BATTLEFIELD:
I'm not a big fan of war comics. I have read all of Frontline Combat and Two-Fisted Tales, but when it comes to Sgt. Rock or Sgt. Fury, I've never been able to get more than a Marvel Masterworks or DC Archives volume in before losing interest. (I have read all of Enemy Ace, however.) Just recently, the discussion between Rob Staeger and Captain Comics on the "DC Finest Line" discussion gave me a new perspective on post-Code war comics. War comics generally escaped the ire of Wertham's anti-comics crusade, and the start of the Korean War led to a renewed interest in the genre. Timely/Atlas/Marvel cancelled 27 (!) romance titles with a few months and replaced them with almost as many war titles.
War Comics was the first, followed by Battle, Battle Action, Battlefield, Battlefront, Battleground, Combat, Commando Adventures, Marines in Battle, Men in Action, Navy Action, Navy Tales, Rugged Action, Tales of the Marines, War Action, War Adventures and War Combat. (Martin Goodman really liked to glut the field, didn't he?) In addition, several non-war spy/intrigue titles such as Kent Blake, Man Comics, Men's Adventure, Young Men, Spy Cases and Spy Fighters all became war comics for the duration. Also, the following war anthologies changed title to spotlight individual heroes: Battlefront became Combat Kelly, War Combat became Combat Casey, and Men in Action became Battle Brady.
I decided to back up and get a "running start" at the post-Code war comics era by reading some pre-Code Atlas war comics. It occurred to me that Marvel Released a Masterworks edition of Battlefield #1-11, the entire run, in 2011 and it's been sitting on my "pile of shame" ever since. All of these issues were released in 1952-53. According to Dr. Michael J. Vassallo, who wrote the introduction, "Battlefield is a superlative volume, showcasing many of the best Atlas war stories from the prime Atlas pre-Code period of 1952 and 1953... Many of [the] artists and writers were vererans of the Second World War and the stories that follow are notlight-hearted fare. They are deadly serious and often violently brutal depictions of the horrors and perceived necessity of the Korean 'police war' conflict against communism." Seriously, Battlefield exhibits EC level quality.
It had been my intention to move from the pre-Code Battlefield (1952-53) directly in to the post-Code DCF volume (1957). Then I remembered that, in 2024, Fantagraphics released Atlas Comics Library No. 4 (a.k.a. War Comics Vol. 1), reprimnting the first eight issues of that series (1950-52), which is likewise sitting on my "pile of shame." Now I have to decide whether to move on as originally planned, or move back to read more non-EC pre-Code war comics. Decisions, decisions...
Replies
Between comic books, TV shows and feature films, we saw a lot of fictionalized WWII action during the 1960's. It was interesting to me how friends who had no interest in super hero comics were all in with the war titles. My personal favorites were the Sgt. Rock 80 Page Giants that collected stories featuring DC's various combat stars. And I did read the occasional Sgt. Fury comic at a time when I was buying every Marvel comic I could lay hands on.
In recent years I have had the chance to read a couple of the EC war collections. I think those stories are the best things EC produced.
I have never read any the Atlas output. The sheer volume of materials is mind boggling. I am curious as to who was writing and drawing all those titles?
Who wasn't? Basically, Battlefield is a "who's who" of early '50s talent who weren't working for EC, including: Russ Heath, Joe Maneely, Gene Colan, Bill Everett, Paul Reinman, Dave Berg, Hank Chapman, Mac Pakula, Vern Henkel, Al Hartley, Werner Roth, Ogden Whitney, Robert Q. Sale, Norman Steinberg, George Tuska, Joe Sinnott, Syd Shores, Don Rico, Paul S. Newman, Ed Robbins, Jay Scott Pike, Mike Sekowsky, Jerry Robinson, John Severn, Jack Katz, Carl Wessler, Sam Kweskin, Jack Abel, Dick Ayers, Bob Brown, Lois Ravielli, Sol Brodsky, Carl Burgos and probably a few others I missed. For War Comics, some of those same names, plus some others as well (not to mention Jack Kirby). Edited by Stan Lee. Vassalo has identified 117 different war artists across the line (not including "unknowns"), and Battlefield alone had 15 different writers and 29 different artists.
This isn’t Jeff’s fault, but I have a problem with some terminology. The titles War Adventures on the Battlefield, Commando Adventures, and War Adventures offend me. Similarly, when a journalist refers to Vietnam, Afghanistan et al as “adventures.” No war is a f---ing adventure for the combatants and civilians affected by it.
Some genius in 1950 decided to call the Korean War a “police action,” probably to justify its not being declared by Congress. When Vietnam veterans tried to join the oldest veteran organizations, they were told by WW2 members that they weren’t in a real war. (This changed years later)
Wertham may not have gone after war comics, but the Code sure did. Classic Illustrated, not being bound by the Comics Code, was more realistic than post-Code comics. Their Red Badge of Courage depicted the forgotten corpse of a soldier rotting away where he fell, discovered by the protagonist, who had fled combat and is never discovered to have done so. Not a war story, but their Frankenstein had lots of blood.
Enemy Ace was good until he started to face costumed adversaries. I never bought any Sgt Rock comics. I bought some of Charlton’s Fightin’ Army while I was in Vietnam when the DC and Marvel books were three months behind. I had an almost complete Sgt Fury collection. It went into the dumpster when I returned from the war.
I respect your opinion, Richard. I still remember your reaction to me quoting Dick Lupoff out of context in his chapter "The Propwash Patrol" [about Wings Comics, Air Fighters Comics (Airboy), Military Comics and Blackhawk] during out discussion of The Comic-Book Book a couple of years ago: "...but somehow the fun had gone out of war." In context, he said...
"We were air-minded in those days. Those days were the days and years of World War II, the last war, I think, that ever got a 'good press' in this country. Korea got a mixed press; at first it was a clear-cut and generous response to aggression but, as the fighting dragged on inconclusively, casualty reports poured in weekly, political wrangling arose over so-called no-win policies, Truman fired MacArthur, truce talks went on and on and on at Panmunjom... we got tired of Korea. And Viet Nam, of course, has been an unmitigated disaster from anyone's viewpoint.
"But World War II...
"Maybe it was just because I was a small boy at the time, or maybe it was at least in part because we had something pretty close to a controlled press, with the OWI--the Office of War Information--feeding coverage to the media and military cameramen providing 'official' footage to the newsreels.
"But mainly I think it was because the American people really believed in the war effort, we believed that the world was divided into two great warring forces, one good and one evil, and of course our side was the side of good. The 'gray areas' that make it so hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys anymore were... well, not quite absent 30 years ago, so much as conveniently Brushed aside, overlooked.
"The good guys were America, Britain, France, China, Russia. The bad guys were Germany, Japan, and their agents, dupes, and collaborators. About the only country to receive equivocal treatment was was Italy--somehow we felt that the Italians had been led into war on the wrong side by a vain and foolish dictator, and would gladly have opted out of the Axis cause at the first opportunity (which of course they did).
"This world-view was both reflected and reinforced by movies, press, radio, and--for us kids--the comics. We thrilled equally to the news and to fictionalized narrations. Our heads were filled with exhilarating visions of heroic marines storming ashore on lush, sandy, rocky islets in the Pacific, rooting out fanatical subhuman Japanese defenders with bomb, bullet, flamethrower, and bare fists.
"We imagined ourselves, faces and hands darkened with lampblack, dogtags taped together to avoid sound, parachuting silently into occupied France to make clandestine contact with daring maquis and assist them in sabotaging Nazi installations, preparing for the great day of liberation that lay ahead."
And so on.
"Of course I was a small boy."
Then he concluded...
"Wings Comics struggled on until 1954, its aviators switching from old prop-driven craft to jets, switching as the times changed from the foes of World War II to criminals and spies, to Communist agents and Korean, Chinese, and Soviet enemies, but somehow the fun had gone out of war. There was no more glamour to it, no more excitement. It had become a dirty, ugly, and depressing business, and even the brightest colors, the square-jawed heroes, the leggy and busty heroines of Wings Comics couldn't make it fun again."
War should never be made into a comic book.