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 G.I. Joe # 6 (December 1951). Cover art by Norman Saunders. | |
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War comics is a genre of comic books that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following World War II.
Shortly after the birth of the modern comic book in the mid- to late 1930s, comics publishers began including stories of wartime adventures in the multi-genre omnibus titles then popular as a format. Even prior to the U.S. involvement in World War II after the attack at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, comic books such as Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941) depicted superheroes fighting Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.
Golden Age publisher Quality Comics debuted its title Blackhawk in 1944; the title was published more or less continuously until the mid-1980s.
In the post-World War II era, comic books devoted solely to war stories began appearing and gained popularity in the United States and Canada through the 1950s, the 1960s, and 1970s, i.e. covering the time periods of the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The titles tended to concentrate on US military events, generally in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Most publishers produced anthologies; industry giant DC Comics' war comics included such long-running titles as All-American Men of War , Our Army at War , Our Fighting Forces , and Star Spangled War Stories . Another prolific publisher of war comics was Charlton Comics, which produced a wide variety of titles beginning in the 1950s, such as Battlefield Action, Fightin' Army , and Fightin' Marines . Quality also began publishing G.I. Combat during this era. Marvel Comics also produced war titles, notably Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos .
In contrast to the typical glamorizing approach of most war titles, the EC Comics titles Frontline Combat and Two-Fisted Tales (produced in the early 1950s) depicted the horrors of war realistically and in great detail, exposing what editor Harvey Kurtzman saw as the truth about war without idealizing it. (The mid-1960s black-and-white comics magazine Blazing Combat , produced by Warren Publishing, was similarly devoted to authentically drawn and researched combat stories with a self-professed anti-war slant.)
Around 1959, several recurring characters began to appear in mainstream comic lines, including Sgt. Rock and The Haunted Tank in the DC line. These recurring characters began as regular "guests" of anthology titles such as Our Army at War and later graduated to their own titles.
By the late 1980s, a great number of venerable war titles (most of which were either anthologies or else World War II-themed titles) from the late 1950s and 1960s "Silver Age of Comic Books" died out. War comics series that ended long runs in the 1980s, following publication of over 100 issues, include:
New titles were still appearing, however – notable among these being Marvel's the 'Nam , which debuted in 1987 and was based during the first year on writer Doug Murray's actual Vietnam experiences (through the eyes of fictional character Ed Marks). Murray was surprised that his proposal for a Vietnam-war themed comic was accepted during this period: "I never expected anything to come of it because war books were already pretty much dead at that point in 1985." [4] Another notable war comic focused on Vietnam was Don Lomax's Vietnam Journal , published by Apple Comics from 1987 to 1991.
Also from Marvel in the 1980s was the toy tie-in G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero which focused on a fictional counter-terrorist team in a contemporary setting, and a limited run of Tales of the Marine Corps, similar in tone and style to Charlton's Fightin' line of war anthologies.
Black and white anthology stories were popular in Britain in the 1960s and early 1970s. Examples include Commando Comics and weekly comics such as Battle Picture Weekly , The Victor , and Warlord .
Trade paperback reprint collections of war comics include:
Joseph Kubert was a Polish-born American comic book artist, art teacher, and founder of The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman. He is also known for working on his own creations, such as Tor, Son of Sinbad, and the Viking Prince, and, with writer Robin Moore, the comic strip Tales of the Green Beret.
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos is a comic book series created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee and published by Marvel Comics from 1963 to 1981. The main character, Sgt. Nick Fury, later became the leader of Marvel's super-spy agency, S.H.I.E.L.D. The title also featured the Howling Commandos, a fictional World War II unit that first appeared in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1.
Notable events of 1965 in comics.
The Losers is the name of a war comic book feature published by DC Comics. The name was later given to a reimagined comic book series for DC's Vertigo imprint.
Arnold Drake was an American comic book writer and screenwriter best known for co-creating the DC Comics characters Deadman and the Doom Patrol, and the Marvel Comics characters the Guardians of the Galaxy, among others.
Robert Kanigher was an American comic book writer and editor whose career spanned five decades. He was involved with the Wonder Woman franchise for over twenty years, taking over the scripting from creator William Moulton Marston. In addition, Kanigher spent many years in charge of DC Comics's war titles and created the character Sgt. Rock. Kanigher scripted what is considered the first Silver Age comic book story, "Mystery of the Human Thunderbolt!", which introduced the Barry Allen version of the Flash in Showcase #4.
The Alley Award was an American annual series of comic book fan awards, first presented in 1962 for comics published in 1961. Officially organized under the aegis of the Academy of Comic Book Arts and Sciences, the award shared close ties with the fanzine Alter Ego magazine. The Alley is the first known comic book fan award.
Timothy Aloysius Cadwallader "Dum Dum" Dugan is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is an officer of S.H.I.E.L.D. and is one of the most experienced members of Nick Fury's team, known for his marksmanship with rifles and trademark bowler hat.
G.I. Combat is an American comics anthology featuring war stories. It was published from 1952 until 1956 by Quality Comics, followed by DC Comics until its final issue in 1987. In 2012 it was briefly revived.
Henry Peter Chapman, credited in comics under both his formal name and as Hank Chapman, was an American comic book writer for Marvel Comics' two predecessors, Timely Comics and Atlas Comics, and later for DC Comics, where he specialized in war fiction. Though much of his Timely/Atlas work went unsigned, comics historians estimate that Chapman, a staff writer, penned several hundred or more stories.
Samuel Joseph Glanzman was an American comics artist and memoirist. Glanzman is best known for his Charlton Comics series Hercules, about the mythological Greek demigod; his autobiographical war stories about his service aboard the U.S.S. Stevens for DC Comics and Marvel Comics; and the Charlton Comics Fightin' Army feature "The Lonely War of Willy Schultz", a Vietnam War-era serial about a German-American U.S. Army captain during World War II.
Gabriel "Gabe" Jones is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Jack Kirby, he made his first appearance in World War II war comics series Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1.
Jonathan "Junior" Juniper is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, his first appearance was in Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos vol. 1 #1. He is known to be the first major character death in a Marvel comic and the only Howling Commando ever to die in battle.
Percival "Pinky" Pinkerton is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character's first appearance was in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #8, in which he replaced Jonathan Junior Juniper who was killed in issue #4. He was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby.
General Samuel "Happy Sam" Sawyer is a character that appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. His first appearance was in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1.
The War that Time Forgot is a comic book feature published by DC Comics beginning in 1960 in the title Star Spangled War Stories, created by Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. It ran for eight years, ending in 1968 and returned as a limited series in 2008.
War Is Hell was a horror/war comic book series from Marvel Comics in 1973–1975. For its first six issues, it featured reprints of old war comics, followed by two issues of reprints of Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos. Beginning in issue #9, the series featured new material; the star of the series became Death, who forces a dishonorably discharged Polish-American soldier named John Kowalski, killed in the invasion of Poland, to die countless deaths from other lives. A War Is Hell limited series featuring Phantom Eagle appeared in 2008.
Combat Kelly and the Deadly Dozen is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics from 1972 to 1973. The series was created by writer Gary Friedrich and penciler Dick Ayers, the creative team of Marvel's long-running World War II title Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos. The premiere issue continued a story that began in Sgt. Fury #98, and occasional crossovers continued between these two series. The series lasted for nine issues and was cover-billed simply as Combat Kelly in the postal indicia. With issue #5, the cover title changed slightly to Combat Kelly and his Deadly Dozen. The series name and premise are similar to those of the 1960s film The Dirty Dozen. The series was the second to feature a character by the name of Combat Kelly.
Sgt. Fury & his Howling Commandos: Shotgun Opera also known as simply Shotgun Opera or Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, Vol. 2 is a 2009 comic book one-shot published by Marvel Comics. The story was written by Jesse Alexander and drawn by John Paul Leon.
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