135
Aircraft in Comics - Part 9



Note if you use firefox then the images will appear at the bottom of the screen
"Hans von Hammer was born in 1896, the son of Baron Otto von Hammer and his wife, who died while Hans was still young. Scion of an aristocratic Germany family, Von Hammer came from a long line of distinguished forebears, whose ancestral home was a medieval castle located near the Black Forest. At an early age, his father set about to instill in him a sense of his heritage as a gentleman of honor. He was taught the tradition of personal combat, and became both a highly-skilled marksman and an excellent swordsman. He is known to have fought many fencing bouts with the best swordsman of Germany, and acquitted himself notably. Because of his upbringing as a gentleman, Hans von Hammer was ingrained with a strong code of personal honor, which was impressed upon him by his father as more important than the sum total of all his lessons in arms and defense. His father often told him, "Before land, before fortune, before victory, comes honor." This sense of honor was perhaps the single most important aspect of the German Ace's personality. He was known to salute his victims after he defeated them, and to honor those whom he felt were worthy opponents..."

"...By 1969, the 73-year-old von Hammer was living in a sanitarium on the isle of Förh off the coast of West Germany. At that time he was approached by Edward Mannock, an investigative reporter and Vietnam veteran who he soon learned was seeking much more than answers to historical questions, and came to von Hammer searching for a way to deal with the terrors that haunted his own life. Both men relived their experiences in two totally different wars, discovering how different and yet extraordinarily alike they were in their responses to the horrors they witnessed. Hans von Hammer died in November 1969..."


'Death Whispers--Death Screams!' *SSWS #139 June-July 1968.
'The Face of the Hangman' SSWS #140 Aug.-Sept.1968.
'Enemy Ace meets the Bull' SSWS #141 Oct.-Nov.1968.
'Vengance is a Harpy!' SSWS #142 Dec.1968-Jan.1969.
'The Devil's General' SSWS #143 Feb.-March 1969.
'Death takes No Holiday!' SSWS #144 April-May 1969.
'The Return of the Hangman' SSWS #145 June-July 1969.
2 Stories - 'Balloon for the Hawk, Brother Enemy' SSWS #146 Aug.-Sept. 1969.
'A Grave in the Skies' SSWS #147 Oct.-Nov.1969.
'Luck is a Puppy named Schatzi!' SSWS #148 Dec. 1969 - Jan. 1970.
'Reach for the Heavens' SSWS #149 Feb.-Mar. 1970.
'3 Graves to Home' SSWS #150 Apr.-May 1970.
'Flaming Bait' SSWS #151 June-July 1970.
'Rain Above - Mud Below' #152 Aug.-Sept. 1970.
'Ghost of the Killer Skies' Detective Comics #404 Oct. 1970. (von Hammer's Ghost helps Batman defeat the Barons mad grandson.)
'Fokker Fury' SSWS #153 Oct.-Nov. 1970.
'Killer of the Skies' *SSWS #154 Dec.1970- Jan. 1971.
'Killer of the Skies Pt.2' *SSWS #155 Feb.-Mar. 1971.
Hammer of Hell advertised but the character doesn't appear in this issue *SSWS #156 Apr.-May 1971.
Enemy Ace not in SSWS #157 June -July 1971.'Battle Diary' SSWS #158 Aug. -Sept. 1971.
'Hunters and the Hunter' SSWS #159 Oct.-Nov. 1971. This story first appeared in 1965 as a single in DC Comics.
Enemy Ace not in SSWS #160 Dec. 1971-Jan. 1972.
'Slayers and the Slain' SSWS # 161 Feb.-Mar.1972.
'Devils General' reprinted in DC Special Vol 7 # 26, 1977.
'A Coffin for Aces' DC Vol 31 #264 1982.
'Return from Hell' MoW *Vol 1 #2 1977.


Further appearances noted in:
Our Army At War #151, 153, 155 (1965)
Showcase #57-58 (1965)
Star Spangled War Stories #138-161 (1968-72)
Detective Comics #404 (1970, "Ghost" of von Hammer appears, Heinrich Franz appears)
Star Spangled War Stories #181-183 (1974, First duel with Steve "Balloon Buster" Savage)
Star Spangled War Stories #200 (1976)
DC Special #26 (1977) Men of War #1-3, 8-10, 12-14, 19-20 (1977-79)
Justice League of America (first series) #159-160 (1978)
Unknown Soldier #251-253, 260-267 (1981-82, 262-267 was von Hammer's second duel with Steve Savage)
Crisis on Infinite Earths #7, 11 (1985-86, Cameo only)
Swamp Thing #46 (1986, Cameo only)
Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #7 (1985, Biography)
DC Challenge #8-9 (1986)
History of the DC Universe #1 (1986, Cameo only)
Sgt Rock Special #9 (1988, Reprint only)
Swamp Thing #82 (1989, Only mentioned)
Swamp Thing #83 (1989
Swamp Thing #84 (1989, Baron Otto von Hammer only)
Christmas With the Super-Heroes #2 (1989)
Enemy Ace Special #1 (1990, Reprints only)
Enemy Ace: War Idyll (1990)
Sgt Rock (second series) #14-19 (1991, Reprints only)
Armageddon: Inferno #1-4 (1992)
Guns of the Dragon #1-4 (1998-99


All pictures are copyright DC Comics except the Nick Fury cover copyright Marvel Comics.

More info here: Enemy Ace
  • 1048
  • 1527
  • 1238
  • 0632
  • 0340
  • 0172
  • 0249
  • 0446
  • 0537
  • 0730
  • 0832
  • 0926
  • 1150
  • 1333
  • 1430
  • 1624

About the Author

About Stephen T. Lawson (JackFlash)
FROM: COLORADO, UNITED STATES

I was building Off topic jet age kits at the age of 7. I remember building my first WWI kit way back in 1964-5 at the age of 8-9. Hundreds of 1/72 scale Revell and Airfix kits later my eyes started to change and I wanted to do more detail. With the advent of DML / Dragon and Eduard I sold off my ...


Comments

Rittmeister Hans von Hammer is at it again? *Prepare for a hard winter boys. * I have ALL the original issues. *I even understand someone did a kit review featuring the DML SPAD XIII and among the 'real' colour schemes is a version of the coal black Spad of Count Andre de' Seveigne!!! Its good to know the Baron will be dueling in the friendless skies of WWI once again. The Waffenmeister will be up burning the midnight oil keeping von Hammer's blood red triplane fit for the ready-line and the first dawn patrol of the day. Here the Hangman prepares to meet von Hammer in the Killer Skies. The DML Dragon Spad XIII with a highly modified pilot from the spares pile.
FEB 16, 2007 - 05:09 AM
Relationship to the ...!? Propaganda, pure propaganda!!!! Never give up never surrender!
FEB 16, 2007 - 05:13 AM
I didn't say it was a good one...
FEB 16, 2007 - 05:48 AM
I remember the Enemy Ace comics. I had at least one of them. The bulk of my stash was Sgt. Rock and Haunted Tank.
FEB 19, 2007 - 01:07 AM
Ressurecting a thread and digging up bones!
AUG 01, 2009 - 03:17 PM
And a bit more.
AUG 01, 2009 - 03:19 PM
And a bit more.
AUG 01, 2009 - 03:24 PM
One of my favorites. Imagine a Sopwith camel with twin Vickers and twin Lewis guns. The motor had to be a 230hp.
AUG 01, 2009 - 03:27 PM
It would appear that Enemy Ace has his the big time. He is on Wikipedia! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enemy_Ace I wonder if Aeroscale will be there someday?
MAR 06, 2012 - 03:18 AM
Thanks for the trip down 'Memory Lane'. I was a big fan, but had all but forgotten von Hammer and his adventures. I liked the fact that the artist used other types of A/C besides the usual Spads and Fokkers. Comic books broadened my horizon and were one of the contributing factors to my interest in building models. Al
MAR 06, 2012 - 04:47 AM