Issue No. 253

December 1982

The Private War of Hendrickson: Allied Command asks the Blackhawks to drop Hendrickson. They consider him unreliable after reading his letters to his wife, Violet, in which he exaggerates his position and contributions to the team. The Blackhawks say they don't mind if Hendy enhances his exploits in letters to his wife, but are told that's not the problem, the problem is that his wife was killed over a year ago in a German raid on Rotterdam. When they get back to base, the Blackhawks find that Hendy has solved the puzzle of the location of a secret German air base (the search for which figured prominently in the letters) and has gone off to attack it by himself. The rest of the team follows and finds a huge Nazi war machine called the Multi-turret that can fire missiles in any direction simultaneously. They destroy it after a desperate battle by blowing up the base's fuel supply. Meanwhile, Hendy, who had been shot down by the Buzzard, the top Nazi ace, fights said Buzzard on the ground and kills him. The story ends with a touching scene in the medical clinic where the team tells Hendy that they appreciate him and he tells them he knows his wife is dead, but likes to write to her anyway.

A well written story with another fine cover by Dave Cockrum (Click here to see the original art for this cover). With no letters in yet, Blackhawk Bylines printed Mark Evanier's original notes to Len Wein on how he intended to handle the Blackhawks.



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