The Death Patrol

The creation of Death Patrol is documented with contradiction. Anyone reading Military Comics #1 will notice the similarities between this feature and the lead, “Blackhawk.” Both strips were populated by multinational bands of aviators, but they differed greatly in tone. It’s impossible to say whether Jack Cole was aware of Blackhawk when he created the Death Patrol. If he did, it might have been at the direction of Will Eisner, who edited Military’s content. The author of Will Eisner’s biography, A Spirited Life, twice credited “Death Patrol” to Eisner’s studio, and the writing to Bob Powell. But this is rather discredited by the additional, erroneous statement that the feature “later became Blackhawk”; they were published simultaneously. Editor Gill Fox confirmed that Jack Cole created the feature, but had to abandon it soon thereafter. Fox added, “They started out killing a character in every ‘Death Patrol’ story, but Arnold got annoyed and decided to cut that out. I don’t think he liked that strip. I followed Cole and Dave Berg on that strip and wrote it, too. And what a pair of artists to keep up with! That’s pressure.” Freelancer Dave Berg took over for Military #4-12. 

A letter from Busy Arnold to Will Eisner (printed in Eisner’s biography) revealed Arnold’s dissatisfaction with the series, that of Military Comics #5, to be exact. He described the story as “atrocious” and the artist (Berg) as a “ham.” (Arnold to Eisner, 20 Aug. 1941) One day, Berg would become a noted cartoonist, but Arnold was right; Berg’s “Death Patrol” was nowhere near Quality’s standards.

Regardless, Jack Cole set the tone for “Death Patrol,” which read like a cross between “Midnight” and “Blackhawk.” Cole produced the first three episodes and his successors did a crack job of maintaining the unpredictable sense of adventure. The feature’s first dozen installments were a revolving door of characters who lived up to the group’s name: on every mission, a Patrol member lost his life. 

The Death Patrol were a band of aviators—contemporaries of the Blackhawks. Led by Del Van Dyne, the group was rounded out by convicts: Butch, Hank, Peewee, Slick Ward and Gramps. When Van Dyne was fired from his airline pilot’s job, he decided to head for England to join their Royal Air Force. Just then, a gang of five prison escapees hijacked his plane. Van Dyne convinced them to join the war effort and atone for their crimes. In British airspace, Van Dyne made a show of taking down Nazi planes, which was noticed by the Colonel. The Colonel sent Del and the others on an impossible mission to prove themselves, but they actually succeeded—despite losing Peewee. They were awarded their own special uniforms and dubbed themselves the “Death Patrol.” (Military #1)

In their second adventure, they donned uniforms that were in the style of a pilot’s, but printed with a prison uniform’s black-and-white stripes. None of the convicts were pilots. They flew in Del’s plane and were joined by a new recruit, Stoney Rock. Stoney was also their next fatality, on a mission saving a Red Cross shipment bound for France. (#2) Next time out, someone else had learned to fly, because the squadron had two planes. Zazzy, another convict, joined them and Slick died. (#3)

When Dave Berg took over the feature, each member was promoted to pilot and given their own plane. Chief Chuck-a-Lug joined them in defying orders and attacking the Nazis. Butch went “kamikaze” and took down several Nazi planes with him. (#4) The Patrol’s planes quickly evolved into small, nub-nosed, colorfully painted machines. Zazzy died while rescuing undercover agents and was replaced by King Hotintot, whose African nation was invaded by the Axis. (#5) 

Boris the Borsht Eater joined the squad in time to square off against the Nazis’ own all-female version of the Death Patrol. Their wiles went to waste on the D.P., who were a bunch of woman-haters. This time it was Gramps who sacrificed himself to save the others. The Patrol donned the womens’ clothes in order to escape, which left the ladies with their uniforms. The women were mistaken for the Patrol and shot on sight. Dave Berg demonstrated a flash of brilliance in this tale. One page boasts a stunning illustration depicting the cross section of a house, and a member fighting in each room. (#6)

They managed to fly two missions without a casualty. In the first, they were joined by the Patchwork Kid (called “Frere Jacques” in #9 and “Jackie” from #20 on), a refugee from France. (#7) They were fearless, often invading Germany, like they time they broke into the Wilhelmstrasse and Del impersonated Hitler! He gave orders designed to undo much of their tyranny, including the release of “political prisoners” in their concentration camps. Then, a French female assassin—“Mademoiselle” from Armentieres—shot Del thinking he was the Führer. She was forced to flee with the Death Patrol. (#8) The South American Goucho was next to join and returned with them to “Naziland” to rescue Del. They succeeded, but at the expense of another founding member, Hank. (#9) King Hotintot perished next and was replaced by his son, Prince Totinhot. (#10)

After another casualty-free episode, the Patrol learned that many of their fallen members were actually alive! When Del flew through a strange gas, he believed that he was hallucinating his fallen comrades (Hank, Gramps, and King Hotintot) and their voices had guided him safely home. When he regained his senses he was amazed to find that they had indeed returned and been nursed back to health. (#12)

Taking from the Top

“Hey kids! They’re back again!” declared the title of Military #20. Del explained their absence since #12: their adventures had been too top secret to be told in the wake of Pearl Harbor. So why resurrect the “Death Patrol”? (Only “Lady Luck” shares that distinction.) Most likely the feature ended when Dave Berg stopped freelancing for Will Eisner, or Busy Arnold finally killed it. Perhaps Arnold later recognized the benefit of having a Blackhawk clone in his line-up (as he’d done with “Midnight,” after “The Spirit”)? When “Death Patrol” was revived, Eisner was in the Army and the strip was produced in-house by Quality’s editor Gill Fox. That wasn’t the only change—there would be no more death for the Death Patrol. 

The membership settled into a more regular cast, like the Blackhawks. The first new installment featured Del, Boris, Gramps and Hotintot, joined by a telepath/telekinetic, the Yogi from India. Their striped uniforms were temporarily gone, too. (#20-21)

In Military #22, master cartoonist Al Stahl stepped in and stayed with “Death Patrol” until its end. He returned the squad to their roots, reinstating the striped uniforms and bringing back Hank and young Jackie for a mission to Japan. Jackie and Hank gradually became the stars of the feature and the other members appeared in rotation. Stahl’s flair for the fantastic put the Death Patrol’s planes underwater—with no air domes. They were swallowed by a whale (#25) and freed with the help of Mamie the Mermaid. (#26) Stahl briefly entered the military and Jack Cole returned to draw the stories in Military #27-31. 

It was a different ball game now; the splash page from Military #30 announced that one member “nearly dies this month.” But Stahl kept the excitement high when he returned in issue #32. For the duration of the war, their four-page adventures crossed the globe on Allied missions. They even established their own island base (again, like the Blackhawks). (#41)

After the war they described themselves as “International Super-Assistants.” (#42) Del and the Yogi took a backseat to Hank and Jackie, who hogged the spotlight. The crew now helped civilians against major threats such as icebergs, geysers, and fires. And their costumes were altered slightly so that the stripes were colored black, white and blue.

Notes

There was also a one-time feature titled "Death Patrol" that ran in G.I. Combat #11 (Nov. 1953) and featured "true life" war stories.

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