D-Day Two!

Today is D-Day. June 6, 1944 is of course famously known now as "D-Day", the day the assembled Allies of Europe launched the ultimately successful counter attacks on the beaches of Normandy, France against the Nazi war machine. The cost of that day is remembered still and is seen as one of the most significant events in the history of the 20th Century.  But "D-Day" merely means "Day-Day", the day of the attack and can apply to any military engagement. Charlton comic took advantage of that to launch their own D-Day, a war comic book nestled comfortable among the ranks of their many others. The second issue of D-Day sports a Dick Giordano cover, but beneath that handsome art is a tour de force for the great Wally Wood. He and his studio supply all the art for this issue, four stories that tell of signficant D-Days as well as the one celebrated today. 

The first story of a "D-Day" is titled "Lone Defender" and focuses on the air war over Guadalcanal in 1942. The title says it all as one flyer using a range of tactics fights alone to fend off a Japanese force. That notion of a single man making a huge difference is a common theme which links most of the stories in this comic. 

"The Underwater Avenger" begins two days before the famous landing on the beaches of Normandy and tells of a single frogman and the difference he made preparing for the momentous invasion. 

"D-Day for the Fighting Airborne" is set on the famous day and focuses on a single paratrooper who comes down apart from his unit and starts out immediately to rejoin them. In the course of that odyssey to find his comrades he does much damage to the Nazi war effort. 

Finally there's "Iwo Jima", a story set on that notorious island, but this time showcasing how the teamwork of two soldiers is effective in fending off the Japanese enemy. 

These stories along with many more Wood war and action comics were gathered and reprinted in Vanguard's Dare-Devil Aces. If you'd like to read all of these vintage classics by Wally Wood's team just check out this link. Whether the idea of a lone soldier making such a difference was intentional for this comic I cannot say, but it seems likely that it was. Wally Wood is the very definition of a maverick and it would only make sense he'd celebrate warriors of a similar stripe. 

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