84. “Sgt. Nick Penis”

March 3, 2004

Q: Back in the mid to late ’70s there was a comic called “Sgt. Nick Penis and the Brass Ball Battalion” that I have never forgotten. I only had the issue for a couple of days when I lent it to a friend that was home sick from school. The jerk threw it out. Memorable line, “The poor boys still count in inches.”

A: It appeared in the February 1978 (Spring Fascism) issue and was written by Ellis Weiner and illustrated by Neal Adams.

Comments

A few drawings from that cartoon (when Sgt Nick get into heavy action...)seem to have been copied from Cowgirls at War wich appeared in the NatLamp encyclopedia of humor.

—marcel c.

June 8, 2004 7:29 pm

Interestingly, Cowgirls at War was drawn by Russ Heath, the artist who drew some of the original Sgt. Rock comics. He even re-used some Sgt. Rock artwork (the tank on the cover, for instance) in Cowgirls at War. Neal Adams, another famous comic book artist, drew Sgt. Nick Penis, which is a parody of Sgt. Rock. I don't know if Adams ever drew any Sgt. Rock comics, though.

—Mark

June 10, 2004 9:08 am

Hey,guys, I've been looking closely at these comics. 'Sgt Nick Penis'looks to me far more like Russ Heath's art than Neal Adams'. I can't see anything to indicate it's the work of Adams at all, except maybe the top panel of p3. Could the byline on the Contents page be a mistake?

—Carol Wood

September 23, 2006 2:01 am

"these guys are so tough they don't need parachutes....they land on their balls!" I always wanted to name a rock band after these guys, "The Brass Balls Brigade"

—Bonzo

March 15, 2007 2:24 pm

This comic has been recently reprinted in National Lampoon's Magazine Rack,for those who are curious.

—Dan L.

April 27, 2007 7:26 pm

Der grosse grunes Schwantz.

—gc21racer

May 8, 2011 12:13 pm

My favorite panel is when they're jumping out of an airplane and he says "We don't need no parachuets - we're TOUGH!" The National Lampoon issue on Spring Fascism is still available for around $10 on ebay. Very funny.

—Steve Robillard

January 7, 2012 5:15 pm

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