US Government Involvement in WWII Comics 1 1

[adamstrange]

Evidently, comics were not free from US Government propaganda efforts in WWII.  At least some of what was seen in covers and contents of WWII comics was due to a US Government funded influence scheme.

Quote

Created in 1942, the WWB(War Writer's Board" was technically a private organization. But, Hirsch writes, it was funded through the federal Office of War Information and essentially operated as a government agency.

...

Major comic book publishers agreed to create stories based on input from the board’s Comics Committee.

Quick summary:  https://daily.jstor.org/the-propaganda-of-world-war-ii-comic-books/

Full paper:  https://daily.jstor.org/the-propaganda-of-world-war-ii-comic-books/

 

[adamstrange]

[Cat-Man_America]

On 3/28/2023 at 11:29 PM, adamstrange said:

This makes perfect sense and fits in well with my perception of American culture and history discussed in another thread. Alas, the propaganda ...in respect to the evil and violence of nazis and the imperial Japanese military's ruthlessness... wasn't far removed from the truth. Even Alex Schomburg's perceptive Holocaust cover (Captain America #46) seems tame compared to the realities of what was discovered just a few months later. I'm reticent about "yellow peril" stereotypes because in the context of war propaganda and public perceptions of the time it's entirely understandable. It's also worth noting, the use of yellow skin pigmentation on covers was inconsistent in GA comics, but it doesn't alter the fact that Asian-Americans were mistreated because of stereotypical depictions in books, movies, newspapers and comics.  

The war era stereotypes that bother me the most are extreme comic relief depictions of black Americans who were fighting by our side at home and abroad while being denied rights, sport participation, pay, etc., and being ridiculed through exaggerated caricature in film and other popular culture.

On 3/29/2023 at 1:21 AM, Professor K said:

Not trying to be controversial or get political by saying I'm not a big fan of WWII war comics and the main reason is there is something about trying to get people , in this case mostly young boys, to want go to war doesn't sit well with me. There was a lot of propaganda in the US media before the country entered both wars ( the majority of Americans were sympathetic to Germany at the outbreak of WWI until the newspapers did a complete 180). The purpose was to get people to support wars in the disguise of patriotism that benefitted not them but the businesses ,banks, and corrupt politicians, the only winners in all wars. I don't like the fact that they used comics for that purpose. This kind of stuff  is nothing new and has been happening since at least the Roman Empire. But this is coming from a guy who believes the last war the US actually had just cause to be in was in 1812 so I avoid most of those books and focus on ones where criminals, villains, monsters and aliens are the bad guys. 

I don't think anything we're discussing about the past specifically in reference to comics and culture of another era is political, it certainly isn't from my POV and hopefully not too controversial.

I'm persuaded that war propaganda may have been one of the saving graces of WWII as it's hard to imagine the world would've been a very happy place if the American public had continued to lend Hitler a sympathetic ear given his ambitions and predilections for eugenics. The Japanese were on a bad course as well, conquering much of the Asian pacific region for their own cultural dominance and expansion, but their ambitions were more complicated. While I'm not naive enough to think all American involvements overseas have been benevolent and that every military action we've undertaken justified, I do consider WWII a totally just war, and that we made great strides to do right by both Germany and Japan in the aftermath.  If we'd screwed that up, I'd be in total agreement with you, but Germany and Japan have recovered and regained their prominent positions on the international stage. Russian expansion is another matter and a very tricky scenario today. 

In my estimation the greatest criminal, villain, monster, alien-bad guy is the fiend on the cover of Marvel Mystery #46. 

BTW, are you really sure about 1812, ...I'm having second thoughts? 

Edited March 30, 2023 by Cat-Man_America
More ale!

[EastEnd1]

Not all WW2 propaganda is made the same... this issue of All-Star Comics from 1945, put out at the behest of the National Institute for the Handicapped, was intended to help with the re-integration of returning war-injured servicemen.  The cover image of some of the era's most popular fictional heros saluting a true one is among the most moving from the Golden Age in my view...

  

[Professor K]

On 3/29/2023 at 3:54 AM, Cat-Man_America said:

This makes perfect sense and fits in well with my perception of American culture and history discussed in another thread. Alas, the propaganda ...in respect to the evil and violence of nazis and the imperial Japanese military's ruthlessness... wasn't far removed from the truth. Even Alex Schomburg's perceptive Holocaust cover (Captain America #46) seems tame compared to the realities of what was discovered just a few months later. I'm reticent about "yellow peril" stereotypes because in the context of war propaganda and public perceptions of the time it's entirely understandable. It's also worth noting, the use of yellow skin pigmentation on covers was inconsistent in GA comics, but it doesn't alter the fact that Asian-Americans were mistreated because of stereotypical depictions in books, movies, newspapers and comics.  

The war era stereotypes that bother me the most are extreme comic relief depictions of black Americans who were fighting by our side at home and abroad while being denied rights, sport participation, pay, etc., and being ridiculed through exaggerated caricature in film and other popular culture.

I don't think anything were discussing about the past specifically in reference to comics and culture of another era is political, it certainly isn't from my POV and hopefully not too controversial.

I'm persuaded that war propaganda may have been one of the saving graces of WWII as it's hard to imagine the world would've been a very happy place if the American public had continued to lend Hitler a sympathetic ear given his ambitions and predilections for eugenics. The Japanese were on a bad course as well, conquering much of the Asian pacific region for their own cultural dominance and expansion, but their ambitions were more complicated. While I'm not naive enough to think all American involvements overseas have been benevolent and that every military action we've undertaken justified, I do consider WWII a totally just war, and that we made great strides to do right by both Germany and Japan in the aftermath.  If we'd screwed that up, I'd be in total agreement with you, but Germany and Japan have recovered and regained their prominent positions on the international stage. Russian expansion is another matter and a very tricky scenario today. 

In my estimation the greatest criminal, villain, monster, alien-bad guy is the fiend on the cover of Marvel Mystery #46. 

BTW, are you really sure about 1812, ...I'm having second thoughts? 

Good points and good post Cat-Man. Not saying I feel exactly the same or completely different but don't matter. 

One way I'm looking at it is go back to 1936 through1940. The DC covers, Centuar, Fox, Fiction House covers. Very few WWII or more accurately Kraut/Jap covers and stories. To me this was just the best time. The Golden Age of the Golden Age. I would have liked to see that continue for a little more time. Superman started, or at least mainly caused the whole superhero boom but by 41 most of those heros were fighting Axis militaries. I guess it was inevitable as combat stories are interesting and they sell so I'm not complaining (well maybe a little as comics were still aimed mainly at kids at the time ect). Hollywood made 100's of war movies in the 1940's alone because they sell. It's interesting.  Anyway it evolved the way it evolved. I do like how by around the late 40's war comics evolved into mostly depicting war/combat in a realistic way. War is Hell, The Horrors of War,  Foxhole "you dig in, you fight, and maybe you die". I like the honesty of that, as opposed to Germans or Japanese tying a hot chick to a cruise missle or the propellers of a fighter plane(which is definitely interesting). 

By the way this is my most recent acquisition. Uncle Sam just happened to be fishing in the ocean when a giant German submarine tank coming to attack the USA traveled right below him. Good thing he went fishing that day.

 

Edited March 29, 2023 by Professor K

[Ryan.]

On 3/29/2023 at 12:44 PM, Professor K said:

Good points and good post Cat-Man. Not saying I feel exactly the same or completely different but don't matter. 

One way I'm looking at it is go back to 1936 through1940. The DC covers, Centuar, Fox, Fiction House covers. Very few WWII or more accurately Kraut/Jap covers and stories. To me this was just the best time. The Golden Age of the Golden Age. I would have liked to see that continue for a little more time. Superman started, or at least mainly caused the whole superhero boom but by 41 most of those heros were fighting Axis militaries. I guess it was inevitable as combat stories are interesting and they sell so I'm not complaining (well maybe a little as comics were still aimed mainly at kids at the time ect). Hollywood made 100's of war movies in the 1940's alone because they sell. It's interesting.  Anyway it evolved the way it evolved. I do like how by around the late 40's war comics evolved into mostly depicting war/combat in a realistic way. War is Hell, The Horrors of War,  Foxhole "you dig in, you fight, and maybe you die". I like the honesty of that, as opposed to Germans or Japanese tying a hot chick to a cruise missle or the propellers of a fighter plane(which is definitely interesting). 

By the way this is my most recent acquisition. Uncle Sam just happened to be fishing in the ocean when a giant German submarine tank coming to attack the USA traveled right below him. Good thing he went fishing that day.

 

Awesome cover.

[Telegan]

On 3/29/2023 at 7:15 AM, EastEnd1 said:

Not all WW2 propaganda is made the same... this issue of All-Star Comics from 1945, put out at the behest of the National Institute for the Handicapped, was intended to help with the re-integration of returning war-injured servicemen.  The cover image of some of the era's most popular fictional heros saluting a true one is among the most moving from the Golden Age in my view...

  

 

Thanks for posting this.  You learn something new every day ...

[sfcityduck]

On 3/29/2023 at 2:15 PM, EastEnd1 said:

Not all WW2 propaganda is made the same... this issue of All-Star Comics from 1945, put out at the behest of the National Institute for the Handicapped, was intended to help with the re-integration of returning war-injured servicemen.  The cover image of some of the era's most popular fictional heros saluting a true one is among the most moving from the Golden Age in my view...

  

That cover was certainly unusual.   More so because unllke Timely I have read that DC had largely stopped doing WWII before the end of the war because they felt it hurt their sales (they apparently felt kids wanted escapism from the stress of the war).
 

 I am aware that the govt. supported propaganda for employment of the disabled into the 60s as this poster by Caniff shows:

Edited March 30, 2023 by sfcityduck

[sfcityduck]

On 3/29/2023 at 8:21 AM, Professor K said:

Not trying to be controversial or get political by saying I'm not a big fan of WWII war comics and the main reason is there is something about trying to get people , in this case mostly young boys, to want go to war doesn't sit well with me. There was a lot of propaganda in the US media before the country entered both wars ( the majority of Americans were sympathetic to Germany at the outbreak of WWI until the newspapers did a complete 180). The purpose was to get people to support wars in the disguise of patriotism that benefitted not them but the businesses ,banks, and corrupt politicians, the only winners in all wars. I don't like the fact that they used comics for that purpose. This kind of stuff  is nothing new and has been happening since at least the Roman Empire. But this is coming from a guy who believes the last war the US actually had just cause to be in was in 1812 so I avoid most of those books and focus on ones where criminals, villains, monsters and aliens are the bad guys. 

It is historic fact that FDR’s Administration engaged in a strong lobbying and propaganda effort aimed at the American people to support entry into to WWII over the isolationism then pushed by a strong faction in the US.  The truth is the US had effectively entered WWII before Pearl Harbor or even Cap hitting Hitler.  That’s not politics it is just the truth.

But we will have to disagree as to why FDR the great progressive wanted the US to support the Brits against the Fascist regimes in Europe.  I don’t think it was to promote the interests of banks or munitions companies.  But probably not a proper topic here.  Whatever the motivations of FDR, WWII is a war I am glad we fought. Including because it led to some incredible comic covers.  But you are 100% right that many of those lacked realism.  One reason I am a huge fan of cartoons like Up Front which gave a more realistic view of the war in their own quirky subject to military censorship way:

Edited March 30, 2023 by sfcityduck

[sfcityduck]

Worth also noting that Caniff was employed by the govt. to do govt. publications and posters during WWII including this rare poster that recently sold:

His own cartoon for military newspapers, Male Call, I believe he did in his spare time for free.

Edited March 30, 2023 by sfcityduck

[AJD]

The services were involved in comics as well, providing some material and/or allowing their organisations to be associated with comics like this one

And some comics featured the fighting logos of US military elements, which I would guess were supplied to the publishers. This one from WDC&S #35

Finally, and dear to me collection, are the many covers that advertised government bonds

 

[Sarg]

Quote

Created in 1942, the WWB was technically a private organization. But, Hirsch writes, it was funded through the federal Office of War Information and essentially operated as a government agency. It worked to avoid heavy-handed propaganda, instead finding ways to place messages in popular media, including comic books. 

Or, to put it more clearly, the government created a fake "private" company as a front organization to create subtle forms of mind control, as they undoubtedly did in every other area of public life, both in 1942 and every year afterwards, right up to now. Not a huge surprise, but it's good to get confirmation. 

Personally, I don't care how "insensitive" the art on WWII books was. War is hell. 

Edited March 30, 2023 by Sarg
edit

[comicparadox]

On 3/29/2023 at 9:13 PM, AJD said:

 

And some comics featured the fighting logos of US military elements, which I would guess were supplied to the publishers. This one from WDC&S #35

 

 

Disney was involved in the depiction of many wartime insignias, so these examples may have just been in the Disney files at time of publication. 

[Professor K]

I've been working on a little list of the chronological order of each patriotic hero's release date. Aside from The Shield it does seem rather quick how immediately after the release of Cap 1 how many others showed up. One might think that Captain America was such a success that other writers, artists, publishers just jumped on the patriotic hero band wagon, kind of like they did after Superman hit the scene.

With Sup it took a few months, even a year before they realized just how big he was . With Cap it was immediate, within a few months almost every publisher had a patriot. Minute Man in Master Comics 11 came out the same month as Cap. And the US wasn't even in the war yet. I think a lot of people in the USA weren't too keen on the US even getting involved, especially before Pearl Harbor. So yeah, it does seem like something else was in play other than just wanting to increase comic sales with a cool new red white and blue uniformed hero. 

[BLUECHIPCOLLECTIBLES]

On 3/28/2023 at 11:21 PM, Professor K said:

Not trying to be controversial or get political by saying I'm not a big fan of WWII war comics and the main reason is there is something about trying to get people , in this case mostly young boys, to want go to war doesn't sit well with me. There was a lot of propaganda in the US media before the country entered both wars ( the majority of Americans were sympathetic to Germany at the outbreak of WWI until the newspapers did a complete 180). The purpose was to get people to support wars in the disguise of patriotism that benefitted not them but the businesses ,banks, and corrupt politicians, the only winners in all wars. I don't like the fact that they used comics for that purpose. This kind of stuff  is nothing new and has been happening since at least the Roman Empire. But this is coming from a guy who believes the last war the US actually had just cause to be in was in 1812 so I avoid most of those books and focus on ones where criminals, villains, monsters and aliens are the bad guys. 

Superman's first two-part story in 1938 made precisely your point.  He put a stop to a war in Europe and even demanded that the warring leaders fight each other instead using their armies, then made them admit they were only fighting "to sell munitions".   

I do not disagree with your point about wars in general, but WW2 was IMV an exception.  Had we not done nothing and sat back to let the Nazis and Imperial Japan divvy up the conquered lands (with who knows what crumbs Hitler and Tojo would've let Italy control), Germany might well have developed nukes first in order to keep all that and expand its control over the Americas, too.   So that war, more than any in recent memory, really was about preventing a greater evil.  Now, what led us to that was indeed all about conflicts largely engineered by and for corporate interests allied with their governments (which is a core tenet of fascism, though to this day, people seem not to realize that; so maybe its definition has evolved into something more akin to "any government I don't like")   

Edited May 26, 2023 by BLUECHIPCOLLECTIBLES

[BLUECHIPCOLLECTIBLES]

On 3/29/2023 at 5:15 AM, EastEnd1 said:

Not all WW2 propaganda is made the same... this issue of All-Star Comics from 1945, put out at the behest of the National Institute for the Handicapped, was intended to help with the re-integration of returning war-injured servicemen.  The cover image of some of the era's most popular fictional heros saluting a true one is among the most moving from the Golden Age in my view...

  

This was the comics industry's version of "The Best Years of Our Lives"

[plady69]

Good read fellas..:

[Robot Man]

[Professor K]

I got this one in tonights Comiclink Spring auction. Pretty neat cover.  Just 100 bucks more than the same book sold for in 2019 on HA. The dark pic is from CL and the bright one's are from HA in 2019. Not sure what the sticker says.