Tag: Wally Wood

Blazing Combat (1965) #3

Bc3

There’s a lot of great art this issue… but it seems like Goodwin was getting worn out. There really aren’t any stories with any bite–even the WWII one with the marine taking gold teeth from every corpse he finds.

The opening story, credited to Joe Orlando but apparently pencilled by Jerry Grandenetti, is an indistinct monotony of war story. All of the faces look identical (Orlando did ink it, so maybe he is responsible after all). Goodwin relies a lot on action sequences this issue. Almost all the stories have lots of them.

Alex Toth’s story, set in what appears to be a post-apocalyptic Russia (but it could be anywhere, the Russia thing is just a guess), is probably the weakest. Toth’s art doesn’t go well with the story of a survivor who goes crazy when he encounters others.

The Wally Wood (maybe Dan Adkins pencilled) is best.

Blazing Combat 4 (July 1966)

bc4.jpg
Goodwin and company recover for the fourth–and tragically final–issue of Blazing Combat. The issue opens with Goodwin returning to, if not controversial, then uncomfortable topics–he and Gene Colan (Colan’s art this issue is far better than his already good art in the previous one) have a depressingly real story about American racism. It might be the most rah-rah story in the series, however (you have to read it).

Alex Toth’s story–about a flier in Korea–is superior to the previous issue’s problematic one. Here, with most scenes in daylight, Toth really looks good. There’s no murkiness, it’s cleanliness is all very visceral.

The Russ Heath might not be the most compelling story (it’s still superior to the Reed Crandall Ancient Greece story, which just bores), but the artwork’s just amazing.

Goodwin shows signs of expanding his scope, which makes the series’s failure even more unfortunate.

CREDITS

Conflict; artist, Gene Colan. How It Began; artist, George Evans. The Edge; artist, Alex Toth. Give and Take; artist, Russ Heath. ME-262; artist, Wally Wood. The Trench; artist, John Severin. Thermopylae; artist, Reed Crandall. Night Drop; artist, Angelo Torres. Writer and editor, Archie Goodwin; letterer, Ben Oda; publisher, Warren.

Blazing Combat 3 (April 1966)

bc3.jpg
There’s a lot of great art this issue… but it seems like Goodwin was getting worn out. There really aren’t any stories with any bite–even the WWII one with the marine taking gold teeth from every corpse he finds.

The opening story, credited to Joe Orlando but apparently pencilled by Jerry Grandenetti, is an indistinct monotony of war story. All of the faces look identical (Orlando did ink it, so maybe he is responsible after all). Goodwin relies a lot on action sequences this issue. Almost all the stories have lots of them.

Alex Toth’s story, set in what appears to be a post-apocalyptic Russia (but it could be anywhere, the Russia thing is just a guess), is probably the weakest. Toth’s art doesn’t go well with the story of a survivor who goes crazy when he encounters others.

The Wally Wood (maybe Dan Adkins pencilled) is best.

CREDITS

Special Forces; writer, Archie Goodwin; penciller, Jerry Grandenetti; inker, Joe Orlando. Foragers; writer, Goodwin; artist, Reed Crandall; letterer, Ben Oda. U-Boat; writer, Goodwin; artist, Gene Colan; letterer, Oda. Survival; writers, Alex Toth and Goodwin; artist and letterer, Toth. The Battle of Britain; writer and inker, Wally Wood; penciller, Dan Adkins; letterer, Oda. Water Hole; writer, Goodwin; artist, Gray Morrow; letterer, Oda. Souvenirs; writer, Goodwin; artist, John Severin; letterer, Oda. Editor, Archie Goodwin; publisher, Warren.