ER Cruz -- G.I. Combat #279 (last Kana the Ninja story)

The complete 12-page story "Even Gods Bleed," published by DC Comics in September 1985. The story features our hero Kana, the Shadow Warrior in his last story from GI Combat #279. Quite a strange tale as Kana meditates after completing a mission during WWII and gets transported through a warp in time to a futuristic, post-apocalyptic atomic wasteland. The story was published in 1985 and the editorial edict must have been to "make things cooler, more current and hip." That same year Jonah Hex was transported to the 21st Century and re-launched in a comic called just "Hex." With the popularity of Mad Max/The Road Warrior and various rip-off movies, I guess DC was trying to rebrand old characters in new, popular, commercial settings the kiddies could relate to. This is a real trippy story with obvious nods to The Road Warrior, ERB's John Carter Warlord of Mars and Planet of the Apes (page 4). GI Combat was canceled 9 issues later and Kana was never heard from again. I am very happy to have this final tale of Kana the Ninja in my collection. Big thanks for Ron for letting this one go to a fellow Cruz fan. Redondo and Alcala are the master Filipino artists, no doubt, but Mr. ER Cruz was amazing and uniquely talented in his own right. KANA THE NINJA (KANA THE SHADOW WARRIOR) History: Kana was born in Kyoto, Japan in the 1930s and sent at an early age to the House of Bamboo to learn the ways of the ninja. Returning home Kana found his parents executed by Major Saburu for being sympathetic to Allied forces. Kana vowed vengeance, and fled to London, where he was recruited into the O.S.S. His first mission was to assassinate Saburu, and Kana did it with relish. Kana continued to serve O.S.S. throughout WWII. His post-war activities are as yet unrecorded. Powers: Kana is a skilled ninja, proficient in the martial arts and able to move rapidly and silently. Kana is armed with a sword, dagger, shuriken and a shuko, an iron glove covered in spikes. Kana has incredible endurance, and can put himself in a trance resembling suspended animation. In this state he can project an astral form into the past or the future. List of appearances, 13 issues: G.I. Combat #232, 237, 239, 245 246, 247, 252, 255, 264-266, 272 & 279.