Customer Reviews

The Sgt. Rock Archives, Vol. 1 (DC Archive Editions)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Although I grew up on the later issues of Sgt. Rock, these early issues are just as fun to read. If you like Sgt. Rock and are interested in his origins and the rest of Easy Company, it's a no-brainer buy. (It is probably also the only way you will ever own them anyway!) If you are expecting the 70's version of his comics with Enemy Ace or Unknown Soldier, you may want to buy a later version of the Archives (if DC continues to release them and I hope they do). I would not buy a Batman Archives #1 and expect the Batman of the 60's and 70's, I would expect old school (circa 1930's) Batman. This book is "old school" Sgt. Rock, and a gem at that. I can understand the other guys review that said it was not what he expected, but I think one star is a bit harsh. Take these books and other early Archive issues with a grain of salt, and try to read them in the context (or mindset) of when they were published and I think your expectations might align better. Yeah, they're hokey, corny and at times repetitious or even mediocre reading, but they are the ground floor of a great run of comics.

Here we have earliest Sgt. Rock stories. These aren't the most realistic war comics, but they are enjoyable. The artwork is terrific , too. I especially like the ones drawn by Joe Kubert.

...a must have for your book shelf. These are the initial stories setting up the SGT Rock and Easy CO. mythos. The first five stories are worth the price of the book alone. Some earlier reviewer completely missed the boat calling these stories "boring". I really wonder about the attention span of some people. I am amazed at how silver age writers could pack so much characterization and plot into six and thirteen page stories. The artwork by Russ Heath, Jerry Grandenetti, Irv Novick, and; of course, Joe Kubert is tremendous.

These stories are fictionalized accounts of World War II produced for kids of the late 1950's; which means heroism, honor, and valor are the order of the day. Even if it is a bit unrealistic by today's standards of carnage and gore, do yourself a favor and leave the jaundiced eye at the door. The legend of Sgt Rock and Easy Company begins here. Don't miss it.

I'm not into the collection of the actual comic book these days, but more interested in the story line and develoment of the techniques used in illustration and themes. This is the first of the collection and it is a great start to capture the formation Sgt Rock from "Our Army at War."

I grew up reading two or three of the same Weird War Tales and Men Of War (with Enemy Ace, The Gravedigger, The Haunted Tank, etc) mags over and over until they were pretty ragged. I remembered seeing the Sgt. Rock ads in those comics, next to those of the Unknown Soldier. Having been hyped on war comics again with the recent revamp of WWT and Garth Ennis' Unknown Soldier, I figured I'd give Sgt. Rock and the Combat Happy Joes of Easy Company a try. (SgtRockandtheCombatHappyJoesofEasyCompanySgtRockandTheCombatHappy...etc) Learn that phrase, because reading these issues it will become like a mantra. Also take note of the term and phrase `tin pot (a helmet)' and `That's the way it is in Easy, where nothing is easy.' The writing is SO repetitive. I'm used to the innocent predictablity of older golden and silver age comics (its not really predictabilty, for these are the originals from which all the modern comics tend to borrow), so I wasn't expecting a whole lot, but at least I thought I'd be entertained. I found myself willing my way through the book, wanting each story to end. It has some moments (I liked the opening story introducing the Rock), but they are just too far between.

The art however, is very good. Some of the renderings of Panzers are particularly memorable, but the action and the dialogue is kinda...well, boring. I know this is a classic. I know it has a following. But this one just didn't speak to me or ring true. Nice art, great edition, but not my cup of joe.