vaillant Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 On 22/12/2017 at 12:48 PM, fleepunyhumans said: This is some pretty poignant writing. My dad was a POW taken in the Battle of the Bulge, so I’m all in on these WWII covers. He’s 95, and only just now beginning to talk about it . . . He recently went back and found the brick factory where he was forced into labor. It had been abandoned and most signs of it had been overrun by forest. The nearby villagers were of no help in his search, as they all denied playing host to a POW camp 70+ years ago. So now with my addiction to war covers, it’s more me the prisoner. My dad would laugh at the absurdity. I am interested in the motivations of others who similarly collect these covers. I’m glad you’re out there, whatever your reasons. Which covers, specifically? I’m interested in most things that are war related and artistically relevant and/or fascinating. This stemmed as an overall “love affair” also because my parents were children (in Italy) during wartime and I always felt “at home” with the period. Hitler proved to be an amazing character to “fictionize” but in fact I’m more interested in the human aspect of every public (and also non-public) person at the time. It’s also related to the “modus operandi” of recent storiography: going back up to the “full picture” starting from the stories of individuals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Sqeggs, sagii and gino2paulus2 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 On 1/3/2018 at 6:18 PM, walclark said: On 1/3/2018 at 4:25 PM, Sqeggs said: Purchased raw from a boardie. Surprisingly enough (to me), it's the third highest graded. Nice. Only 5 copies on the census, but I never got the impression that it was that tough. I think that the Blue Bolt WW II issues haven't been widely collected and it's only comparatively recently that Hitler covers seem to have really taken off. Maybe more copies of this one will be sent in for grading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timely Posted January 8, 2018 Author Share Posted January 8, 2018 3 hours ago, Sqeggs said: I think that the Blue Bolt WW II issues haven't been widely collected and it's only comparatively recently that Hitler covers seem to have really taken off. Maybe more copies of this one will be sent in for grading. Blue Bolt 4/1 is actually a pretty tough issue to find. I've only seen a handful over 25 years, only 1 was above a 6.0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walclark Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 1 hour ago, Timely said: Blue Bolt 4/1 is actually a pretty tough issue to find. I've only seen a handful over 25 years, only 1 was above a 6.0 I think I’ve had two raw and this one is my keeper. Definitely not a ton of them floating around. comicjack, Sqeggs and gino2paulus2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bo_Hogg1 Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 streyouttacomics and gino2paulus2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 1 hour ago, Bo_Hogg1 said: Cool! What is it? streyouttacomics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walclark Posted January 24, 2018 Share Posted January 24, 2018 I’m going to throw out a question to the group. While multiple publishers and titles didn’t shy away from depicting Hitler, Tojo, Mussolini, or Hirohito on their covers, some did so much more frequently than others. Timely and Nedor weren’t reluctant to feature the Axis leaders, nor were Fox, Columbia, Lev Gleason, DC, and many others. But one publisher who produced a tremendous number of war related titles and covers never, to my knowledge, featured any of the three on their covers. Fiction House, with their war oriented titles of Fight, Rangers, and Wings, would have seemed to be a natural to put one of the three Axis leaders on a cover. But other than a message to Adolf written on a bomb on the cover of Wings #29, I’m not aware of any of their other cover images that references the three. Do you think this was because FH took a more realistic approach to their covers and they perhaps didn’t feel the typical soldier or airman would be taking on the Axis leaders? Or do you think that the fact that they didn’t feature superheroes (other than the three issues of Fight with Super American) was the determining factor and only superheroes could take down Hitler? If regular GIs were busting up a Nazi stronghold, why not have a picture of Hitler on the wall like Arrow #3, More Fun #75, or Shield-Wizard #8? Just something that has puzzled me. I’ve also wondered why, considering the number of titles that were coming out of DC, there are only 7 Hitler covers from that publishing house. In fact, in general, DC didn’t seem to produce the volume of war covers during WWII that their rivals produced. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjpb Posted January 24, 2018 Share Posted January 24, 2018 The FH observation is interesting, and I suspect you may be right in your guesses why. FH covers also seemed to focus more on the rescuing of young women, than exactly who was being punched out in the process. DC seems to have made a conscious decision to not devote their stories and covers almost entirely to the war effort. Perhaps because they had already come to dominate the market without doing so prior to U.S. involvement in the war. A smart move in retrospect, as they had more success with their costumed hero books staying afloat in the years afterward than their competitors. Of course MLJ made the decision to refocus on teen humor long before the war was over. Does the war effort even get a mention in any Archie or Wilbur, etc. stories? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telerites Posted January 24, 2018 Share Posted January 24, 2018 3 hours ago, walclark said: I’m going to throw out a question to the group. While multiple publishers and titles didn’t shy away from depicting Hitler, Tojo, Mussolini, or Hirohito on their covers, some did so much more frequently than others. Timely and Nedor weren’t reluctant to feature the Axis leaders, nor were Fox, Columbia, Lev Gleason, DC, and many others. But one publisher who produced a tremendous number of war related titles and covers never, to my knowledge, featured any of the three on their covers. Fiction House, with their war oriented titles of Fight, Rangers, and Wings, would have seemed to be a natural to put one of the three Axis leaders on a cover. But other than a message to Adolf written on a bomb on the cover of Wings #29, I’m not aware of any of their other cover images that references the three. Do you think this was because FH took a more realistic approach to their covers and they perhaps didn’t feel the typical soldier or airman would be taking on the Axis leaders? Or do you think that the fact that they didn’t feature superheroes (other than the three issues of Fight with Super American) was the determining factor and only superheroes could take down Hitler? If regular GIs were busting up a Nazi stronghold, why not have a picture of Hitler on the wall like Arrow #3, More Fun #75, or Shield-Wizard #8? Just something that has puzzled me. I’ve also wondered why, considering the number of titles that were coming out of DC, there are only 7 Hitler covers from that publishing house. In fact, in general, DC didn’t seem to produce the volume of war covers during WWII that their rivals produced. Thoughts? 18 minutes ago, rjpb said: The FH observation is interesting, and I suspect you may be right in your guesses why. FH covers also seemed to focus more on the rescuing of young women, than exactly who was being punched out in the process. DC seems to have made a conscious decision to not devote their stories and covers almost entirely to the war effort. Perhaps because they had already come to dominate the market without doing so prior to U.S. involvement in the war. A smart move in retrospect, as they had more success with their costumed hero books staying afloat in the years afterward than their competitors. Of course MLJ made the decision to refocus on teen humor long before the war was over. Does the war effort even get a mention in any Archie or Wilbur, etc. stories? Is it possible the anti-Nazi theme on GA books was motivated and used by Jewish creators and/or publishers? I am not sure of the ethnic background at FH. Just curious as I hadn't thought of this before. It would seem like those FH titles would be prime for some anti-Nazi/Japanese covers. I assume their books were selling good enough as the titles had long runs before they went defunct, especially compared to other GA publishers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjpb Posted January 24, 2018 Share Posted January 24, 2018 (edited) War themed covers were the norm for FH books, Wings, Fight and Rangers from 1942 to mid 45, it's just the didn't feature Axis leaders. Edited January 24, 2018 by rjpb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 21 hours ago, walclark said: I’m going to throw out a question to the group. While multiple publishers and titles didn’t shy away from depicting Hitler, Tojo, Mussolini, or Hirohito on their covers, some did so much more frequently than others. Timely and Nedor weren’t reluctant to feature the Axis leaders, nor were Fox, Columbia, Lev Gleason, DC, and many others. But one publisher who produced a tremendous number of war related titles and covers never, to my knowledge, featured any of the three on their covers. Fiction House, with their war oriented titles of Fight, Rangers, and Wings, would have seemed to be a natural to put one of the three Axis leaders on a cover. But other than a message to Adolf written on a bomb on the cover of Wings #29, I’m not aware of any of their other cover images that references the three. Do you think this was because FH took a more realistic approach to their covers and they perhaps didn’t feel the typical soldier or airman would be taking on the Axis leaders? Or do you think that the fact that they didn’t feature superheroes (other than the three issues of Fight with Super American) was the determining factor and only superheroes could take down Hitler? If regular GIs were busting up a Nazi stronghold, why not have a picture of Hitler on the wall like Arrow #3, More Fun #75, or Shield-Wizard #8? Just something that has puzzled me. I’ve also wondered why, considering the number of titles that were coming out of DC, there are only 7 Hitler covers from that publishing house. In fact, in general, DC didn’t seem to produce the volume of war covers during WWII that their rivals produced. Thoughts? Very interesting point that never occurred to me -- although it should have. I think you have hit on the key to the explanation: FH had more realistic covers, whereas probably a majority of the times Hitler appears on a cover, it's in an unrealistic situation (as in the covers shown on this page). Also, I don't follow the FH war covers closely enough to know for sure, but aren't they skewed towards the fighting in the Pacific rather than in Europe? Still, it is odd that he never appeared on a cover where, say, a GI is tearing down a Hitler poster, similar to GH 13. Seems as if it must have been a conscious decision by the FH editors not to include him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted January 27, 2018 Share Posted January 27, 2018 On 1/3/2018 at 1:25 PM, Sqeggs said: Purchased raw from a boardie. Surprisingly enough (to me), it's the third highest graded. Can I play too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted January 27, 2018 Share Posted January 27, 2018 This one is kinda fun... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirbyJack Posted January 27, 2018 Share Posted January 27, 2018 2 hours ago, Robot Man said: This one is kinda fun... That barrel has a kind of Victor Moscoso quality. 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted January 27, 2018 Share Posted January 27, 2018 15 hours ago, Robot Man said: Can I play too? Very sharp copy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted January 27, 2018 Share Posted January 27, 2018 13 hours ago, KirbyJack said: That barrel has a kind of Victor Moscoso quality. Yeah, I kinda remember the ‘60’s... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaillant Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 On 25/1/2018 at 5:53 PM, Sqeggs said: On 24/1/2018 at 7:50 PM, walclark said: I’m going to throw out a question to the group. While multiple publishers and titles didn’t shy away from depicting Hitler, Tojo, Mussolini, or Hirohito on their covers, some did so much more frequently than others. Timely and Nedor weren’t reluctant to feature the Axis leaders, nor were Fox, Columbia, Lev Gleason, DC, and many others. But one publisher who produced a tremendous number of war related titles and covers never, to my knowledge, featured any of the three on their covers. Fiction House, with their war oriented titles of Fight, Rangers, and Wings, would have seemed to be a natural to put one of the three Axis leaders on a cover. But other than a message to Adolf written on a bomb on the cover of Wings #29, I’m not aware of any of their other cover images that references the three. Do you think this was because FH took a more realistic approach to their covers and they perhaps didn’t feel the typical soldier or airman would be taking on the Axis leaders? Or do you think that the fact that they didn’t feature superheroes (other than the three issues of Fight with Super American) was the determining factor and only superheroes could take down Hitler? If regular GIs were busting up a Nazi stronghold, why not have a picture of Hitler on the wall like Arrow #3, More Fun #75, or Shield-Wizard #8? Just something that has puzzled me. I’ve also wondered why, considering the number of titles that were coming out of DC, there are only 7 Hitler covers from that publishing house. In fact, in general, DC didn’t seem to produce the volume of war covers during WWII that their rivals produced. Thoughts? Very interesting point that never occurred to me -- although it should have. I think you have hit on the key to the explanation: FH had more realistic covers, whereas probably a majority of the times Hitler appears on a cover, it's in an unrealistic situation (as in the covers shown on this page). Also, I don't follow the FH war covers closely enough to know for sure, but aren't they skewed towards the fighting in the Pacific rather than in Europe? Still, it is odd that he never appeared on a cover where, say, a GI is tearing down a Hitler poster, similar to GH 13. Seems as if it must have been a conscious decision by the FH editors not to include him. I believe Walclark's considerations already explain why there aren’t much "fantastic" themed covers depicting them. More than just "realistic" I would say, from my limited knowledge, the Fiction House comics were targeted at soldiers and young men, rather than to a general public. And they featured women in distress and "good girl art" supposedly to appeal to their intended public? I honestly don’t know… what I don’t think is that Axis powers were depicted as "fantastic evildoers" just because of the jewish background and culture of many US authors which shaped the trajectory of the comic book: they obviously had a stronger connection to Europe, especially after anti-semitism became more evident and virulent, but by that point the negative curve of nazism was so clear that most people felt the unfolding of events as sinister and worrying. At least this was what Jack Kirby told me: that as young men they had a limited knowledge of what was happening in Europe, and that Hitler "grabbing one country after the other" was something that struck their imaginations as young americans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaillant Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 Also, each country had its freedoms and limitations on what could have been depicted. I just posted this in the "War comics thread": this is a story that came out in Italy slightly after the war, where there is a depiction of the gas chambers (of course, based on what they imagined the gas chambers to have been). Such a story would have been unthinkable even a few months before, when we were struggling with a real "civil war"… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaillant Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 (edited) As far as I can imagine from "good girl art", so to speak… And the comics journals were aimed also at kids, of course. Edited February 3, 2018 by vaillant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
