Easy Company is a fictional comic book World War II US Army infantry unit led by Sgt. Rock in stories published by DC Comics. The group first appeared in Our Army at War #81 (April 1959), and were created by Bob Haney and Ross Andru. Publication history In the stories, the unit saw action in every combat zone in the European Theatre. Unlike actual units, the unit has at least one African-American member, which was in defiance of racial segregation policy of the Army at the time. In the graphic novel Between Hell and a Hard Place, Sgt. Rock explained that he gave nicknames to Easy Company men because during battle, they would be required to do things their civilian identities might not be able to live with; once the war was over, the nicknames could be left behind once the soldiers resumed their civilian lives. This accounts for the proliferation of unusual character names in Easy Company over the years. The characters of Sergeant Rock and Easy Company appeared in new monthly stories published in Our Army at War (title changed to Sgt. Rock in March 1977) until Sgt. Rock #422 (July 1988). While no longer appearing in a monthly book, Easy Company appear from time to time in World War II stories in other DC publications, including comic book miniseries Between Hell and a Hard Place (2003), The Prophecy (2005), and The Lost Battalion (2008–2009). "The Combat-Happy Joes" Core members of Easy Company included: The Skipper - Easy was always commanded by an officer, usually referred to by Rock as "the skipper" and holding the rank of captain or lieutenant. At least one company commander, a "retread", was shown in the rank of major. Sergeant Frank Rock - the "topkick" or senior NCO of "Easy Company", with the Rank of "Master Sergeant". Rock was a steelworker from Pennsylvania who enlisted in the U.S. Army the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was later promoted to sergeant after the Battle of Three Stripe Hill, in which he held off a German attack single-handed after they killed everyone else in his unit, earning him the nickname "the Rock of Easy Company". He was usually depicted carrying a belt of .50-caliber bullets over his shoulders despite the company's lack of heavy machine guns. Rock supposedly died "from the last bullet fired in the last battle on the last day"