WAR FURY "Unconquered"

Ten-hut!

It's Memorial Day, 2013...

...and, with our humble thanks to those who serve, a tale about the first (and hopefully, only) Korean War, published at it's height in 1953!

This story from Comic Media's War Fury #1 (1952) is typical of the period.

The emphasis is on the enemy being Communists, not Asians, as was done (sometimes to extremes) in World War II comics.

(That's not to say racial insults or ethnic stereotypes weren't occasionally used,but they weren't on the level of the extreme caricatures of cartoonish slant-eyed and buck-toothed Japanese from the previous war.)

Plus, most of the writers and artists were vets from the European and Asian theatres of war, with first-hand experience of the horrors of war less than a decade earlier.

In the case of this story, artist Don Heck had been too young to enlist (or be drafted) during WWII, but odds are the unknown writer was a vet.

Until next time...

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FOXHOLE "Walkie Talkie"

Ten-Hut!

With North Korea rattling their rusted sabers yet again...

...let's look at a story created during the first Korean War by the legendary Simon & Kirby studio when they were publishing their own titles!

Art for this tale from FoxHole #2 (1954) was by WWII vet Bill Draut (who served in the Marines).
While the writer is unknown, it's likely that either Joe Simon or Jack Kirby (or both as a team) penned it.

FoxHole was a comic produced by writers and artists who had served in the military.

The creators usually put their names and ranks on the splash panels of the stories.

(The book's subhead read "This is WAR as seen by the Guys Who Do the Fighting!")

Jack Kirby, as the book's co-publisher, primary plotter, and layout artist didn't sign his name on the stories even though he served in the Army as a scout, sneaking behind enemy lines and creating sketches and maps of enemy-held areas.

He also did the cover at left.

Unlike most Korean War-era comics, this was not a gung-ho, kick-ass title, but one that took a hard-edged look at the heavy cost of war to the participants.

Until next time...

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WAR FURY "Grim Trio"

Ten-hut!

With North Korea repealing the 60-year armistice...

...and some sort of new conflict looking more and more likely, let's look at how comic books of the 1950s presented the previous "police action" in four-color form during the war!

This story from Comic Media's War Fury #3 (1953) is typical of the period.

The emphasis is on the enemy being Communists, not Asians, as was done (sometimes to extremes) in World War II comics.

(That's not to say racial insults or ethnic stereotypes weren't occasionally used,but they weren't on the level of the extreme caricatures of cartoonish slant-eyed and buck-toothed Japanese from the previous war.)

Plus, most of the writers and artists were vets from the European and Asian theatres of war, with first-hand experience of the horrors of war less than a decade earlier.

In the case of this story, artist Don Heck had been too young to enlist (or be drafted) during WWII, but odds are the unknown writer was a vet.

Until next time...

Dis-missed!

Check out the PX..

 ...for all your uniform and equipment needs!

SPACEBUSTERS "Remember Makano"

Ten-Hut!

In space, no one can hear you die...

From "Remember the Alamo!" to "Remember the Maine!" most wars have one such atrocity which ends up inspiring even greater levels of valor against an evil foe.
The War Against Belzar was no different...

Art for this story from Ziff-Davis' SpaceBusters #2 (1952) was by Murphy Anderson, who had just left the Buck Rogers newspaper strip for new challenges.
The remaining stories are by other artists, but Murphy did a couple of one-page features we'll be presenting later on.

Until next time...

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COMBAT CASEY "Atomic Warfare"

Ten-Hut!
With North Korea again threatening nuclear war...

...let's look at how we viewed a possible atomic war during the first Korean conflict!

WTF???

Admittedly, in 1954, when Combat Casey #19 was published by Atlas (later Marvel), scientific analysis of actual a-bomb explosions was limited, but I find it hard to believe that this was the cutting-edge of nuclear knowledge.

Then again...maybe it was, as detailed by this legendary character...

Why the sudden interest in nuclear war?
Perhaps this new "official" video from North Korea will explain...

See you soon (hopefully)...

Dis-missed!

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uniform and equipment needs!