[movielover]

Since today is Memorial Day in the U.S., I figured I'd select a military themed comic.

This week's selection is Fightin Navy 82, scanned by Kracalactaka, edited by a nonny moose from a Sooth Collection book. It's located here https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=72228

It's a free for all, so whatever story.

[SuperScrounge]

Crash Dive - Okay, but it didn't seem like there was as much risk as was implied by the decision to stay out with limited fuel.

The Intruders - A little bit better on the danger and jeopardy front than the previous story, but not enough to really pull me in.

Shore Duty - Okay.

Prize of War - Not bad. Although, why would the Germans leave the torpedoes on the captured ship?

Stonewall's Rebellion - Cute.

Big Berthas Of The Battleships - Interesting.

El Presidente Jonsey - Amusing. Given the tonal & artistic differences I can believe the GCD's guess that this was unused inventory.

Deadly Rendezvous! - Okay.

The Coral Sea Victory - Pretty good.

Silent Duel - Okay.

U-Boat Trap - Okay.

Dawn Of Death - Two 2-page text pieces??? Not quite as good as the previous one, but okay.

Down Periscope - Okay.

Mission: Tirpitz - Okay.

[narfstar]

I read a couple stories to comment on. U-Boat Trap was only 2 pages but told the story. So it was pretty good in that respect with decent art. Down Periscope was a little longer and actually not as good. I did find the final statement humorous.

[crashryan]

As I've said before, war comics aren't my cup of tea but I'll try to give this a fair reading. The issue as a whole isn't very interesting because of the two problems common to most pre-Giordano Charlton comics: poor art and blah stories.

My gripe with Joe Gill's stories is that they seldom have much structure. They start, meander vaguely through a series of incidents, and end. Of the Gill stories in this issue "Mission: Tirpitz" works best because it builds up a little suspense and has a surprise tragic ending. "El Presidente Jonesy" also reads like a Gill story. It's silly but a fun read. As the info card notes, the artwork and lettering make it look like the story was inventory from another company. I think the same is true for the Ken Battefield stories but I'm not sure. That sloppy italic lettering appears in quite a few 1950s Charltons. Maybe Battefield worked directly for Charlton at that time.

The only artwork that appeals to me is Sam Glanzman's two stories. His art makes the stories look better than they are. He's the only artist who puts some thought into composition and his hardware looks like the real thing. Bill Molno's stuff is just awful. His combination of endless cop-outs and total disregard for authenticity drives me up a wall. His fake-o art on "Mission: Tirpitz" sucks the drama out of a potentially exciting story. Battefield's art falls somewhere in between. It's funny how he draws elaborately-rendered splash panels, then sloughs off most of the rest of the art.

At 68 pages it's kind of a slog, but SJG eases the journey.

[lyons]

It's not Sgt. Rock and his Easy Company, that's for sure  The stories are simple, the art is passable, but the narrative is devoid of any surprises or dramatic tension.  The tales are conventional war stories of combat and valor, exemplifying the American fighter as superior in battle. 
Although Charlton comic books never sold particularly well, Charlton war comics generally sold fewer copies than its competition's poorest titles.  Predictable plots and unexciting storytelling may have been one of the reasons for the poor sales. Overall, a typical Charlton war comic and a mediocre read.