Showcase Presents: The Unknown Soldier, Vol. 2

Showcase Presents

by Joe Kubert

Assuming a wide variety of disguises to battle the Nazis in World War II, the Unknown Soldier plunges deep behind enemy lines in this massive SHOWCASE edition, collecting stories that have not been reprinted since they were first published in the 1970s.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics

552 pages, Paperback

First published July 2, 2013

About the author

Joe Kubert was a Jewish-American comic book artist who went on to found the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman. His sons, Andy Kubert and Adam Kubert, have themselves become successful comic-book artists.

Kubert's other creations include the comic books Tor, Son of Sinbad, and Viking Prince, and, with writer Robin Moore, the comic strip Tales of the Green Beret.

Kubert was inducted into the Harvey Awards' Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1997, and Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1998.

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

After getting somewhere with some high quality Showcase reprints, this was a bit of a letdown. Half the issues reprinted inside were by Dave Michelinie, and his stuff tended towards the maudlin. Bob Haney wrote the other half, and while Haney did fine with Silver Age Superhero Silliness, he doesn't fit in well here. Besides, seeing stuff like the Unknown Soldier provide the flag raised at Iwo Jima, and how the black man who assisted him was basically a sidekick (and always called that) who didn't seem to be very helpful, plus a trip to a concentration camp, and man, this volume just didn't work out.

At least the art was nice.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

You get a pretty wide ranging variety of stories in this second half of the Unknown Soldier's original run. Some are the typical secret mission behind Nazi lines. A few of them get completely bonkers, though--like the Nazi cult hiding in a medieval French castle and brainwashing American pilots. Best if you just enjoy the ride, and don't think too hard about it.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic art and some very dark stories told incredibly concisely

[Tim Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whilst mst f the individual stories were entertaining this rather thick volume did become a bit repetitive as the pages went on.

[Brent · Rating 5 out of 5]

DC's war comics all have a touch of the bittersweet to them but they really seemed to kick it up a notch here.

[Julio The Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars for audacity. Five I would bestow if the writing matched GHOST TANK or SGT. ROCK.