GI Joe (1951 Ziff Davis) 26

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Painted cover by Clarence Doore. Stories and art by Dan De Carlo, Rudy Lapick, Vic Martin, Ernest Schroeder, James Miele and Irv Novick. Neither a tie-in with the later toy line/cartoon nor a grim war comic, this first-gen GI Joe focused on lighthearted tales of military life. The Yardbirds, featuring Pvts. Windy and Whitey, was straight-up comedy of the Beetle Bailey/Sad Sack variety. A children's illustrator with Baker Company tells the lesson of the ostrich, in an offbeat story combining a page of funny-animal art with traditional combat images. Pvts. Windy and Whitey mistake a visiting foreign general for an enemy spy and try to waylay him, in a story by future Archie legend Dan De Carlo. In the debut of the "Dear Gertrude" series, a G.I.'s life is revealed in his letters to his wife at home. In a wordless tale, Pvt. Dopey gets the Beetle Bailey treatment from Sarge, but Sarge gets the worst of it. G.I. Gags; Call Me Mac!; Buddies: The Myth of the Ostrich; Private Dopey: Do Not Disturb; The Yardbirds: Know Your Enemy; Dear Gertrude; Mud and Wings; Khaki Clowning. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.