The story is about German prisoners of war being held in the United States. The subject has fascinated me ever since my father, Big Pappy, told me about guarding German POWs in Georgia in 1942. The 1944 story was probably “ripped from the headlines,” as the old cliché goes. Both Blonde Bomber and her cameraman, Slapso, work in the newsreels. In the real world, at least 425,000 German POWs spent time in the U.S., and in the story, Nazi Marshal Von Taurus is a POW who is leading an insurrection and committing sabotage. Such things happened in the camps. While most German soldiers would claim they were not Nazis, Nazi officers still had power over their fellow prisoners. (Like Hogan’s Heroes in reverse?)
Grand Comics Database gives credit for the artwork to Bob Powell. I would advise them to turn back a few pages in the comic to the Spirit of ’76 story, which is by Powell, and compare the artwork. Blonde Bomber is drawn by Jill Elgin, one of a small number of fantastic female comic book artists of the era. Go to the link below for another Blonde Bomber story, and more information on Jill Elgin.
“Taurus the Nazi Bull” is from Green Hornet Comics #20 (1944). I love the symbolic splash panel for this story.
More Blonde Bomber and Jill Elgin. Just click on the thumbnail.
So were German officers allowed to wear their Nazi uniforms in prison?
ReplyDeleteSmurfswacker, I would assume their uniforms were prison uniforms to make them easy to identify if they escaped.
ReplyDeleteOfficers were kept in separate quarters from enlisted men, so the men knew who they were.
Okay, submitted an art credits correction to the GCD for this story too. Does that mean we'll have to go through all the Blonde Bomber stories? Gee, that would be too bad...;-)
ReplyDeleteDarci, I take the hint.
ReplyDelete