Customer Reviews

Showcase Presents: The Haunted Tank, Vol. 1

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

 

 

The Haunted Tank is one of the more bizarre concepts produced by DC Comics in the 1960's and serves to display that DC wasn't quite as stodgy as modern day critics have made them out to be during the decade of the 1960's. This belief largely stems from DC's super hero comics largely not matching the innovation that Marvel was showing with the genre at the time. It seems much of their innovation came in titles that may have seemed disposable at the time, and yet were not only very good, but had some of the very best art being produced at the company in the early 60's.

On the surface, the story of a WWII M3 Tank that is haunted by the ghost of Confederate Civil War General Jeb Stuart may seem ridiculous, and it is, but that doesn't mean it's not very good. We meet the crew of the tank: Rick, Arch, Slim, and the tank commander Jeb Stuart Smith who was named after the famous Confederate hero. Friends since childhood, the four now find themselves in Europe as crew of the tank which is aided in times of need by the good general's ghost. Only Jeb Smith ever seems to hear and see the ghost who comes to him with advice from time to time, often cryptic and Jeb takes it all in stride. After all, something had to help them stand up to German Tiger tanks that were far larger and out-gunned the little M3's.

The stories in the book follow a basic formula with the crew's M3 usually coming up against greater odds or obstacles and the spirit of Jeb Stuart helping out. The writer, Bob Kanigher was smart enough to not always let it be this spectral aid that gets the crew out of harm's way, often it's the little advice the ghost gives Jeb that allows he and his crew use their own skills to the best of their abilities. This may all seem pretty silly by today's standards but when you consider the era of the early 1960's, WWII was very glamorous among kids, particularly since most were children of veterans themselves. These stories from G.I. Combat #87 - 119 all came out 15 - 20 years after WWII ended yet the war was still very front and center in pop culture in films, TV, and comic books. And if you're the average early 60's kid, what's better than combining slam bang tank battles with ghosts? Heck, it's marketing genius if you ask me!

The other thing that makes these stories wonderful is the fantastic art mainly done by Russ Heath and Joe Kubert...two renowned comic legends who toiled away on what was certainly a second or third string title. I'm a huge Kubert fan, particularly of his Tarzan work, but Heath really outdoes him on this book, especially the magnificent covers which are reproduced inside. Check out the cover to issue #103 as American jeep collides with a German tank. The tank's main gun is smashing through the jeep's windshield as the American soldiers leaps from it, firing his machine gun at the Nazi gunner. Great stuff! In addition to these issues of G.I. Combat, the book also reprints Brave & the Bold #52 featuring a team-up of the Haunted Tank, Sgt. Rock, and Lt. Johnny Cloud.

Just a fabulous throwback to the early 1960's!

Reviewed by Tim Janson

I was very surprised with just how much fun this collection was to read. The art is terrific, the stories are very well written and - even - inspiring - and the action never lags. This is the tale of a plucky little tank doing the best it can - aided by the ghost of a Civil War hero. Very early 60s, and lots of fun for those of us in our forties who played WWII all the time when we were kids.

I loved it! And, if you enjoy looking at pictures of German tanks getting their turrets blown off, so will you.

An M-3 Stuart Tank taking on Germans in the middle of Africa- nothing seem even close to "fair" when I write that, picturing a 37mm gun platform taking on 88mm weapons, diver bombers, Nazi youth, and droves of other enemies as the G.I.'s attack the Reich. Still, the little tank has a secret that the Nazi's didn't count on; the long-dead Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart looks over tank and crew (Rich - the gunner, Arch - the assistant, and Jeb - the tank commander) as a protectorate that time really hasn't forgotten.

To be fair, some people won't like the stories because some of them may seem a little dull by today's standards. All in all they are propaganda stories from the 60's and you already have an idea of what is going to happen in a story made By Americans Fro Americans. You can also understand why this depiction of the "little tank that could" would be written if you look at the "when" it occurred, too, but beyond that it has a lot of things that I found appealing. First, Joe Kurbert and Russ Heath both worked on the art, and the two of them were some of the best when it came to war depictions. Second, the storyline is an odd one considering what you're reading. You have a small tank, an M-3, being protected by the ghost of a Confederate as they try to plow a foothold into the ranks of some entrenched Nazis. This leads to quite a few offerings in the ways of battle, quite a few depictions in the way of assailants, and it also showcases a drove of storylines that aren't just "tank v Reich." You even get the initial two comics that explains it all, telling you why the crew is being watched over in a war that costs so many their lives.
Personally, I thought that was a great thing to have because I had seen a lot of the G.I.Combat stories but never this one.

While I'm not going to list all the stories in the books, I'll add that the stories come from G.I.Combat #87 - G.I.Combat #119 AND that there are crossovers from Sgt. Rock, Johnny Cloud, and an appearance from Our Army At War. This means there are well over 500 pages of story added to the book and, for fans of the series or for fans of art that seems to have been place on the backburners of time, this is something worth having.
And, at the price, it is a good way to rekindle a love once harbored.

None of the interior pages are in color, only black and white line art. But they are still very well reproduced to have come from obscure early '60s comic books. Very clean and crisp. And a nice big, fat collection.

The book brought back fun memories of when I read these stories years ago. I still enjoy the tales even though I relize now that taking out a german tiger tank with a stuart is impossible. It's really great to have the series in order in one book I never had that many of the originals. My only complaint is that there is no color just black and white.

I collected G.I. Combat as a kid (still have a pretty nice collection of the mags). I really dig seeing the Haunted Tank stories collected this way!

I grew up on the Haunted Tank and Sgt. Rock comics in the late 70's and early 80's and I enjoyed reading the stories ,but looking through this collection of comics now I just realized how historically inaccurate they are..the writers could have at least did a bit of research on the types of tanks the Germans had.In the first story the so called "Tiger" is actually a "Panther" tank, and it seems that every tank the crew of the "Haunted Tank" came across was a "Tiger" tank..if the Germans had that many Tigers in Europe, they would have breezed through the Allies in no time..but wait..no..maybe not..the Allies had one lone M-3 Stuart tank that was practically invincible..The 37mm tank round would have bounced off of any Tiger tank, even at point blank range...too bad there was no "History Channel" back when these stories were being written.And of course there's the typical "Lets make the German soldiers a bunch of fanatical buffoons" stereotype...but these stories where made to entertain children, and not history buffs like me.Although it burns me up to see such historical farce, I still enjoyed going down memory lane and reading these stories,I'm looking forward to Volume Two and hopefully there will be a "Sgt. Rock" Showcase series

The "Showcase Presents" series reprints original comic books in a black & white format, at low cost. Big chunks of a comics run can be published cheaply this way, & fans can read classic material otherwise difficult to obtain.

An unapologetical goofy premise for a war comic, the Haunted Tank remains readable & fun.

The Hipster gives it a Thumbs Up!

Russ Heath lives! Heath is the greatest graphic combat artist of all time. His renderings of tanks, rifles and soldiers are almost photo realistic, but with an artist's touch. Especially satisfying are his facial renditions of combat troops; gaunt, disheveled and "staring 1,000 yards ahead".

There are some enjoyable "quirks", such as the mis-labeling of German Panther tanks as Tiger Is and the strange ability of the orignial Stuart Haunted Tank to knock out mighty Panthers and Tigers with its pathetic 37mm pop gun. The frequent aircraft vs. tank fights are another cheesily digestible goody. For the most part, Haunted Tank is eye candy with words and plot thrown in.

DC issued the Haunted Tank collections from the old G.I. Combat series in black and white because that's the only way to make these volumes affordable. I am grateful they have exposed new readers to Russ Heath's greatness. Another nice touch: DC reprinted in full size each cover to each issue. For some reason, TPB collections often lack the cover art or compile the covers at the end of the collection, rather than at the beginning of each issue. Heath illustrated Garth Ennis' Enemy Ace: War In Heaven as well as short runs on The Punisher, Iron Fist and the movie adaptation of The Rocketeer.

Hopefully, DC will crank out more Haunted Tank Showcase editions so we can enjoy Sam Glanzman's artwork, which is a combination of Joe Kubert and Russ Heath.

Heath is in his 80s now and I don't know if he's still capable of drawing. But if he is, I'd love to see more WWII work from him, especially paired with Garth Ennis.

the book is ok but it is in black and white, looks like someone copyed it by pressing the comic book,and pushing the button.If it was in color it would be well worth the money.Like it is it's just a matter of if you have the spare cash.I am a little disapointed in it.