Our Army at War #127
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeOur Army at War #127 (cover date February 1963) holds a firm place in the Sgt. Rock canon as the second all-Sgt. Rock issue DC Comics ever published, demonstrating that editor-writer Robert Kanigher and artist Joe Kubert had enough confidence in the character—only four years removed from his debut—to give him the entire book a second consecutive time. The issue also marks the first appearance of Little Sure-Shot, one of the named Easy Company soldiers whose distinct personality helped establish Kanigher's template of the diverse-but-bonded combat unit that became the emotional core of the entire franchise. Structurally, 'The Four Faces of Sgt. Rock!' is a three-part, book-length narrative that unfolds through rotating first-person testimony from individual Easy Company members, a storytelling technique that deepened Rock as a character by showing him through the eyes of the men he led rather than as an omniscient hero—an unusually sophisticated approach for mainstream war comics of the era.
In "4 Faces of Sgt. Rock," Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert deliver a powerful, character-driven wartime tale from Our Army at War #127. Through four distinct memories, we see Sergeant Rock’s resilience and humanity, from a daring tank ambush to a bond formed with a dog that becomes a symbol of quiet courage. The story is anchored by Kubert’s unmistakable art and Saladino’s sharp lettering, with a cover by Kubert that captures the weight of war in a single, haunting image.
In "4 Faces of Sgt. Rock," Sgt. Rock faces a harrowing test of courage when a German tank advances on Easy Company, and he must act despite being partially paralyzed and trapped by rising water. The story unfolds through a tense, flashback-driven narrative that reveals the weight of fear and the cost of leadership in the heat of battle.
In "The Four Faces of Sergeant Rock! Part Three," Sergeant Rock’s legend grows through the memories of his comrades: Little Sure-Shot recalls a daring tank explosion with resistance fighter Fifi, while Bulldozer recounts a harrowing mission to destroy a machine-gun nest—aided by a loyal, sad-eyed dog whose fate becomes a turning point. As the war rages on, Rock’s resolve is tested in ways that push him beyond duty, revealing a depth of feeling that lingers long after the bullets stop flying.
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Robert Kanigher, who served simultaneously as writer and editor of Our Army at War, was by early 1963 steadily expanding the cast of Easy Company and experimenting with multi-part stories that stretched across an entire issue rather than offering the traditional anthology mix. Joe Kubert, Rock's defining visual collaborator since the character's first confirmed appearance, provided both the cover art and interior pencils, maintaining the gritty battlefield realism the title had made its hallmark. The GCD records that the issue also ran a reader letters column in which fans posed military questions answered ostensibly by 'Sgt. Rock'—with the GCD noting that Kanigher himself almost certainly authored those answers, a device he had used in DC war titles before, signing earlier installments simply 'RK.' The issue's reported newsstand circulation for the preceding twelve months, as disclosed in the statutory Statement of Ownership printed inside the book, was 180,000 copies.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: February 1963; DC Comics (Our Army at War, Vol. 1, #127).
- Recognized as the second all-Sgt. Rock issue in the series' history—the entire book is devoted to Rock and Easy Company, with no non-Rock backup stories.
- First appearance of Little Sure-Shot, a named Easy Company soldier who would recur throughout the Kanigher/Kubert run.
- Lead story is the three-part book-length 'The Four Faces of Sgt. Rock!', structured as rotating first-person accounts from Easy Company members: Ice Cream Soldier, Flip-Coin, Little Sure-Shot, and Bulldozer each narrate a chapter depicting Rock under pressure.
- Sgt. Rock was created by writer-editor Robert Kanigher and artist Joe Kubert; Kubert supplied both the cover art and interior art for this issue.
- The issue includes a historical text feature, 'Fortitude and Courage: Battle Story of the 104th Infantry Regiment', tracing that unit from 1662 through World War II, a non-fiction element typical of Kanigher-era war comics.
- A reader letters column appears in-issue with answers ghostwritten in Sgt. Rock's voice—the GCD attributes the authorship to Kanigher, consistent with his earlier 'RK'-signed columns in DC war titles.
- The issue's lead story, 'The Four Faces of Sgt. Rock!', is reprinted in the DC Archive Editions hardcover Sgt. Rock Archives Vol. 4 (2012), which collects Our Army at War #126–139.
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Reprints
Reprinted in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #7 (1981), Showcase Presents: Sgt. Rock #2 (2009), The Sgt. Rock Archives #4 (2012)
Key issues in Our Army at War
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