Star Spangled War Stories #151

History

Joe Kubert, who served as both editor and artist on the DC war line, conceived the Unknown Soldier as a living symbol drawn from the actual Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery — a figure whose obliterated face made him simultaneously nobody and everybody. He pitched the idea to DC executive Carmine Infantino, and it was approved. A prototype appearance had been published years earlier in the Sgt. Rock story 'I Knew the Unknown Soldier!' in Our Army at War #168 (June 1966), written by Robert Kanigher and drawn by Kubert, but that story was a standalone and did not yet define the character's full concept. Issue #151 was conceived and executed as the true launch: Kubert handled script, pencils, inks, cover, and editing duties on the Unknown Soldier lead story, while a backup Enemy Ace reprint — 'Flaming Bait!', originally from Our Army at War #153, scripted by Kanigher with art by Kubert — rounded out the package.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First solo appearance and series debut of the Unknown Soldier as a defined, recurring DC Comics character, in the lead story 'They Came from Shangri-La!'
• Written, penciled, inked, and edited entirely by Joe Kubert — a rare single-creator package for a debut issue of this significance.
• The debut story is set during the 1942 Doolittle Raid; the Unknown Soldier infiltrates the mission disguised as Air Force Captain Shales aboard the USS Hornet, then evades Japanese forces after the B-25s land in China.
• The Unknown Soldier's character concept: a U.S. Army soldier whose face was destroyed beyond repair in Pacific combat who subsequently listed himself as dead and went underground, becoming a master of disguise, hand-to-hand combat, and virtually any military vehicle or weapon.
• The issue also contains a reprint of 'Flaming Bait!', an Enemy Ace story originally published in Our Army at War #153, scripted by Robert Kanigher with art by Joe Kubert — marking the start of Enemy Ace reprints as a backup feature in this title.
• The Unknown Soldier became the permanent lead feature of Star Spangled War Stories with this issue and held that position through issue #204 (1977), at which point the title was formally renamed The Unknown Soldier with #205.
• The character's name is drawn from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, and his tagline — introduced in this very issue — describes him as the man 'known by everyone' yet known to no one by name.
• The stories from this issue onward were collected in Showcase Presents: The Unknown Soldier Vol. 1 (DC, November 2006), a 544-page black-and-white reprint volume spanning issues #151–190.

Full credits

Key issues in Star Spangled War Stories

★

#101 1st appearance — G.I. Robot