All-American Men of War #67
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeAll-American Men of War #67 (March 1959) holds a firm place in DC's Silver Age war comics history as the debut issue of Gunner and Sarge — U.S. Marines Gunner MacKay and Sarge Clay — who became two of the most enduring recurring characters in the genre at a time when war anthology titles rarely featured returning protagonists at all. Their introduction helped push DC's war line away from disposable one-shot stories toward serialized character-driven features, a shift that shaped the entire editorial identity of titles like Our Fighting Forces for years to come. The duo's longevity extended well into the 1970s when, alongside Johnny Cloud and Captain Storm, they formed the core of The Losers — one of DC's most celebrated war-comics ensembles.
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Writer-editor Robert Kanigher scripted the debut story, with pencils by Ross Andru and inks by Mike Esposito — a creative partnership Kanigher would rely on repeatedly throughout the Silver Age for landmark debuts including the Suicide Squad and The War That Time Forgot. The cover of the issue was drawn by Jerry Grandenetti. Kanigher's editorial instinct was to answer a structural weakness in DC's war anthology line: nearly every story featured anonymous, one-appearance soldiers, leaving readers with no continuing emotional investment; issue #67's closing panel even solicited reader mail asking whether they wanted more Gunner and Sarge stories, a direct test of audience appetite that the response apparently settled decisively. The characters almost immediately transferred to sister title Our Fighting Forces beginning with issue #45 (May 1959), where they headlined for fifty consecutive issues.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Gunner (Private MacKay) and Sarge (Sergeant Clay), two U.S. Marines fighting in the Pacific Theater of World War II.
- Cover date: March 1959; published by National Comics Publications (DC Comics) as part of the All-American Men of War series (Volume 1).
- Written by Robert Kanigher, penciled by Ross Andru, and inked by Mike Esposito; cover art by Jerry Grandenetti.
- The debut story — the cover feature of the issue — introduced the pair's defining dynamic: Gunner as the decoy/narrator who resents being held back, and Sarge as the battle-hardened commander who exploits that tension tactically.
- Recognized by DC historians (citing the Dolan DC Comics encyclopedia) as one of the first war comics to feature a true recurring character feature, breaking from the anthology norm of one-shot soldier stories.
- Gunner and Sarge transferred to Our Fighting Forces with issue #45 (May 1959), headlining that book for fifty issues (#45–94, through August 1965).
- Both characters were later folded into The Losers alongside Johnny Cloud (the 'Navajo Ace,' first appearing in All-American Men of War #82) and Captain Storm; the team first appeared together in G.I. Combat #138 (October–November 1969) and eventually took over Our Fighting Forces for its final 59 issues.
- The issue also contains additional anthology war stories including 'The Clean Sweep!' and 'Break Through.'
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Reprinted in Showcase #54 (1965)
Key issues in All-American Men of War
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