InsaneJournal

"Codename: Warlord" is the story of British agent Lord Peter Flint, top man for the U.K. during WWII. In this story (with a luxurious eight pages!), it's 1942, and he's escorting British munitions expert Viscount Bierbrook on a mission to Moscow.



Schafft is a top Nazi agent, and something of Warlord's nemesis. Flint takes off after him, but the Nazi has a car waiting. So Flint sounds an alarm just in case Schafft planted a bomb, then "borrows" an auto to chase after him.



Marakov decides that Flint is a double agent, and after failing to break him in a quick interrogation, sentences the Brit to die at dawn, while one of his own men will be assigned to watch Bierbrook.

Flint realizes that Schafft will be after Bierbrook next, and uses the opportunity of his last meal to overcome the guard and escape. He hurries to where Bierbrook is quartered, only to find the Soviet guard drugged and the munitions expert gone. Fortunately, the van with Bierbrook inside is still in sight. Flint steals another car, and follows the kidnappers to a deserted mill.

There, Bierbrook is transferred to a plane, but Flint jumps on to the tail as it takes off. He shoots the engine, forcing the plane down on a frozen lake in no-man's land. A shell lands and breaks the ice, plunging Bierbrook in. Schafft quickly moves to save his captive, and Flint comes in to get both of them out.

In the 21st Century, Earth's favorite sport is gladitorial combat, and "Sabor's Army" is a group of top-flight warriors expert in the games. Recently, they took some time out to defeat the Great Brain, a renegade computer which threatened mankind. Back at the arena, the story opens with one of the dullest gladiator matches I've ever seen in comics, as Sabor curbstomps some Turkish guy at "shield and raygun" combat. Good thing there's an excitable announcer making it sound good to the audience.

Afterwards, Sabor checks in with Ayala, his business manager (who is male and has his own sword.) Ayala mentions there's an urgent message on the recorder. This message is from Smith the boffin (scientist) who supposedly perished in the last fight against the Great Brain. Smith insists on meeting Sabor at the Eiffel Tower, and cryptically warns of "Furies."




Sabor tricks the Goldilocks into following him on to a damaged beam, then severs the beam with his blaster. As it falls, the Goldilocks congratulates Sabor on his cleverness, but warns that more Furies are on their way. As he contemplates the smoking ruin of the android, Sabor realizes he and his army must again go to (unpaid) battle.

Another shell bursts closer, and Kelly finds himself on thin ice, which promptly breaks. He manages to find a bush to pull himself out with, and crawls into a rock fissure just in time. A Waffen-SS patrol fails to inspect the area closely, and assumes that the sniper has drowned under the ice. They are called back to station by the radio, as there's another convoy coming.

Kelly switches to his dry socks, then climbs the fissure to a new vantage point. He hears engines, and sees what looks like a fleet of Yank trucks, but must actually be under false colors.



Deciding that this should be reported, Kelly climbs into the next valley, which turns out to have a castle in it. He really wishes he had his map. Also, something to ward off the starving attack dogs that have suddenly appeared.

"Sergeant Rayker" is set in 1944, during the Hurtgen Forest campaign. African-American soldier Moses Rayker is sent back from the front lines with battle fatigue. He's attached to a military police unit, which promptly gets trapped behind enemy lines escorting some criminals bound for the stockade. In the previous issue, Rayker had gone off to retrieve a prisoner who'd been captured by the SS, only to discover on his return that the remainder of the unit has been surrounded by the Germans.

The surrounded troops are worried, and are forced to arm the prisoners, including a particularly vile lout named Flynn, so that they can protect themselves from the attackers.

Rayker and his team use captured Spandaus to attack the Germans from the rear, and cut a swath of death. SS Major Klaus Siebert is angered by the slaughter of his men, and attempts to shoot Rayker. His aim is poor, alerting the American, who manages to wing the major in the arm in return.

The Americans manage to escape the SS, and evade immediate capture. Flynn tries to make a break for it, but Rayker's too fast for him and makes Flynn drop his rifle.




Like I said, not too much historical nitpicking, please, but true stories of African-American troops in WWII make good reading as well.

The "Killer Kane" series takes place in August 1940, at the Hangmere Spitfire station.

In the previous issue, young pilot Jimmy Penrose had shot off his mouth once too often, allowing word to reach German ace Franz Odet, the "Flying Leopard", who realized that the green braggart could easily be goaded by a challenge. Flight Officer "Killer" Kane warns Penrose not to take the challenge; Odet's far more experienced, and has no qualms about having his buddies lend a hand if he looks like losing.



Kane spots Penrose disobeying, but is too busy keeping Jerries off Stacy's tail to deal with it. Then one of the German fighters explodes a little too close to Stacy's plane, hitting him with shrapnel, and forcing him to go for a landing.



Kane and Odet clash, and Kane notes that Odet can get more out of an ME-109 than any other pilot he's seen. But the Spitfire is just that little more maneuverable, and Kane scores a victory. But he's forgotten his own caution to Penrose about Odet's "buddies" earlier. Good thing that this time Penrose kept his head, and snipes the attacker before it can score on Kane. Afterwards, Kane admits Penrose might have what it takes, with a little more stoicism.

And we close with "Gustav's Cossacks", set in 1942 Russia again, this time on the steppes. German tank commander Gustav Heinemann is after an SS Colonel who stole a shipment of Russian gold and slaughtered Gustav's crew in order to cover his tracks. Gustav is aided by renegade White Russian Cossacks who care nothing for his revenge, but would like to get their hands on the gold.

They've managed to recapture some of the gold, and use one of the bars to lure the Colonel out of the hotel where he's recuperating from losing an eye at Kursk. They quickly capture the Colonel and take him to their temporary hideout. He refuses to tell where the rest of the gold is, and Gustav is all for taking his vengeance right now.

But Sergeant Gregor assures Gustav that the Cossacks are past masters at getting men to talk--they just need some time to work on him. Too bad the Red Army picks this moment to attack. Gustav and Gregor head to Gustav's tank to hide and wait out the attack, but it turns out the Commies have T-34s this time...