TRUE COMICS "Battle of Waterloo"

Two hundred years ago, one of the greatest battles in history took place...

...as you'll see in this graphic retelling from Parents Magazine Press' True Comics #2 (1941)

Illustrated by Jim McArdle, this historically-accurate retelling conveys the less-than-glorious aspect of war, detailing some of the mistakes and problems of a large-scale battle.

BTW, here's a b/w litho of the art the two-page spread is based on...

View image | gettyimages.com

Wow...

WORLD WAR STORIES "Glory at Gallipoli: Endless Fight"

We Have Already Seen...

...Allied forces, spearheaded by ANZACs, landed at the tip of the Gallipoli peninsula to open the Dardanelles Straits for British and French warships.

However, the Turkish defenders stood fast against the invaders...

The story of Gallipoli was dramatized in the 1981 movie Gallipoli (with Mel Gibson) based on Ernest Raymond's novel "Tell England" which had been previously-filmed in 1931as Battle of Gallipoli. 

2012's Canakkale 1915, told the story from the Turkish point of view.

There have also been TV mini-series including 1985's ANZACs (starring Paul Hogan), and 1982's 1915, which featured the Gallipoli campaign as major plotlines, and the new mini-series Gallipoli, which just aired in Australia and New Zealand.

Dell Comics launched this series around the 50th Anniversary of the Great War in 1964, probably hoping to cover the major events of the entire conflict, but the series ended after only three issues.
Their primary military artist, Sam Glanzman illustrated all the stories in the first issue and most of the remaining issues,with Frank Springer filling in when Glanzman was unavailable.
The writers for all three issues are unknown.

Bookmark this blog since we'll soon be re-presenting the final issue of this HTF World War Stories series as well as other WWI tales from other books.

WORLD WAR STORIES "Glory at Gallipoli: Dig or Die"

When Last We Left the Allied fleet..

...and so we continue our graphic retelling...

Can the ANZACs hold their positions?

Next:
Trapped!

Dell Comics launched this series around the 50th Anniversary of the Great War in 1964, probably hoping to cover the major events of the entire conflict, but the series ended after only three issues.
Their primary military artist, Sam Glanzman illustrated all the stories in the first issue and most of the remaining issues,with Frank Springer filling in when Glanzman was unavailable.
The writers for all three issues are unknown.

Bookmark this blog since we'll be re-presenting the complete HTF World War Stories series as well as other WWI tales from other books.

CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED "April, 1865: Appomattox Court House" & "Final Report"

150 years ago today...

...the Civil War began it's final stage.

But that wasn't the end of the war!

Fighting continued in isolated locations for several months.

And the South would exact its' vengeance for the defeat...

These never-reprinted chapters are from Classics Illustrated Special Issue #162A: the War Between the States, published in 1961, on the 100th Anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War.

The art for "Appomattox Court House" is attributed as either Till Goodan or Norman Nodel.

The artist for "Final Report" is unknown.

The writer(s) for both chapters is/are unknown.

American Sniper and "Sniper G.I. Style"

Ten-Hut!

There's been some controversy about the movie American Sniper...

Especially in regards to filmmaker Michael Moore's comments...

Lots of talk about snipers this weekend (the holiday weekend of a great man [Martin Luther King, Jr], killed by a sniper), so I thought I'd weigh in with what I was raised to believe about snipers,"

My dad was in the First Marine Division in the South Pacific in World War II.

His brother, my uncle, Lawrence Moore, was an Army paratrooper and was killed by a Japanese sniper 70 years ago next month.

He explained that his views were passed down to him by his father.

My dad always said, 'Snipers are cowards.
They don't believe in a fair fight.
Like someone coming up from behind you and coldcocking you.
Just isn't right.
It's cowardly to shoot a person in the back'.
Only a coward will shoot someone who can't shoot back. I don't think most Americans think of snipers as heroes...

Here's a never-reprinted feature from Aviation Press' Contact Comics #7 (1945) with a World War II perspective on both American and enemy snipers...

Note: the portrayal of Japanese soliders may be NSFW.

So, Americans always had a love/hate relationship with the concept of snipers.

When the enemy does it, it's bad.

But, when we do it, it's good.

In Moore's case, a relative was killed by one, his father was understandably bitter about the circumstances, and his dad's bitterness colored Moore's opinion of the subject matter of the movie.

Doesn't make Moore any less patriotic than the next guy.

Personally, I'm more offended by the movie's portrayal of all Arabs on an even more racist level than the Japanese and Germans in this 1940s piece.

At least we had the excuse we were less sophisticated as a society back then.
What's the excuse now?

Until next time...

Dis-smissed!

WORLD WAR STORIES "Glory at Gallipoli"

One hundred years ago this month...

...one of history's costliest mistakes began...

Next:
From bad to worse!

Dell Comics launched this series around the 50th Anniversary of the Great War in 1964, probably hoping to cover the major events of the entire conflict, but the series ended after only three issues.
Their primary military artist, Sam Glanzman illustrated all the stories in the first issue and most of the remaining issues,with Frank Springer filling in when Glanzman was unavailable.
The writers for all three issues are unknown.

Bookmark this blog since we'll be re-presenting the complete HTF World War Stories series as well as other WWI tales from other books.