Number One

 

Often, the short stories run in DC's war comics were centered around a specific gimmick--such as two guys who enjoyed window shopping before the war now getting shot at from every window they encounter. This gimmick--often undeniable contrived--would then be brought to life by excellent art.

This is the case with "Number One," published in Our Fighting Forces #90 (1965) and later republished in Our Fighting Forces #134 (1971). The gimmick is that the main character (named Lacy) has always been Number One in everything. And, on D-Day, he's determined to be the first person to land on the beach.

As you can see in the above panels, he has a financial reason for this. His company has a pool going, so the first person ashore wins a big wad of cash. (Though if Ebay had existed in the 1940s, he could get rich with a lot less risk by selling that World Series ball.)

The writer is named Hank Chapman and his gimmick is indeed a bit silly. But the story is effectively told--it takes only one page to set up the premise--and Joe Kubert's art is typically magnificent. 

When D-Day arrives, Lacy continues to rack up Number Ones at a fast and furious pace. He's the first person to shoot down an enemy plane.

He's the first person to pick up survivors after his fellow soldiers are knocked out of their landing craft. He's the first person to destroy an enemy ship when he uses the craft's machine gun to take out a German E-Boat. 

When their landing craft is sunk by a German sub (another first, by the way), Lacy continues to swim ashore, using a grenade launcher to take out an enemy pillbox and open the way for the rest of the company to land safely. 

But he's been wounded and a Navy rescue craft picks him up before he can make it ashore. But, despite missing out on the chance to be first on the beach, he's still setting records. He's the first wounded soldier to return to England and the first D-Day soldier to get a medal, but he doesn't perk until he gets a photograph sent to him by the rest of his company, showing that they had been first ashore only because of Lacy's bravery.

That constant barrage of Number One achievements teeters on the edge of being too silly. But the premise of the story requires it and in the end, "Number One" is a fun tale. Kubert's art saves it from silliness, as his art (and the art of other DC artists) often did with the gimmicky stories. 

Next week, we jump over to the Marvel Universe for the first of a three-part look at an early Marvel Team-Up story arc.