Cannon

Cannon by Wallace Wood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When a pilot is shot down over China, he's brainwashed as the perfect killer. The United States government rescues him but, discovering they can't undo the brainwashing, finish the job and train him as a secret agent for the United States government as Cannon!

I'm a Wally Wood fan from way back and this was on my radar for years before I bought it. Produced for a newspaper for oversees servicemen, Cannon is the ultimate in testosterone comics. It's all fighting, guns, planes, and naked women.

Wally Wood writes, pencils, and inked the strip. I don't see anything to indicate he didn't also letter it. I have a feeling this was a blast for Wood to draw. I'm not exaggerating to say you can't go three pages without seeing a bare breast or ass and most of the pages that don't have nudity will have at least one gun or plane or fight scene on them.

The stories are James Bond type affairs with masterminds, schemes, double dealing, and sex, although the women in Cannon don't have sex pun names other than Madame Toy. Cannon is a combination of James Bond, Nick Fury, and any number of other spy characters, a bad ass that can handle any situation. I can see why servicemen would eat this shit up.

While I wouldn't quite put it in the same league of Atom Bomb, this was clearly a labor of love, be it a nubile naked woman, a jet, or a down and dirty fist fight. Wood uses stark blacks, shapely female forms, and knowledge of military craft and hardware to put together a fun and filthy masterwork.

Cannon - Wally Wood never met a plane, firearm, or naked woman he didn't like. Four out of five bullets.

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