Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Joe Kubert Presents #5 of 6
DC Comics
Kubert, Levitz, Glanzman, Buniak, & Oksner
Anthologies are almost always a mixture of good stories with a few duds and a rare gem hidden somewhere. The Joe Kubert Presents anthology has at least spotlighted the types of work that Kubert has been acclaimed for, grouped by genre. Finally, in the fifth issue, the spotlight shines on war, specifically Sgt Rock. The book contains five stories and three of them are fantastic and the other two are good. There are no duds. Overall, if you like war-themed stories and enjoy them pulling from the school of Silver Age storytelling then this is the comic book for you.
The headline story is about a man and his grandson visiting a spot in Europe where Sgt Rock and his company landed on D-Day. The story is told about the grandfather (or father) that was with Rock that day. It's frames the horror and heroics of the day that probably mirrors a lot soldier's experiences but it also manages to both build up and humanize the character of Sgt Rock. I've read several "final" Sgt Rock stories and this eight pager is as good as any of them. This is an elegant and touching tale.
The second story is about the USS Stevens. It's basically a history lesson in captions with some pictures. It's not quite a novella and not quite a comic story. This ten-page story eventually ties the history lesson to the USS Stevens and it's fantastic. The visuals provide great realism to the battles it describes. This is a terrific story.
After Kubert provides some inner thoughts, which, incidentally, make the first story all the more enjoyable, we get a story about a biker. This story doesn't appear to be tied to Sgt Rock, but deals with the post-war trauma in a character whose desperately trying to outrun ghosts and demons. This story is another classic as it mixes in some horror elements to really spread the ideas to touch multiple genres.
The remaining stories, Spit and Angel and the Ape, have been staples in this anthology mini-series and couldn't be more different. Spit is about the rough life on a whaling ship as seen by a boy. It's dark and gritty and fits in well with this issue. Angel and the Ape is nothing like anything else in this issue. It's quirky and funny, bright and vibrant. It's a good origin feature for Angel but it is an odd tone change in this issue.
Joe Kubert Presents is definitely a niche book. If you enjoy war stories, especially from the Joe Kubert camp of storytelling then this is the comic book for you. This is every bit as good as I had hoped it would be from looking at the cover.
4 out of 5 Geek Goggles
