Capt. Savage and His Leatherneck Raiders #10
Capt. Savage and His Leatherneck Raiders #10 earns a footnote in pop-culture history that most Silver Age war comics never achieved: its front cover made it onto national television when the M*A*S*H episode 'Henry Please Come Home' showed Corporal Radar O'Reilly reading it while feigning illness — a delightful anachronism, since the episode is set in 1951, nearly two decades before the comic existed. Within the run of the series itself, issue #10 also captures a small editorial oddity: the book's title had officially changed to 'Battlefield Raiders' with issue #9, yet the story's own narration and character dialogue still referred to the team by their original 'Leatherneck Raiders' name, a quiet identity confusion that reflects the informal, fast-moving production culture of late-1960s Marvel. The issue's Alamo-inspired story — an outnumbered squad holding a remote Pacific island against a Japanese assault — is a compact example of how Gary Friedrich and Dick Ayers adapted classical American mythology to the World War II genre.
In "To the Last Man!", the Leatherneck Raiders face a brutal surprise assault as the Japanese army invades their isolated training base. With overwhelming odds and no reinforcements, the marines stand firm in a desperate defense that tests their resolve to the limit. Written by Gary Friedrich and brought to life by Dick Ayers’ dynamic art, with inks by John Severin and lettering by Herb Cooper, this gripping issue captures the intensity of combat with stark realism. The cover, also by John Severin, perfectly encapsulates the stakes with its tense, action-packed composition.
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The series was created by writer Gary Friedrich and penciler Dick Ayers as a direct spin-off of Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos, a title both men were actively working on at the time. Its launch was made possible when Marvel gained the ability to expand its publication slate after a distribution embargo was lifted. By issue #10, the regular creative team of Friedrich, Ayers, and inker John Severin was fully established, with Stan Lee serving as editor-in-chief; Herb Cooper handled lettering for this particular installment. The series ran nineteen issues in total, from January 1968 to March 1970, and despite decent sales a proposed follow-up submarine-focused series starring Savage never moved forward.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published January 1969 by Marvel Comics (cover-dated January 1969; on-sale date drawn from the Library of Congress Copyright Office periodicals records).
- Creative team: writer Gary Friedrich, penciler Dick Ayers, inker John Severin (who also handled the cover), letterer Herb Cooper, editor Stan Lee.
- The story, titled 'To the Last Man!', is an explicit homage to the Battle of the Alamo: the Leatherneck Raiders — Captain Simon Savage, Sgt. Sam 'Yakkety' Yates, Cpl. Jacques 'Frenchy' LaRocque, Pvt. Jay Little Bear, and Seaman Roy 'Blarney' Stone — defend their secret South Pacific training island against an overwhelming Japanese force.
- Issue #10 sits in a transitional moment for the series: the official title had changed to 'Captain Savage and His Battlefield Raiders' with issue #9, yet the story inside #10 still refers to the squad as the 'Leatherneck Raiders,' an unexplained discrepancy noted in the Grand Comics Database.
- The cover of this issue appears prominently on screen in the M*A*S*H Season 1 television episode 'Henry Please Come Home' (CBS, early 1970s broadcast), where Radar O'Reilly is shown reading it — a noted anachronism, as the episode is set in 1951.
- The same copy of Captain Savage #10 reappears in a second M*A*S*H Season 1 episode, 'Tuttle,' making the comic a recurring visual prop in the show's first season.
- At least one reprint of this issue is recorded in the Marvel Database.
- The series as a whole was a spin-off of Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos; Captain Savage had previously appeared in that title as commander of the submarine USS Sea Wolf before receiving his own book.
Cast · 30 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
The Japanese army invade the Raiders' secret island training base, and even though the marines are completely outnumbered, they manage to fight them off and hold their base.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).