Dog Tag #3
Written by Mark Russell
Pencils and Inks by PJ Holden
Colors by JP Jordan
Letters by Buddy Beaudoin
Cover Art by PJ Holden and JP Holden
Another month, another near-perfect issue of Dog Tag. It’s like clockwork at this point. Colonel Tom Fuller’s journey with his squad during the final year of World War II has been an absolute pleasure to dive into, and this third issue is the most emotionally charged one yet. Featuring the emotional art of PJ Holden and JP Jordan, Tom Fuller’s squad faces their toughest task yet inside the depths of a frozen forest. Let’s get into it. Spoiler Warning Now In Effect for Dog Tag #3!
Horrors Await in the Forest of Ardennes
Dog Tag #3 centers around a conflict during World War II known as the Battle of the Bulge. This particular conflict lasted from mid-December 1944 through the end of January 1945. Adolf Hitler’s goal was for his German army to split the Allied forces of the United Kingdom and the United States in half. And Hitler wanted to force a peace treaty with favorable conditions granted to him and his Axis partners. This conflict took place in the massive Ardennes Forest that stretches through Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany, and was fought in the dead of winter, which contributed to the extremely harsh conditions of the campaign. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
Our issue opens with another trademark monologue from Corporal Tom Fuller. Fuller talks about how the adventures and moments they experienced in the war will all eventually boil down to stories that become less and less true every time they’re told. He relates that to the very act of war, seemingly saying that the true horrors will never accurately be conveyed.
Fuller’s internal voice and his thoughts on the war are some of the most well-written parts of these issues. He always has something profound to add to his current situation, and part of the reason this book is so highly rated for me every month is these moments of introspection that we get from Fuller. Mark Russell’s main character comes off very much like someone you could see yourself having a nice discussion with over a pint in some bar, and there’s something really effective about that that works for this story. There are other great segments in this book that feature Tom’s inner thoughts and every time they pop up it’s a highlight of the issue.
Our story then turns to the icy forest of Ardennes, where Fuller is paired off, in what’s called a Foxhole, with his squad mate Corgi. Foxholes are essentially just small holes for a pair of soldiers to hunker down in; think of it as a makeshift cover. The war is really beginning to get to Corgi, and hates the fact that they won’t be home in time for the Holidays. Corgi’s questions about a possible winter leave fall on deaf ears as Tom notices the Germans are rushing toward their position and are beginning to open fire. As the Germans begin to open fire, Corgi is shot in the shoulder.
You can only imagine how many forms of this same conversation happened during the war. War made so many of these men miss birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, and graduations; it would take a toll on anybody, let alone people who are getting shot at every day of their lives. This issue, as well as this entire series so far, has done a great job of humanizing these people who had their boots on the ground. Despite the conversation’s short length, it doesn't make it any less impactful, and it's the mark of a good writer to be able to get his point across in just a few panels.
A Race Against Time
Tom immediately calls for a medic, but just as soon as that medic begins to approach their foxhole, he’s shot right through the neck. The issue now becomes a race against time to get Corgi to a medical tent to patch up that bullet hole before anything like infection or worse begins to take hold. Another of Tom’s squadmates, Chopper, makes his way over from another foxhole, through a hail of gunfire, to check on Tom and Corgi. This squad hasn’t been together that long, but the brotherhood they have formed, one where they don't mind running through gunfire, is strong. Sometimes, all you had in the war was your squad. You wanted to make sure those guys had your back, and Russell’s writing conveys that extremely well.
When Chopper sees the state that Corgi is in, he decides to make a distraction so Tom can get Corgi further along his path to the medical tent. Chopper ends up creating a makeshift bomb from just a few basic materials and creates a massive explosion, giving Tom and Corgi time to move along their route. An insanely cool scene that looks amazing thanks to JP Jordan and PJ Holden’s great art stylings. Those two have been killing it for all three issues now, and it’s a real joy to see their work every month. The classic feel of their art and emotional facial expressions from Holden’s pencils looks great.
Chopper’s distraction gives Tom and Corgi time to make it to yet another foxhole, where they run into another soldier whose partner ultimately met a gruesome fate. They eventually get to a jeep and continue on their way through the dense forest. Tom will get Corgi to that medical tent, the Germans be damned.
These aren't soldiers looking for glory; they’re men who are terrified of what could await at the very next foxhole and just looking to get back to some semblance of safety. There is no such thing as romanticizing the war in this series. Russell’s writing shapes war as the horror that it is, rather than the glory-filled half-truths of war that are presented elsewhere. I guarantee you if you asked Tom or Corgi at this moment if they’d rather have the “glory” of war or get to spend the holidays with their family and friends… I think you know what they’d ask for.
A Heartbreaking Loss
Tom and Corgi make it back to camp and before he is taken to surgery, Corgi gives Tom his prized possession: the Luger pistol he mentioned in the beginning of the issue that he was going to give to his father for the holidays. In case he doesn’t make it, he wanted Tom to have it. Corgi is terrified as he’s taken away to the surgery tent as Tom tells his General that this sort of warfare he had never read about in any books. The General then drops one of the coldest lines of this series: “No one really reads about wars in books, son. They just write about ‘em.”
I mean that line alone, right? Spectacular. People obviously do check out war stories, but what the General is getting at is that no one wants to be reminded of the nightmares and horrors they faced while they were away at war. If you had been involved in one of the most traumatic events in human history, would you want to spend any of the rest of your time on Earth reading about it and reliving it in any way, shape or form? No, I think not.
Tom attends the USO show that night with all the other men at the camp, but early in the performance, he receives a piece of news that hits him to his very core. Corgi passed away and didn’t make it through surgery due to internal bleeding. Tom can’t believe a shot to the shoulder took out one of his closest squadmates, but his anger quickly subsides to sadness as tears roll down his face and he has a touching moment with the USO performer.
This was the most heartbreaking part of the issue and further exemplifies Russell’s framing of this conflict as the nightmare that it is. Corgi was just a guy who wanted to get home, make his father proud, and give him a gift he obtained from the other side of the world. He wasn’t chasing glory, he wasn’t chasing accolades, he wasn’t chasing a promotion. He simply wanted to survive. The loss of Corgi feels even more like a gutpunch for Tom, looking at everything he went through to get him back to camp and to the surgery tent. It almost feels like a sick joke that he made it all the way back to camp, just to succumb to his injuries anyway.
The next morning, with the loss of Corgi still hanging over his head, Tom makes his way back to his foxhole. He finds a surprise waiting for him as a German soldier has made it his temporary home. He doesn’t shoot Tom immediately, which gives Tom the chance to take out Corgi’s Luger and shoot the German soldier. Corgi’s Luger and the final gift to Tom end up saving his life. Tom and the German soldier actually share a heartbreaking moment as the German soldier asks for one last cigarette before he dies and gives Tom his dog tags to get back to his mother. In the soldier’s final moments, he wasn’t consumed by anger but a longing for a mother he would never see again. I can only imagine how many soldiers who were killed during World War II felt the same way. The next day, after the death of the soldier, the dense fog that dominated the battlefield finally lifted.
Rating
Dog Tag #3 is the most emotionally charged issue of the series yet. The story of Tom Fuller takes a tragic turn as the horrors of war become even more prevalent in the Forest of Ardennes. PJ Holden and JP Jordan’s art continues to be one of the strongest aspects of a book that continues to get better and better each month. With half the series now done, it’s safe to say this book is not just a great war comic but one of the best comics on shelves today overall.