Heroic Comics #21

Lieut. Commander Lucius H. Chappell commands a lone U.S. submarine on a dangerous patrol through the South West Pacific, where he and his crew pursue enemy convoys and warships with cunning tactics and steady nerve. As they stalk Japanese vessels and engage in harrowing underwater battles, the submarine inches toward an extraordinary combat record that will test both the captain's strategy and his crew's resolve.

When Corporal Jos. Edgar Hartman's B-17 is torn apart by a kamikaze attack near Bougainville in 1942, he's the only gunner to escape the wreckage—forced to survive 67 days among the islands and their friendly inhabitants with nothing but ingenuity and determination. From village to village and eventually commandeering an abandoned Japanese vessel, Hartman makes his way across enemy waters toward American lines, gathering strength for the final leg of his incredible journey home.

Sergeant Pilot George "Buzz" Beurling traces his unlikely path from a young dreamer in Canada to Malta's most fearless fighter pilot—a determined kid who wouldn't accept "no" for an answer, teaching himself to fly in storms and crossing an ocean to join the R.A.F. when his own country turned him down. Now stationed at the heart of the aerial war, Beurling faces Italian and German fighters with a skill and hunger for combat that sets him apart from even his most battle-hardened squadron mates. This story follows the rise of a 21-year-old ace who proves that sheer determination and nerve can turn a boy into a legend.

American and British forces make their historic junction on the Gabes-Gafsa Road in Tunisia when advance patrols from Lt. General George S. Patton Jr.'s armored command encounter a British scouting unit—and after a tense moment of mutual recognition, the two Allied powers finally meet face-to-face in the North African campaign. This wartime snapshot captures the pivotal 1943 moment when Patton's forces and the British 8th Army join up to complete their offensive against the retreating Axis.

When Bob Blake spots a mysterious red spider brooch in a jeweler's window, his curiosity about the clerk's strange refusal to sell it sets him on the trail of a bizarre murder weapon—a cord of giant spider silk stronger than steel. Hydroman must battle his way through a criminal conspiracy and face off against a shadowy villain called the Spider Woman, who commands an arsenal of impossible webbing and plans something far more sinister than anyone realized. This 1943 adventure from Heroic Comics cranks the pulp action up to eleven, mixing detective work with superhero spectacle in the best way.