DC Comics — 1965–2001
ENEMY ACE
— The Hammer of Hell —
He fought for a country he despised. He killed for an empire he doubted. In the skies above the Western Front, Hans von Hammer became a legend, and a prisoner of his own conscience.
DC Comics — 1965–2001
He fought for a country he despised. He killed for an empire he doubted. In the skies above the Western Front, Hans von Hammer became a legend, and a prisoner of his own conscience.
The Man Behind the Legend
Created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Joe Kubert in 1965, Enemy Ace is one of comics' most morally complex characters, a German World War I fighter ace who fights with honor and lethal precision, yet is haunted by every kill.
Known as "The Hammer of Hell" by his enemies, von Hammer is feared and respected in equal measure. His only companion is a wolf who comes to him in the Black Forest, as if recognizing a kindred spirit.
I kill because I am good at it. Not because I enjoy it. Never because I enjoy it.
— Hans von Hammer, Enemy AceClick any cover to view full size
About the Archivist
I built this archive with one goal: to make it the definitive source on the internet for Hans von Hammer, the Enemy Ace.
That meant treating completeness and accuracy as equally non-negotiable, not trading one off against the other. Every issue in the comicography, every collected edition, every crossover and cameo — if it exists, I wanted it here, and if I couldn't verify a detail against a primary source, I didn't guess at it or leave a gap filled with assumption.
Enemy Ace has never gotten the sustained attention paid to DC's bigger names, despite being some of Kanigher and Kubert's most consistently powerful work. This site exists to give the character the same depth of documentation other archives give more famous ones — nothing left out, nothing invented.
None of it would exist in this form without my son, Jeremy, who was instrumental in helping me realize my vision for this site — the crimson-and-black visual identity, the layout, and implementation, all of it was his work, not mine.
Questions, corrections, or something you think belongs here? Get in touch via the Submissions page.
— Gary Krall
garykrall.com
