Military Comics #13 is an issue of the series Military Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of November, 1942.
Synopsis for Blackhawk: "The Butcher!"
Appearing in Blackhawk: "The Butcher!"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Adolf Hitler
- The Butcher (Baron von Tepp) (First appearance) (Dies)
- his troops, Schultz, others (some die)
- The Butcher (Baron von Tepp) (First appearance) (Dies)
Other Characters:
- Countess Elsia (Dies)
- her housemaid (Dies)
- remaining citizens of Elsia's occupied nation (exterminated)
Locations:
- North Atlantic Ocean
- Countess Elsia's occupied Atlantic-coastal nation
- Blackhawk Island
- Warsaw
- Paris
- Vienna
- Rome
- Athens
- Egypt
Vehicles:
- 7 modified Blackhawk fighter-bombers
- w/ single rudders, and in-line engines.
- Stukas (some destroyed)
- Panzers
Synopsis for Sniper: "The Gold of France"
Appearing in Sniper: "The Gold of France"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Herr Strasser (Single appearance; dies)
- Corporal Shultz (Single appearance; dies)
Other Characters:
- Edouard Michell, poor farmer (Single appearance; dies)
- Annette Michell, Edouard's daughter
- Hugo, coachman
Locations:
Vehicles:
- Coach
- Gold train (Destroyed)
Synopsis for Blue Tracer: "The Nazi Rocket Tank"
On the Russian Front, the Wermacht hurls a Rocket-Powered Tank against the Russian infantry, driving them from the field. German soldiers take over a small hamlet, loot it, and kill many of the villagers. The Blue Tracer is flown to the scene and lands on a farm. The Nazi Rocket Tank approaches it, behind a screen of Russian civilian human shields. Dunn and Jones have stationed themselves atop two farm buildings, with sniper rifles, and shoot at the tank from an unexpected direction, creating a distraction, enabling the civilians to scatter. Then they jump into the Blue Tracer, charge onto the field, and crash into the Nazi machine head on! The terrific impact leaves both machines intact.
The Blue Tracer defeats the Rocket Tank by taking to the air, landing on the tank, and driving it nose-first into the soil. Before the tank can be righted, Red soldiers swarm over it with Molotov cocktails, destroying the tank and its crew.
Appearing in Blue Tracer: "The Nazi Rocket Tank"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Red Army
Locations:
Vehicles:
- Blue Tracer
- Nazi Rocket Tank
Synopsis for Shot and Shell: "The Society of Thugs"
Shot and Shell run out of gas and land in India, and encounter trouble with the resurgent Thuggee Society. After a series of scuffles, the Thuggees decide to disband.
An RAF pilot loans Shot and Shell some gas, but when they try to follow him back to his base, their home-made plane is too slow and they lose him.
Appearing in Shot and Shell: "The Society of Thugs"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Black Mother, Goddess of Kali, Queen of Cholera and Smallpox (probably not real)
- Thuggee Society Chief
- many minions
Other Characters:
- RAF pilot
Locations:
- India
- Inner Provinces
Vehicles:
- Shell's home-made airplane
- RAF scout plane
Synopsis for Phantom Clipper: "The Raider Prince Hugen"
The Yankee Clippers use deceptive radio messages to lure a German sea-raider, the Prinz Hugen, into an ambush. The Phantom Clipper is heavily outgunned by this "pocket battleship," and it withdraws under cover of a smoke screen. Tiger Shark and Jewaldri embark in the ship's launch, and stealthily get next to the enormous warship. Leaving Jewaldri in the launch, Tiger Shark sneaks aboard, knocks out some lookouts, and makes his way to the pilot house, steers the cruiser right next to an iceberg, then vaults over the rail into the launch and escapes.
The Phantom Clipper's 8-inch guns then open up on the gigantic iceberg, right next to the Prinz Hugen, causing avalanches of ice to cascade onto the big cruiser, which capsizes.
Appearing in Phantom Clipper: "The Raider Prince Hugen"
Featured Characters:
- Yankee Clippers:
- Lieutenant "Tiger" Shark, USN
- Captain Seth Parker, formerly Perkins (has a peg leg)
- Hook, First Mate (has a hook)
- Erik, Engineer
- Sea Biscuit, Bosun
- Jewaldri, Cook
- Little Billy, Recruit
Antagonists:
- German Navy
- Prinz Hugen C.O. (wears a monocle)
Locations:
Vehicles:
- Phantom Clipper
- Tiger Shark's amphibious scouting biplane
- KMS Prinz Hugen, heavy cruiser
Synopsis for X of the Underground: "There Are More Ways Than One To Skin a Cat"
X and Sonya and their all-girl Underground guerrilla fighters infiltrate a hospital in France. There posing as nurses and doctors, they use truth serum to learn the Gestapo's plans, and hysteria pills to drive them mad. One especially detestable Nazi, von Stunkenbaum, is gunned down by his own superior officers as a result, and the superiors are quickly killed as well.
Appearing in X of the Underground: "There Are More Ways Than One To Skin a Cat"
Featured Characters:
- X, of the Underground (Final appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Sonya, of the Russian Underground (Final appearance)
- at least five girls of the Underground, from every corner of Europe: Lisa, Marie, Yvonne, others
Antagonists:
- Adolf Hitler (Cameo)
- Hermann Goering (Cameo)
Locations:
- Occupied France
Synopsis for Loops and Banks: "Chief Sourpus"
Loops and Banks are transferred to Alaska, and fly there in a scouting seaplane. Near the Aleutian Islands they spot a Japanese task force, then encounter an enormous flock of birds. Their plane is damaged and Loops is forced to land it, on Attu Island. The Japanese are in control, here, but are acting from behind the scenes. Loops' and Banks' old pal Chief Sourpus is also here, and quietly tips them off about the situation. They knock out one Japanese officer and find a map on him, and Chief Sourpus reads it for them: ten thousand Japanese troops are hiding in the island's forest, in ambush to destroy an approaching American Marine detachment, and the enemy naval task force lurks just over the horizon!
Meanwhile their damaged plane has gotten found and destroyed by the Japanese, so Loops and Banks have to hike across the Aleutian wilderness to reach the coast and warn the U.S. troops when they land. In the woods they encounter some enemy infantry, but evade them. They reach the coast, meet the incoming U.S. Marines, and deliver the warning. Shortly later, U.S. high-altitude bombers attack the Japanese task force, very successfully, and the forewarned U.S. Marines flush the Japanese infantry out of the woods and capture them.
A week later Banks and Loops are awarded the Navy's highest medal, even though the awarding officer gets both of their names wrong.
Appearing in Loops and Banks: "Chief Sourpus"
Featured Characters:
- Loops McCann (Final appearance)
- Banks Barrows (Final appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Chief Sourpus (Single appearance)
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- U.S. Marines
Locations:
Vehicles:
- catapult-launched U.S. scouting seaplane
- Japanese Task Force
- U.S. Task Force
- U.S. amphibious tanks
Synopsis for Secret War News: "U.S. Fliers Crush Jap Fleet"
(nonfiction account of the Battle of Midway, June 4th ~ 7th, 1942)
Appearing in Secret War News: "U.S. Fliers Crush Jap Fleet"
Characters:
- Lieutenant Ben Taylor, TBF Avenger pilot (Dies)
- Lieutenant Pete Burns, fighter pilot
Antagonists:
Locations:
- Pacific Ocean
- around Midway Island
Vehicles:
- IJN Kaga, aircraft carrier (Destroyed)
- USN Grumman Avenger torpedo bombers (some destroyed)
- USN Grumman Wildcat fighter planes
- IJN Zero fighters (some destroyed)
- IJN destroyers and cruisers (some destroyed)
- IJN troop transport (Destroyed)
- IJN Akagi, aircraft carrier (Destroyed)
- IJN Hiryu, aircraft carrier (Destroyed)
- USN Douglas Dauntless dive bombers (some destroyed)
- USN Douglas Devastator torpedo bombers (most destroyed)
- USS Yorktown, aircraft carrier (Destroyed)
- IJN Kate torpedo bombers (most destroyed)
- IJN Soryu, aircraft carrier (Destroyed)
Synopsis for Atlantic Patrol: "Incident on Amagansett Beach"
Appearing in Atlantic Patrol: "Incident on Amagansett Beach"
Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Coxswain Jack Culley, U.S.C.G.
Antagonists:
- eight German Agents in civilian attire: Dasch, others
Other Characters:
- Culley's C.O.
Locations:
- Atlantic Ocean
- Amagansett Beach, Long Island
Notes
- Published by Comics Magazines, Inc.
- Atlantic Patrol featured an enemy agent named Dasch, who was, or closely resembled, a real person, who did that same kind of espionage mission, that same year.
- Blackhawk: "The Butcher!" is partially reprinted in The Blackhawk Archives, Volume One.
- In this issue, Blackhawk is shot down, for the second time.[1] He also crashes, for the seventh time.[2] Being a Blackhawk is dangerous.
- Baron von Tepp is the brother of Blackhawk's original nemesis, Captain von Tepp.
- The proper Grumman XF5F Skyrockets will be back in Military Comics #15. This issue continues the use of the single-rudder modified version, now with different engines as well.
- Last issue for Loops and Banks by Bob Powell.
- Old Chief Sourpus, whom we've never met before nor will again, is an old pal of Loops and Banks. He says nothing but "Ugh!" for about two pages, then talks like an Eton graduate for the rest of the story.
- Phantom Clipper
- Jewaldri is an amazingly bad cook.
- The "Prinz Hugen" has 10-inch and 16-inch guns. Maybe it IS a pocket battleship. The real-world German cruiser Prinz Eugen was a heavy cruiser with 8-inch guns.
- Secret War News
- "This is an actual story based upon inside facts gathered from U.S.N. Information Bureaus."
- Pilots Ben Taylor and Pete Burns are probably fictional characters, or at least are not in Wikipedia's article about the Battle of Midway.
- USS Yorktown was sunk at the Battle of Midway; in the final panel's casualty tally, it's listed as "damaged." USS Enterprise and USS Hornet, which both participated in this battle, are not mentioned in this account.
- No Hero Stamp is featured, this issue.
- Shot and Shell were last seen in a jail cell in southern France; we are not told why they got to India, but we are told how. They flew there in a wheezing makeshift airplane slapped together out of spare parts by Slim Shell.
- Starting this issue, the Sniper no longer narrates his own stories.
- Last issue for X of the Underground by Bob Hebberd.
- Bob/Jimmy Gray doesn't appear at all in this story.
- Also featured in this issue of Military Comics were:
- "Follow the Moon" (text story)
- Inferior Man: "Busting the Dive-Bomber" by Al Jaffee
Trivia
- After this issue Inferior Man moves to Feature Comics #65 (February 1943).
See Also
Recommended Reading
- World War II Recommended Reading
- Adventures in the Rifle Brigade (Volume 1)
- Adventures in the Rifle Brigade (Volume 2)
- All-American Men of War (Volume 1)
- All-Out War (Volume 1)
- Blackhawk (Volume 1)
- Blitzkrieg (Volume 1)
- Capt. Storm (Volume 1)
- Four-Star Battle Tales (Volume 1)
- G.I. Combat (Volume 1)
- Men of War (Volume 1)
- Military Comics (Volume 1)
- Our Army at War (Volume 1)
- Our Fighting Forces (Volume 1)
- Sgt. Rock (Volume 1)
- Sgt. Rock (Volume 2)
- Star-Spangled War Stories (Volume 1)
- Unknown Soldier (Volume 1)
- Weird War Tales (Volume 1)
Links and References
- ↑ Military Comics #6, Military Comics #13, Military Comics #19, Military Comics #28, Military Comics #30, Military Comics #33, Blackhawk #9, Military Comics #39, Military Comics #42, Modern Comics #44, Blackhawk #10, Blackhawk #12, Blackhawk #13, Modern Comics #69, Blackhawk #18, Blackhawk #21, Blackhawk #36, Blackhawk #64, Blackhawk #80, Blackhawk #81, Blackhawk #85, Blackhawk #88 May 1955.
- ↑ Military Comics #1 (3 in one story), Military Comics #4 (2 in one story), Military Comics #6, Military Comics #13, Military Comics #14, Military Comics #19, Military Comics #33, Blackhawk #9, Military Comics #39, Modern Comics #61, Modern Comics #83, Modern Comics #91, Blackhawk #64 (2, in two stories), Blackhawk #70, Blackhawk #80, Blackhawk #81, Blackhawk #83, & Blackhawk #88
Look at how sad this is making Batman. You did this.