Showcase Presents The Haunted Tank: Volume 1
If I were a betting man, I would have put all my chips on SGT. ROCK being the first DC Comics war title to get SHOWCASEd. But instead, they’ve opted for the “gay, reckless laughter” of a Civil War general’s ghost and the phallic piece of machinery to which he dispenses advice in SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE HAUNTED TANK: VOLUME 1.
Never the star of its own book, the Haunted Tank served as the main feature of the bimonthly G.I. COMBAT in the 1960s, 33 consecutive issues of which are presented here, along with a bonus issue apiece of THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD and OUR ARMY AT WAR. Despite the whole “haunted” part, the Haunted Tank was 100 percent war and zero percent horror, which adds up to about 83 percent fun. Seriously, do the math.
These “flaming adventures” star three Jeb Stuarts: a nervous World War II lieutenant and the itsy-bitsy tank he commands, both of whom rather conveniently are named after the famed, bearded Confederate general, who only agrees to be their watchful eye after some prodding from the spirit of Alexander the Great.
So the Jeb who’s alive drives around in the Jeb that’s a tank with his three other crew members, indistinguishable except one has freckles. Then the Jeb who’s dead shows up in the sky and gives cryptic warnings like “War is won by the heart, not by numbers!” Alive Jeb, who excels at excreting flopsweat, is the only one who can hear Dead Jeb, likely because he’s mentally ill. Anyway, Alive Jeb always misinterprets Dead Jeb’s maddening clues until he finally figures it out and a battle is won. Why Dead Jeb doesn’t come right out and get more specific like, “There are two German tanks waiting on the other side of the river, which you’ll pass at precisely 4:24 this afternoon, so you might want to look out for them” is beyond me. Guardian angels aren’t supposed to deal in brainteasers when four people’s lives are at stake.
And storywise, there’s not much in store for the Haunted Tank except … um, fighting other tanks, perhaps? Thus, issues see the rolling steel wonder face off against such formidable opponents as Ghost Tank, Killer Tank and the Tank of Doom. In the category of non-tanks, they also square off against the spirit of Attilla the Hun. The aforementioned Sgt. Rock cameos in a couple of stories, as does ace Indian fighter pilot Johnny Cloud. In fact, the single-best story in this 550-plus-page extravaganza is also its least formulaic: “Suicide Mission” (a three-part tale referred to as a “four-part novel”), in which all three war-comics heroes team up to save a double agent from the Nazis, who have encased the unlucky spy in an iron mask.
Art duties for most of the issues are handled by Russ Heath and the great Joe Kubert, whose recognizable style is perfect for such a concept ripe with jets, grenades and other toys of warfare. Yes, the stories are repetitive, but back then, I’m guessing each one was a 12-cent treasure when you had to wait eight weeks between them. As long as you don’t try to digest this weird war story treasury all in a single, first Gulf War-sized sitting, you’ll likely succumb to the friendly fire. T’anks, DC! –Rod Lott
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OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS SERIES:
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE HOUSE OF MYSTERY: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS JONAH HEX: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS METAMORPHO: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS SUPERMAN FAMILY: VOLUME 1
I have to admit that I jumped for joy when I heard DC was putting this together as a SHOWCASE. This and ENEMY ACE were my favorite war comics … and though both series tend to suffer from the slings and arrows of outragious plot repetition … they nonetheless delivered archetypal tales of heroism within a situationally limited setting (imagine if Batman could only fight bank robbers or if Aquaman could only battle underwater and one might better appreciate the confines of WWII Nazi fighting or WWI dogfighting)
… so now I move my prayers on to a new subject … a HAUNTED TANK movie perhaps (think Tim Burton’s first war film, dare I dream).
I never got to read war comics as a kid, thanks to my overprotective mom. But my younger brother was (first child paranoia syndrome, I guess) and he primarily read SGT. ROCK and later G.I. JOE.
So I can’t say I was a fan of war comics, but I am now.
[...] The Elongated Man is no different from other pliable stretchers of the comics like Plastic Man or Mr. Fantastic, except that is hair is red, his suit is purple and his nose often grows and wobbles back and forth like a semi-erect phallus. Oh, the joys that are in store for you with SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE ELONGATED MAN: VOL. 1. Continuing to dig deep in their obscurity pile, DC Comics unearths another mostly forgotten character for a near-600-page collection. [...]
[...] OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS SERIES: • SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE ELONGATED MAN: VOLUME 1 • SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE HAUNTED TANK: VOLUME 1 • SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE HOUSE OF MYSTERY: VOLUME 1 • SHOWCASE PRESENTS JONAH HEX: VOLUME 1 • SHOWCASE PRESENTS METAMORPHO: VOLUME 1 • SHOWCASE PRESENTS SUPERMAN FAMILY: VOLUME 1 [...]
[...] Like THE HAUNTED TANK, a little SOLDIER can go a long way. But try any of the upfront stories, written and drawn by the masterful Joe Kubert, because they are the most well-done of the entire collection. Illustrated with flair and told with economy, they fly by. This is not the case when Frank Robbins and Archie Goodwin took over the character; not only are their scripts overly wordy, they just don’t make a hell of a lot of sense. But the title gets a late reboot with David Michelinie and Gerry Talaoc, who practically revamp the character. Not only do they dare show the Unknown Soldier unmasked (he looks like the Red Skull after two minutes in the microwave), but they heap on the gore and fisticuffs as they plant our hero into campy situations worthy of some of the Roger Moore 007 films or Bruce Lee’s ENTER THE DRAGON. After the stagnant middle, this over-the-top approach is the jolt it needed. –Rod Lott [...]
[...] OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS SERIES: • SHOWCASE PRESENTS BATMAN: VOLUME 1 • SHOWCASE PRESENTS CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN: VOLUME 1 • SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE ELONGATED MAN: VOLUME 1 • SHOWCASE PRESENTS GREEN ARROW: VOLUME 1 • SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE HAUNTED TANK: VOLUME 1 • SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE HOUSE OF MYSTERY: VOLUME 1 • SHOWCASE PRESENTS JONAH HEX: VOLUME 1 • SHOWCASE PRESENTS METAMORPHO: VOLUME 1 • SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE PHANTOM STRANGER: VOLUME 1 • SHOWCASE PRESENTS SHAZAM!: VOLUME 1 • SHOWCASE PRESENTS SUPERMAN FAMILY: VOLUME 1 • SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER: VOLUME 1 [...]
[...] • SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE ELONGATED MAN: VOLUME 1 • SHOWCASE PRESENTS GREEN ARROW: VOLUME 1 • SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE HAUNTED TANK: VOLUME 1 • SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE HOUSE OF MYSTERY: VOLUME 1 • SHOWCASE PRESENTS JONAH HEX: VOLUME 1 • [...]
[...] 1 • SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE ELONGATED MAN: VOLUME 1 • SHOWCASE PRESENTS GREEN ARROW: VOLUME 1 • SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE HAUNTED TANK: VOLUME 1 • SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE HOUSE OF MYSTERY: VOLUME 1 • SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE HOUSE OF MYSTERY: [...]