G.I. Combat #87

History

Robert Kanigher was already DC's reigning architect of war comics in May 1961, simultaneously editing and writing the publisher's five main war anthology titles, with Sgt. Rock freshly established as the genre's flagship character. Against that backdrop, Kanigher conceived the Haunted Tank as a way to inject a supernatural throughline — the ghost of 19th-century Confederate general J.E.B. Stuart, dispatched by the spirit of Alexander the Great to watch over his namesakes — into the anthology's otherwise grounded WWII framework. He handed the art duties to Russ Heath, whose kinetic draftsmanship and authoritative rendering of military hardware made the M3 Stuart's outmatched duels against German Tiger tanks visually convincing; Heath also painted the issue's cover. Early characterization details were still fluid at launch: the tank commander was named Jeb Stuart Smith, and his crewmates Rick, Slim, and Arch shared the surname Halsey — particulars that Kanigher quietly revised over subsequent issues as the feature's continuity solidified.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance of the Haunted Tank feature — cover-dated May 1961, published by DC Comics as part of the G.I. Combat (Vol. 1) anthology series.
• First appearances of all five indexed characters: Lt. Jeb Stuart (here named Jeb Stuart Smith), gunner Rick Rawlins, driver Slim Stryker, loader Arch Asher, and the ghost of Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart.
• Created by writer-editor Robert Kanigher and artist Russ Heath, who also drew the cover; the issue also contains backup content scripted by Henry Boltinoff with art by Henry Boltinoff and Bernard Baily.
• The core supernatural premise: General J.E.B. Stuart's ghost — commissioned by the spirit of Alexander the Great — serves as an invisible guardian to Lt. Jeb Stuart, his living namesake and tank commander, offering cryptic tactical counsel audible only to Jeb.
• The Haunted Tank became a regularly recurring lead feature of G.I. Combat beginning with this issue, ultimately running through the title's final issue, #288 (March 1987) — a 26-year continuous run second only to Sgt. Rock among DC war features.
• Early continuity details were later retconned: the tank commander's surname 'Smith' was dropped by G.I. Combat #114, and the crew's shared surname 'Halsey' was similarly revised as the series' backstory firmed up.
• The debut story, titled 'Introducing — the Haunted Tank!', was reprinted at least seven times: Our Army at War #216 (1970), America at War: The Best of DC War Comics (1979), DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #12 (1981), Sgt. Rock Special #11 (1991), Showcase Presents: Haunted Tank Vol. 1 (2006), and DC Goes to War (2020).
• The Haunted Tank has appeared in animated adaptations including Batman: The Brave and the Bold ('Menace of the Madniks!', with J.E.B. Stuart voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) and Teen Titans Go!, and the concept was revived in a 2009 Vertigo miniseries set during the Iraq War, featuring a new commander, Jamal Stuart, in an M1 Abrams tank.

Cast · 5 characters

Full credits