DC Comics
J.M. DeMatteis, Robert Kanigher, Dave Manak and Mike W. Barr, writers
Fred Carrillo, Pat Broderick, John Celardo, Bob Hall, Jerry Ordway, Dave Manak and Dan Spiegle, artists
I was very happy and more than a little surprised to see this volume solicited a few months ago as I've long had a passing interest in DC's Creature Commandos characters. I'm not a big fan of more traditional war-themed comics, but make the soldiers and Marines fighting the enemy into versions of famous movie monsters, and you've got my attention.
I was reading a lot of comics at the time of the Creature Commandos' debut, but my access to comics back then was pretty sporadic. So I completely missed the characters until much, much later when I came across a copy of Weird War Tales No. 119 featuring the Creature Commandos at a flea market. It was a pretty beat-up copy with some discoloration on the cover, but I could still tell that was a Frankenstein's monster in Army fatigues battling a couple lions with a vampire, a werewolf and a gorgon similarly engaged in the background. I was very interested.
The story opened with this bizaare-visaged quartet strolling through a wax museum, marveling at the recreations of Hilter, Jack the Ripper and other real-life normal-appearing monsters. The Creature Commandos comment that next to these horrors no one could possibly object to them, but almost immediately, other patrons of the museum catch sight of them and react poorly.
I didn't know how these fighters had come to look as they did, but I wanted to know more about them. We didn't have a home computer in those days, so my interest extended only as far as keeping an eye out for more issues whenever I was somewhere I might find some; there was no real research conducted. So I completely missed the fact that this comic was not as old as it's condition might indicate. I assumed the Creature Commandos were a product of the 1960s or maybe 1970s when both monster comics and war comics had their heyday. I further surmised that this was likely the 119th appearance of these characters in this title. But I assumed incorrectly on all counts.
This volume has confirmed for me that the Creature Commandos were in fact a product of the 1980s. They were created by J.M. DeMatteis and Pat Broderick and debuted in Weird War Tales No. 93, cover dated November 1980. The issue I'd purchased, No. 119, was only their 18th appearance in the title, and they would go on to appear in only two more issues after No. 119.
The original three Creature Commandos are Sgt. Vincent Velcro, Oklahoman Warren Griffith, and Marine Pvt. "Lucky" Taylor. These three were transformed into a vampire, a werewolf and a patchwork man resembling Frankenstein's monster, respectively, as part of Project M, a secret operation sponsored by all branches of the military to introduce an element of psychological warfare into America's fighting forces during the height of World War II. These three transformed warriors were sent on special assignments under the command of Lt. Matthew Shrieve, a normal man with a disposition much more monstrous than any of his charges.
The early Creature Commandos missions had the team face a variety of Nazi threats, often infiltrating Axis compounds to free captured scientists or freedom fighters. The Commandos would use the shock their appearances caused, as well as their monstrous strength and other inhuman abilities to defeat their enemies. Sometimes the Commandos were pitted against the dinosaurs of Monster Island or paired with their frequent Weird War Tales co-star, J.A.K.E., the G.I. Robot.
Dr. Myrna Rhodes, a plastic surgeon, is accidentally transformed into Dr. Medusa, a snake-haired beauty who joins the Creature Commandos in Weird War Tales No. 110, the team's 10th appearance. There are still a number of special missions after the addition of Dr. Medusa, but the Commandos are just as likely to be "vacationing" and dealing with public reaction to their appearances while the military leaders try to figure out what to do with them.
A common theme throughout the Creature Commandos adventures is how humane the Commandos act despite their monstrous looks and how tragic their lives are as a result of their transformations. This is juxtaposed against the normal looking, but much less empathetic actions of their enemies, the general public and even their own leader, Lt. Shrieve, who never misses an opportunity to remind the Commandos that they can never lead normal lives looking like they do. Yet these adventures are varied enough to not fall completely into formula and become overly repetitive.
I think the more recent re-imagining of the Creature Commandos in Tim Truman's and Scot Eaton's 2000 limited series would have done well to remember that juxtaposition. Their eight-issue mini wasn't a bad read, but it pitched the Creature Commandos against otherworldly invaders in another dimension while doing their thing to defend Earth. The appearance of the classic four members was altered pretty drastically, a few new members — a cyborg, a mummy and a gill-man — were added, and Shrieve was swapped out for a more sympathetic human commander. But without ordinary humans to be repelled and monstrous humans to fight against, something vital was lost.
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