• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

War Comics
17 17

Started by CycloneComics,

11,083 posts in this topic

MrBedrock

MrBedrock

Posted
Posted
Picked this beauty up in Portand last month.

 

Ken

 

aamow47.jpg

That is a beauty, Ken. Congrats (thumbs u

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jeffro.

Jeffro.

Posted
Posted
Not to mention one of THE most significant Sgt. Rock prototypes. 2nd DC issue, too. Sucker's tough in grade.

 

Nice score, Shep!!!!!!

 

 

And not mentioned in OS for some odd reason. ???

Link to comment
Share on other sites
comick1

comick1

Posted
Posted

What's unbelievable about that and ALL the washtone war books is that they came from the same publisher as Batman and Superman. It's not a knock against them, but the superhero covers were UNIVERSALLY replete with dialogue. I had never seen ANY war washtones until about 1989 when I saw the GIC 78 (still one of my 5 all-time favorite covers ever) on a wall of my LCS. I'd seen Sea Devils covers and thought those were cool, but didn't know of the existence of war washtones until that GIC 78 which was a study in pure artistry--no words were necessary.

I saw a couple of the washtones at the following Comicon, but not much because, as many of you know, few dealers even bothered bringing war comics to the cons in those days. Helll, people were just realizing that Fish Police and Miami Mice were really not as valuable as the Comic Values Monthly was touting them to be.

Then I met Gary Carter who invited me down to his house in Coronado. I remember going down there and seeing boxes of DC war. I asked him how many he had, and he sorta nonchallantly replied, "all of them." I think he mumbled something about them belonging to his brother or dad (it was always hard to know WHO owned Gary's stuff. . .but I'm thinking that may have been by design). So I start taking a boo (a Shep quote if I ever did hear one) at them and because I'd seen a smattering of war washtones, I was curious about GIC as a run.

 

How many GIC washtones WERE there?

 

I could NOT FüCKIN BELIEVE it!!!!!! 30 of them all in succession. It was the most unbelievable thing I'd seen and something went "BOING" inside my head. When I left from Carter's house, what I was missing in sanity had been succeeded by a singular sense of purpose. I HAD to have them. . .the "Perty-Thirty."

I remember seeing some of the early Sgt. Rocks that day, too. The cover that REALLY stuck out was THIS one:

 

oaaw100.jpg

 

Look at the look on Rock's face.

 

For shît-sake, have any of you EVER seen something like that on ANY comic book character's face before or since? With the smoldering explosion in the background juxtaposed against the all black background, I swear it's still the most emotionally loaded cover I've ever beheld. It's only my opinion, but in my book, it even beats out the EC horror stuff. The pathos is more haunting than anything the pre-code ECs could dish out. I swear I've had nightmares that harken back to to that cover. It's a Kubert tour-de-force (with a tip of the hat to the colorist--probably Adler).

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
thirdgreenham

thirdgreenham

Posted
Posted

The OAAW #100 cover doesn't rank among my favourites, but I must agree with you that the G. I. Combat washtones are fantastic, probably even the greatest run of covers in all of the history of comic books. That's a pretty bold statement, but it would be neat to see what other runs challenge this one. hm

 

Andy

Link to comment
Share on other sites
comick1

comick1

Posted
Posted
After my original post

 

"Does anyone know who was actually answering all those letters in Sgt. Rocks Combat Corner"

 

It is amazing how big this thread is and some of the amazing books posted

 

Hats off to you for being the progenitor! Way cool thread!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
thirdgreenham

thirdgreenham

Posted
Posted

Pretty early in the thread, our very own Shep replied with this:

 

I'm an insufficiently_thoughtful_person!!

 

Originally, it was Joe Kubert and Bob Kanigher alternating (late 1960s). Archie Goodwin used to answer the letters when he edited his war books, and Joe Orlando and Paul Levitz answered theirs when they edited Weird War tales. There was no letter page, I believe, when Kirby did the Losers.

 

I know that when Murray Boltinoff started editing G.I. Combat, it became sort of a non-letters page, and he filled that with military stories and anecdotes. I hated that.

 

Often, edtitorial assistants like Alan Asherman, and I believe even Karen Berger, used to answer the letters towards the ends of the runs.

 

Shep

 

Big props go out to you, John, for starting my favourite thread on these here forums! (worship)

 

Andy

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Fazybones

Fazybones

Posted
Posted
After my original post

 

"Does anyone know who was actually answering all those letters in Sgt. Rocks Combat Corner"

 

It is amazing how big this thread is and some of the amazing books posted

 

Thank you for starting my favorite thread on the boards. (worship)

 

 

You guys are sure making it tough for a low roller like me to post

any books these days. :P

 

 

Awesome books posted this last month Gents!! :cloud9:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
thirdgreenham

thirdgreenham

Posted
Posted
After my original post

 

"Does anyone know who was actually answering all those letters in Sgt. Rocks Combat Corner"

 

It is amazing how big this thread is and some of the amazing books posted

 

Thank you for starting my favorite thread on the boards. (worship)

 

 

You guys are sure making it tough for a low roller like me to post

any books these days. :P

 

 

Awesome books posted this last month Gents!! :cloud9:

 

They're all great books, Fay! Including mine and yours. :gossip:

 

Andy

Link to comment
Share on other sites
comick1

comick1

Posted
Posted

Post away, folks!!! I never get tired of looking at prizes or what folks just got in the mail. Let's keep 'em rollin'!

 

After my original post

 

"Does anyone know who was actually answering all those letters in Sgt. Rocks Combat Corner"

 

It is amazing how big this thread is and some of the amazing books posted

 

Thank you for starting my favorite thread on the boards. (worship)

 

 

You guys are sure making it tough for a low roller like me to post

any books these days. :P

 

 

Awesome books posted this last month Gents!! :cloud9:

 

They're all great books, Fay! Including mine and yours. :gossip:

 

Andy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
17 17
Go to topic listing