not come back u to the surface. He has dived into enemy frogmen who capture him and take him to a nearby island in their mini sub. There he is questioned for information but manages to escape, where he sees a hidden Japanese air-craft carrier. Barney steal a Japanese mini sub, returns to his men and an air strike is called to take out the carrier.
We end with the other new story, "Missing: 320 Men" a U.S.S. Stevens tale by Sam Glanzman. This is the story of Jerry Boyle a crewman who spent all his spare time drawing the hardware around him. After battles he would draw them from memory. The rest of the men loved his drawings, but after the war Jerry would notice that although he drew all the tings around him, he never drew any of the 320 men on the ship.
Edited by Joe Kubert.
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