mitchmen at war - 23 Going Down?

My twisted humour aside, the muscular embrace of these two men is both moving and distinctly homoerotic. Now they are alone, adrift together in the open sea until rescue comes.

 

Interestingly, the artist who painted this 1960 war comic cover seems to have been guilty of wishful thinking. This incident doesn't occur in the story. The hero does see his ship go down, but he is cast adrift all alone in the expanse of the South Atlantic.

This splendidly dramatic image documents the last moments of his ship, under attack from a commerce raider. It's very much in the vein of Victorian magazine illustrations which used to accompany accounts of heroic deeds and stoic manliness in adversity. 'The Boy Stood On The Burning Deck' and all that. 

 

Our hero, Dave (far right) seems less than heroic here, given the circumstances. You might be tempted to think he's caught a splinter as a result of kneeling on the deck while up to no good with a member of the crew - like the cute seaman with torn vest, left foreground. However I think it's probably a flying shell splinter from the bombardment that's hit him and rather more serious.

Sadly, Dave is the only survivor of this disaster, but fortunately he doesn't have to cling to an oildrum like the two men in the cover illustration, since a ship's lifeboat is floating nearby. This artist may be different from the cover artist, but he has a flair for drawing attractive men. The ripped shirt detail and chin stubble hints at the homoerotic.

In this image (from earlier in the story) there's a gratuitous but not unwelcome detail in the shape of a youthful steersman in the background . He seems distinctly stylish and very reminiscent of Leyendecker's illustrations. Sadly this bright young man is fated to go down with the ship. The Captain's words are grimly prophetic

Dave is eventually saved when another cute and very sharp-eyed Sailor spots him signalling his distress by using the boy scout trick of reflecting the sun's rays. Any self-respecting lifeboat should have been equipped with flares, but it gives Dave the chance to be romantic and resourceful. I love the square neckline of these Royal Navy shirts which are flimsier in real life than this drawing suggests.

 

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This comic is a decent adventure yarn but despite the cavalcade of promising men, my mitchmen sniffer cannot find any hint of buddying up in this story. There's no captivity sequence, nor does any properly exposed flesh develop from the rips and tears. It must have been a great disappointment to those who were seduced by the cover art!

 This is No 23 of the 'mitchmen at war' series,

to see the rest click on the 'War Comics' label below.