Our Army at War #198

Our Army at War #198 (On Sale: August 1, 1968) has an intersting Sgt. Rock cover by Joe Kubert.

Our cover story is the Sgt. Rock adventure "Plugged Nickel" by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert. Next is "Killer – Man Fish" by Robert Kanigher and Charles Cuidera. Lastly we have a reprint from Star Spangles War Stories #88, "The Sergeant is a Monkey," by Hank Chapman and Russ Heath.

Edited by Joe Kubert.

Hawkman #27

Hawkman #27 (On Sale: June 20, 1968) has a great cover by Joe Kubert on this, the last issue of Hawkman.

Inside we have "...When the Snow-Fiend Strikes" by Raymond Marais, Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera. Hawkman and Hawkgirl prevent the Leopard Gang from robbing the Midway City penthouse of Prince Sabul o Tala, who tells them how his country was attacked by Yeti. He is also afraid that they may have to accept military assistance from outside to handle the problem, and that this could lead to occupation. Hawkman agrees to help, although he insists that Shayera stay behind.

He is attacked by a Yeti upon arrival, and Hawkgirl, monitoring him from their ship, flies to his aid, as he is taken in by Golo, the last of the true Yeti, who explains that the others are not of his race. The couple tracks the false Yeti to a cave filled with foreign soldiers, and this leads to Sabul's throneroom.

Hawkman now suspects Sabul has lied to them and that he is the leader of the flying Yeti, but Sabul gathers his people to allow the hero to indict him publicly, an action which backfires when they don't believe him. Hawkgirl disproves the theory when she hears General Kin-Yo's plan to assassinate Sabul and his cabinet with the Yeti, and the attack of the Snow-Fiend reveals it as a robot, guided by Sabul's cousin Vana.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Hawkman #26

Hawkman #26 (On Sale: April 18, 1968) has a cover by Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera.

"Last Stand on Thanagar" is by Raymond Marais, Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera. This is Marais' first story for DC and may be an alias. Marais is also credited with work on The Sub-Mariner at Marvel and Flash Gordon at King. This is the first of ten stories he would write for DC. Hawkman and Hawkgirl are called home when the Thanagarian fleet in the Ilian quadrant falls. When General Ariosto, head of the winged police force, addresses the assembled operatives, he announces that one of the them is a traitor, who has leaked defense information through his Absorbascon. The Synaptic Felxometer reveals the traitor to be Katar Hol, who escapes with Shayera's help.

Stalked, with Shayera in custody and the real traitor loose, Hawkman heads to subspace and Earth to determine who stole his Absorbascon. Meanwhile, Queen Elba of the Infinite Empire has ordered her man on Earth, Colonel Alpheus, to stop him.

Hawkman had recently discovered the Egg of Harun on Earth, which he believed to be a harmless relic, but which is actually a nullifier device invented by the enemies of the Empire, and which had prevented its conquest of the Universe for three centuries. Katar escapes with the egg into hyperspace, although his ship is badly damaged and is attacked when he approaches his home. His ship is destroyed and Hawkman is wounded, but he still manages to get to headquarters, and gives the egg to Ariosto, which raises doubts in the general's mind whether he is truly a traitor.

The back-up story is "The Rocket Lanes of Tomorrow" from Real Fact Comics #1 penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Joe Simon.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Blackhawk #241

Blackhawk #241 (On Sale: April 9, 1968) has the last of the Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera covers as new editor Dick Giordano burns through inventory from George Kashdan's run.

"A Blackhawk a Day" is by Bob Haney, Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera. The Blackhawks receive letters inviting them to various meetings around the world. When they arrive at the individual meetings, they discover traps have been set to capture them. For each of six days one of the Blackhawks is caught by Baron Booby-Trap who intends to turn them over to the Crime Combine. However, Chuck, the Listener, is able to get a message to Blackhawk. He then helps the others escape and together they trap the Crime Combine and Baron Booby-Trap.

The back-up story, "The Phantom Spy," is a reprint from Blackhawk #160 by Jack Miller, Dick Dillin and Sheldon Moldoff.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Hawkman #25

Hawkman #25 (On Sale: February 20, 1968) has a cover by Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera.

"Return of the Death Goddess" is by Bob Haney, Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera. Professor Martin, an obsessed blind archaeologist, donates a statue of Medusa which he uncovered to the Midway City Museum, only to free the spirit of the monster by kissing the statue's lips, as per his translation of the inscription. The spirit professes its love and appreciation, telling him that he need only kiss the statue again to save her if she is imperiled.

She then selects Shiera Hall as her host vessel, and begins her revenge on mankind. First she creates a fire demon which blows up a powder company; this sets nearly all the city on fire. Hawkman rescues endangered residents, the uses Thanagarian electro-knuckles to smash a dam and flood the city, which puts out the fire. Medusa then frees zoo animals, and when the army attacks she dispatches a minotaur to demolish their tanks, a hurricane to down a jet, and finally attacks Hawkman herself.

As Martin hears a radio report of the hero's imminent defeat by Medusa, he kisses the statue, and infuses her with more power. Fortunately, Hawkman is able to smash the statue, and Shayera is returned to normal.

The back-up story is a golden age reprint from Flash Comics #11, (The Heart Patient) by Gardner Fox and Sheldon Moldoff. Carter Hall sees his old friend Tommy Rogers who is suffering from a heart condition. Tommy’s doctor tries to convince Carter that he too has a weak heart. Carter believes Tommy is being scammed and investigates as Hawkman.

Hawkman discovers that Tommy’s girlfriend is working with the doctor to poison Tommy and steal his money. The Winged Avenger then exposes the scheme and brings both the doctor and the girl, Betty, to justice. This story is reprinted in Golden Age Hawkman Archives Vol. 1.

Edited by George Kashdan.

Blackhawk #240

Blackhawk #240 On Sale: February 8, 1968) has a cover by Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera. Dig that 60's free-form lettering!

"He Who Must Die" is by Bob Haney, Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera. Andre, backed up by the other Blackhawks, approaches female spy Natasha Zero to gain a deadly nerve gas and prevent it from falling into enemy hands. Natasha leads Andre into a trap set by her buyer, Le Croc. The other Blackhawks appear to fall victim to the nerve gas, but they are protected with the aid of nose filters. The Blackhawks then apprehend Le Croc and Natasha, exposing the female spy as a man.

I'll never forget that last panel when Blackhawk proclaims, "She's a man, baby!" OK, maybe that panel never happened.

The back-up story "The Perils of Blackie, the Wonder Bird," is a reprint from Blackhawk #111 drawn by Dick Dillin and Sheldon Moldoff. Undercover aboard a smuggling ship, government agent Roger Vance intends to deliver a message to the Blackhawks using Blackie, the Blackhawk bird, as a messenger. The smugglers intercept Blackie, but they can't find the message. Blackie is able to signal the Blackhawks who find the smugglers and capture them. They also retrieve the message hidden inside a hollow feather. No wonder they can't find anyone to claim credit for the writing!

Edited by George Kashdan.

Hawkman #24

Hawkman #24 (On Sale: December 21, 1967) sports one of the uglier Dick Dillin and Jack Abel covers I have seen in quite a while.

"The Robot Raiders from Planet Midnight" is by Arnold Drake, Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera. Assigned to protect General Foster, who is to preside over an Armed Services Day parade, Hawkman notices that the general salutes with the wrong hand, exposing him as a robot impostor. Other military leaders and his own wife have been similarly replaced, and Katar tracks Shayera through space. He arrives on a sunless planet, and is set upon by winged beasts, which he defeats with his refrigio-ray. Disguising himself as a robot, he infiltrates, but is easily detected, and he and Shayera are united at gunpoint. They learn of this world's plan to invade Earth, and are then forced into combat with beasts in an arena.

The back-up story is "The Man Who Grew Wings" a reprint from Strange Adventures #65 by Otto Binder, Sid Greene and Joe Giella.

Edited by George Kashdan.

Blackhawk #239

Blackhawk #239 (On Sale: December 12, 1967) has another Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera cover. Two questions: 1. Why does the "killer that Time Forgot" remind me of Ma Hunkle? 2). Damn, the old Blackhawk uniforms sure look great! OK, that last on wasn't really a question.

"The Killer That Time Forgot" is by Bob Haney, Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera. In a snow bank atop the alps, a man who has been frozen in the ice awakens and frees himself. The man walks to a nearby town where a museum is being robbed by a group of Blackhawk impostors. The man attacks them, then walks away.

When the real Blackhawks are called to the town, they recognize the man as the Iron Hammer, a Nazi they fought during World War II. The Nazi was thought to have been killed under an avalanche, but now the Blackhawks know he survived.

The back-up story is "End of the Line" reprinted from Our Army at War #12 and created by John Reed, Gene Colan and Bernard Sachs.

Edited by George Kashdan.

Hawkman #23

Hawkman #23 (On Sale: October 12, 1967) features another Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera cover.

Inside "The Hawkman from 1,000,000 BC" is by Bob Haney, Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera .

Edited by George Kashdan

Blackhawk #238

Blackhawk #238 (On Sale: October 12, 1967) sports an unusual cover by the usual team of Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera.

Inside we have "The Walking Booby-Traps" by Bob Haney, Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera, a continuation of last issue's story. The Blackhawks are captured by the international criminal Barbarossa and the traitorous android G.E.O.R.G.E. agent, Johnny Vak. The team is knocked unconscious, then mysteriously released. When they return to G.E.O.R.G.E. headquarters they each discover powerful explosive implanted into the skulls. Though Mr. Delta places them under arrest for going off on their own while suspended, the team escapes in order to prevent the explosives from hurting others.

Edited by George Kashdan.

Bomba the Jungle Boy #2

Bomba the Jungle Boy #2 (On Sale: September 12, 1967) has a cover by the Blackhawk team of Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera.

Inside we have "The Phantom City of Death" written by George Kashdan and drawn once again by Leo Sommers. The first few issues of this series were Sommers' only work for DC.

Edited by George Kashdan.

Blackhawk #237

Blackhawk #237 (On Sale: August 15, 1967) sports a pretty dramatic cover by the usual team of Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera.

Inside we have "The Magnificent Assassins" by Bob Haney, Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera, a continuation of last issue's story. The Blackhawks are forced to answer for the death of G.E.O.R.G.E. agent Johnny Vak after a mission goes bad. Each Blackhawks gives his own account of the mission to Mr. Delta who accuses the team of intentionally trying to sabotage the mission and kill Johnny. Following their testimony, the Blackhawks are suspended.

Johnny Vak, really an android agent, is repaired and sent to complete the botched mission alone. Seeking to restore their good names, the Blackhawks go against orders and follow Johnny to help him. When they find the location of Barbarossa, the enemy agent Johnny was sent to kill, the Blackhawks discover that Johnny Vak is really working with the criminal.

Edited by George Kashdan