Our Army at War #17

DC's Our Army at War #17 from December 1953 delivers the cold-weather combat intensity its "Explosive Battle Action" banner promises, with Irv Novick's cover depicting a goggled, winter-camouflaged soldier charging down a snow-blasted mountain slope, submachine gun leveled, while fellow ski troops battle in the distance amid bursting shellfire. The issue packs four stories — including "White Death," "Washed-Out Cadet," "Sword for a Statue," and "Battle Without Bullets" — spanning ski troops, air cadets, and infantry in a solid anthology of wartime drama. Robert Kanigher's writing paired with Novick's crisp, kinetic linework makes this a fine snapshot of DC's early-'50s war comics at their most adventurous.