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Golden Age War comics
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Started by bigfiver69,

1,407 posts in this topic

comicjack

comicjack

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, atomised said:

for sure!  I started really Battle and it was really good.  Do most of these books cover the Korean War?

Most from the 50's era are Korean based stories,that was the source material of the time 

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Scrooge

Scrooge

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, comicjack said:
6 hours ago, atomised said:

for sure!  I started really Battle and it was really good.  Do most of these books cover the Korean War?

Most from the 50's era are Korean based stories,that was the source material of the time 

Correct. Though, some series offer a nice mix of military action through time: Korea, WWII, WWI and ancient times. Those make for the most rounded issues. Series with title characters or "Marines" / "Navy" in the title tend to be more focused so that Battle and War, the two mainstay series, end up being your best bet for entertainment.

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buttock

buttock

Posted
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50 minutes ago, Scrooge said:

Correct. Though, some series offer a nice mix of military action through time: Korea, WWII, WWI and ancient times. Those make for the most rounded issues. Series with title characters or "Marines" / "Navy" in the title tend to be more focused so that Battle and War, the two mainstay series, end up being your best bet for entertainment.

Atlas did a nice job of mixing in stories of war throughout the ages.  I'd guess maybe 15% of the output, does that jibe with you Scrooge? 

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Scrooge

Scrooge

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Posted
1 minute ago, buttock said:

I'd guess maybe 15% of the output, does that jibe with you Scrooge? 

I'd say that's a fair estimate. With all things, it varies. Atlas War has about 3 periods: 1) 1950 to 1952, 2) 1953 to 1954, 3) 1955 and after.

1) In the first period, it's generic war stories with a weaker group of artists.

2) The second period, 1953-1954, is the best period with different story topics (with both history of conflicts, more personal stories, and touching on all historical eras) with artists doing their best work. During that period, there is more variety re: war throughout the ages.

3) 1955 and after's work becomes more rote and routine for sub-par output on average. That's coupled with the lower page rates. Still some interesting work there but a lot of it is pap, with one dimensional characters going on about doing the same things over and over. At least, that's my opinion.

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adamstrange

adamstrange

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, Scrooge said:

A great issue that would reflect on what Atlas War books have to offer would be Battlefront # 25 - https://www.atlastales.com/issue/411 - November 1954

Maneely cover

Korean Story - Ayers

WWI Story - Gene Colan

British - Russian conflict - Jack Katz

WWII Story - Bob Powell

This is the variety that makes Atlas war such a pleasure to read.

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buttock

buttock

Posted
Posted
21 minutes ago, Scrooge said:

I'd say that's a fair estimate. With all things, it varies. Atlas War has about 3 periods: 1) 1950 to 1952, 2) 1953 to 1954, 3) 1955 and after.

1) In the first period, it's generic war stories with a weaker group of artists.

2) The second period, 1953-1954, is the best period with different story topics (with both history of conflicts, more personal stories, and touching on all historical eras) with artists doing their best work. During that period, there is more variety re: war throughout the ages.

3) 1955 and after's work becomes more rote and routine for sub-par output on average. That's coupled with the lower page rates. Still some interesting work there but a lot of it is pap, with one dimensional characters going on about doing the same things over and over. At least, that's my opinion.

I think around mid-1952 Atlas had started to find it's swing; right around the time Battlefront 1 was on the stands.  

Traditionally, I had felt the same about the post-code work, but I've found enough pleasant surprises over the years to at least keep buying them.  

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atomised

atomised

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Posted
7 hours ago, Scrooge said:

I'd say that's a fair estimate. With all things, it varies. Atlas War has about 3 periods: 1) 1950 to 1952, 2) 1953 to 1954, 3) 1955 and after.

1) In the first period, it's generic war stories with a weaker group of artists.

2) The second period, 1953-1954, is the best period with different story topics (with both history of conflicts, more personal stories, and touching on all historical eras) with artists doing their best work. During that period, there is more variety re: war throughout the ages.

3) 1955 and after's work becomes more rote and routine for sub-par output on average. That's coupled with the lower page rates. Still some interesting work there but a lot of it is pap, with one dimensional characters going on about doing the same things over and over. At least, that's my opinion.

super interesting, did not know this.  I've focused mostly on other categories of books and I mistakenly thought that 50's war books were focused on rehashing ww2 stories but in fact, they were introducing stories relevant to the era - such as the Korean War.  Simply would not have not know had I not picked up some copies and read this thread.  I'm sure other collectors have similar misperceptions if they haven't looked at this category.

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Sqeggs

Sqeggs

Posted
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9 hours ago, Scrooge said:

A great issue that would reflect on what Atlas War books have to offer would be Battlefront # 25 - https://www.atlastales.com/issue/411 - November 1954

Maneely cover

Korean Story - Ayers

WWI Story - Gene Colan

British - Russian conflict - Jack Katz

WWII Story - Bob Powell

Set during the Russian Revolution? The Crimean War?  Weren't too many times that the British and Russians fought. hm

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adamstrange

adamstrange

Posted
Posted

Joe Kubert spoke highly of Heath's ability to depict the weather for any particular scene.

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Scrooge

Scrooge

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3 minutes ago, adamstrange said:

Joe Kubert spoke highly of Heath's ability to depict the weather for any particular scene.

No doubt he's a master of atmosphere. Not only did he cross-hatch around the boots to showcase limited visibility, but what's truly amazing on this cover is that colors were held back on the main figure and the other soldiers: notice the white highlights on upper arms and shoulders.

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adamstrange

adamstrange

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, Scrooge said:

No doubt he's a master of atmosphere. Not only did he cross-hatch around the boots to showcase limited visibility, but what's truly amazing on this cover is that colors were held back on the main figure and the other soldiers: notice the white highlights on upper arms and shoulders.

Heath said that he did coloring on a number of his Atlas covers (War 23 was one he specifically remembered).  He was not compensated but he liked to color and believed he did a better job.  I think this cover is more likely to be his work as it is atypical for Atlas and realistic for the reasons you identified.

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