From a gay point of view the highlight of this image is none of the above, but rather the two majestic bottoms in the foreground. I have slightly enhanced the cheek shaping and clefts here, but not the poses which, like the first picture, relatively uninhibited for this genre. The machete resting on the right hand soldier's buttock, obscures his valley of lust, but in it's own way stirs thoughts of vulnerability, penetration and even spanking!
More deviously, the Officer poised (suggestively) just behind his men and pointing his weapon in exactly the right direction seems like another example of ''the artist didn't have to draw it like that, did he?" Admittedly that alignment, like the branch in the previous picture contributes to the cohesion of the composition, which in this case has every person in the picture facing or looking at the fire. My colouring accentuates that (compare the original).
Having been freed by his colleague, the Sergeant scampers into the cover of the jungle, a bit like a school kid running off after being caught scrumping apples or some such mischief. The drawing itself has a more comic style to match. I have slightly smoothed and clarified the Sergeant's bottom contours here (compare original). No wonder they wanted him back! In that original comparison image, notice also how neatly the two frames fit together, conveying the flow of the action - freeing, turning and running. Clever stuff.
I haven't changed at all the deliciously woof-able forearm in the foreground of this picture which maintains a proper balance of serious manliness. This element of the picture also illustrates the fragmentation and incomplete contours which are a rather classy characteristic of this artist's style.
We are not given any clues about the Sergeant's treatment whilst in captivity, he's not obviously injured, but there is circumstantial evidence further on when a comrade strips off his shirt to reveal the scars of his own period of captivity.
The enigmatic dialogue here reflects a complex plot in which this man offers to sacrifice himself and save the patrol by impersonating an enemy officer. He feels he can't go back to base with them because he disgraced himself by revealing secrets under torture, which led to many deaths.
This example of Bizarre Brutality is similar to BB No 5, but featuring a slightly different (more humane) form of suspension. In both examples evidence is produced of beating having occurred but it's not explicitly shown because of the nature of the audience. This form of punishment is documented elsewhere in the drawings of Okawa showing suspended captives being beaten with bamboo sticks like those used in the Martial Art of 'Kendo'
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| Okawa - Captive Suspended and Beaten (in loin cloth) |
Our captured Sergeant seems to have escaped a naked beating like this.
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| Okawa - Captive Suspended and Beaten (with CBT) |
See my A-Z article on Okawa for more images implying punishments of this sort. They suggest that treating captured soldiers in this way was an extension of an existing cultural practice.
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| Wading in the Jungle |
The comic images in this post are based on selections from
Commando War Stories, No 987 "The Silent Enemy"
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For other articles in this series, click on the 'War Comics' label below
Previous 'Bizarre Brutality' posts: