War Comics 17 17

[bigfiver69]

Yeah,

 

Atlas war is total ....

 

[bigfiver69]

... and no one should collect it. That's an order.

 

[bigfiver69]

... and now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

 

Got this little gem off of ebay for less than $15. Clean, tight and beautiful pages.

 

 

[adamstrange]

Atlas war is total *spoon*....

It's good to see consensus among the cognoscenti. (thumbs u

[adamstrange]

... and now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

 

Got this little gem off of ebay for less than $15. Clean, tight and beautiful pages.

 

 

 

Great image showing the GI draped with the machine gun ammo belt.

[rodan57]

Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #23 • October 1965 • August 1965 newsstand

 

Any issue that involves rescuing a nun, several small children and fighting off an intense army of soldiers yelling, "Banzai", is a good comic.

 

 

 

If Sgt. Bull McGiveney says, "Face front!", you face front, Tiger!

 

 

And white pages makes everything just a little bit better. (thumbs u

[Fazybones]

Very nice Sgt Fury book and it looks like it has awesome colors.

 

 

Shep and Jeff,

 

Wow , some great Atlas war books and I think I need everyone you guys

posted and I agree they are total crapola and I don't need anymore

competition.

 

 

You are the master of the sweet deal on e-bay Shep and I don't know

how you consistently grab these great deals. That book is incredible and

the price is even better. You must have a great eye for books from the

small scans we see many times on e-bay.

Edited April 21, 2011 by Fazybones

[HouseofComics.Com]

Since all the cool people are here, let me ask y'all a question. If I wanted to run a thread or thread within a thread asking about the most intense war comic by company, where should it go so all of you would see it? Here and crosspost to the bronze thread? Comics general?

 

The impetus for this was reading Dell's Combat #3 yesterday and realizing that it was not only the most intense Dell war comic, it was probably the most intense comic in Dell's history. (Yes, more intense than the Little Lulu where she smokes doll's hair.) I then realized that I had an instant idea of the most intense Vertigo war and Marvel war to boot and was curious what others might choose for Atlas, DC, etc. Of course this might just lead to people posting War Fury covers and a bunch of searing DC Kuberts and Heaths and saying, "I don't read 'em, I just think they're pretty."

 

I plan to start a thread like this on the DC Big Five Yahoo group as well.

 

Btw, just finished reading The Last Stand of Fox Company. Wow, just wow. Five days of -30 below, 2/3 of the unit out of action, wave after wave of attacking Chinese, no food, and they have to then walk and fight their way to safety. Maybe there's a reason why the Korean War comics are so gritty.

[Fazybones]

I think that's a great idea Marc and I would start the thread right here to

get the most exposure to war collectors. I don't know about the "cool"

people and we are geeks and proud of it.

 

 

Well maybe not Richard.

 

 

A good friend sent me some Dell Combat war books and I thought the

stories were awesome and the inside art was very good. Any thread

where I can learn about some great stories from any comic company

would be excellent. The only problem would be a growing want list that's

enormous already.

 

I'm sure Mick, Shep, Jeffro, Andy, Buttock and many others would enjoy it

and have lots of input with all their experience in this genre.

 

Good Luck!!

Edited April 20, 2011 by Fazybones

[HouseofComics.Com]

Yeah, we don't usually pick out a single issue from a publisher's output so it could be different.

 

I would like to write up my synopses for my three nominations "Shep-style" in the manner of his unpublished Big Five Book, but on the other hand maybe I don't want to give away all the plot points.

 

For instance, who here is familiar with Combat Kelly (1972 series) #9? Final issue and my vote for most intense Marvel war comic. I almost don't want to give it away, it's so awesomely wild.

[bigfiver69]

... and now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

 

Got this little gem off of ebay for less than $15. Clean, tight and beautiful pages.

 

 

 

Great image showing the GI draped with the machine gun ammo belt.

 

 

Possibly a graphic inspiration for Sgt. Rock. I think this is the first time that kind of imagery appeared in war comics. I'm probably wrong though...

 

As far as the eBay deals go, one of the benefits of CGC is what it has done to non-CGC books. When buying online, there certainly are some leaps of faith that need to be taken. But constant prowling, getting your fingernails dirty checking feedback, etc - those things improve the odds dramatically.

 

Also, there are far fewer buyers out there now than even just a few years ago (my observation anyway.) It's rare these days when I get into a dogfight over a book on eBay, or get outbid in the last 20 seconds. Frankly, there has never been a better time to collect war books in the past decade - abundant supply in a range of grades, and fewer buyers piling in at once.

 

Shep

[bigfiver69]

An 'Intense war comics by publisher' thread is a really cool idea Marc!

 

I would argue that Warren's Blazing Combat #4 was the most intense issue of that title. Aside from the classic 'Give and Take' drawn by Russ Heath, there's 'The Trench' drawn by Severin, 'The Edge' drawn by Alex Toth, 'Conflict', a sobering tale of racism in the U.S. Military, and 'Night Drop' drawn by Angelo Torres. All stories were written by Archie Goodwin. Pound for pound, perhaps the most intense anthology war comic ever prInted.

[bigfiver69]

For Silver Age war, There are so many boksbto choose from... Our Army at War #90 springs to mind, as do many of the early Sgt. Rock classics created by Kubert and Kanigher. You could also make a case for OAAW #86 (perhaps my all time favorite Rock story) for the incredibly evocative art and unrelenting narrative.

 

That said, the most intense war book I think I have ever read I'd OAAW #196. 'Stop the War... I Want to Get Off!' is more than just electro shock therapy applied to pulp... It marks Joe Kubert's statement against war in general as something not to be glorified. It is gritty, raw and taken in the context of comics of the period, quite shocking. It marked the transition towards the glory years of DC war comics in the 1968-73 period, walking away from the less mature books of the mid-60s. In my opinion, it is the first book of the Bronze Age, prefiguring the more adult storytelling that would soon appear in Detective and GL/GA.

 

Love that book. Now, I'd love to hear some other candidates.

 

Ps... Apologies for any spelling errors or bad grammar... I'm typing this from my iphone on the train into work!

[HouseofComics.Com]

Those are great nominations for DC and Warren.

 

Anyone have any more DC nominations and any for Atlas?

 

For a company like Comic Media I assume it's a War Fury issue, but which one?

 

Which EC is the most intense?

 

There have been a lot of intense Vertigo war books (which I'd make a separate category from DC, just as I did Marvel and Atlas) but my vote is for Johann's Tiger by Garth Ennis from his War Story line. The final days of an elite Tiger tank crew trying to stay alive in a collapsing Germany. Probably my favorite war comic ever, along with OAAW 244.

 

OAAW 244 is also a candidate for most intense DC war in my mind, as you really feel the power of the Tiger tanks and the danger Easy is in, and add in the drowning scene at the end.

[buttock]

Enemy Ace: War Idyll was pretty intense IIRC, probably file that under Vertigo.

[OV]

Enemy Ace: War Idyll was pretty intense IIRC, probably file that under Vertigo.

 

I agree 100% By far the most intense and thought-provoking war graphic novel, both in terms of art and dialogue. It's powerful because it features a combat veteran speaking about life after war, not during it. Most comics are written with the story of combat as it's happening. War Idyll does this and goes beyond. It also gives the story of combat veterans from World War One and Vietnam and provides a meaningful connection between both experiences, and that's not an easy task by any means.

[HouseofComics.Com]

Well said, OV. Great suggestion by Dan.

[HouseofComics.Com]

Enemy Ace: War Idyll was pretty intense IIRC, probably file that under Vertigo.

 

Who has read Johann's Tiger?

[OV]

Well said, OV. Great suggestion by Dan.

 

Thank you good sir (thumbs u I've read Johann's Tiger too. I agree with you, it is in my top five war comic reads. I think Garth Ennis did a great job writing this. Chris Weston did a great job with the pencils too. He made the Tiger into an actual character in this issue. This story reminded me of the scene at the end of Band of Brothers, where the German officer stands in front of his men and commends them for their bravery and commitment to each other. Both are reminders that the other side had brave soldiers too. Wow, I'm getting deep here.

 

Where are the frog men covers and the airplane dogfight covers! Someone get me off my lecturing chair.

[buttock]

Enemy Ace: War Idyll was pretty intense IIRC, probably file that under Vertigo.

 

Who has read Johann's Tiger?

 

Haven't, but will now!