Friday, July 3, 2009

Sam Glanzman: Battle Albums

Earlier in the week I posted the covers to DC short-lived war comic Blitzkrieg. Below are Sam Glanzman's contributions to that title: three "Battle Album" pieces and one "Tabletop Diorama." When I was first reading DC war comics, I always considered Glanzman one of the second tier DC war artists behind Joe Kubert and Russ Heath. While I still think almost no one can equal Kubert and Heath as war artists, I've come to appreciate Glanzman's artwork a lot more. He's just a good no nonsense artist. His work shows dedication to the craft but not overly flashy and showy. In his many stories he did for G.I. Combat, Our Army at War and other DC war titles his storytelling is clear and straightforward. You can tell what in the hell is going on.

During World War II Glanzman served on the destroyer USS Stevens and used his experience in the feature of the same name which ran in many of DC's war titles. He also used his wartime experience in the autobiographical comic A Sailor's Story. I've ended up appreciating Glanzman's work a lot more after I've been writing this. I'll have to dig up some of his narrative work and post that. In the meantime, enjoy these:



"Dornier 335-A," Blitzkrieg #1, January 1976.



"Panther," Blitzkrieg #2, March 1976.



"USS Buckley Rams the U-66," Blitzkrieg #3, May 1976.



"The Corsair," Blitzkrieg #4, July 1976.

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