Thursday, January 7, 2016

THIS IS WAR "Show Them How to Die"

Ten-Hut!
With Kim Jong Un and North Korea threatening us once again...
...let's show him how we Americans handle such matters...even Americans with a potentially life-threatening disability!
Illustrated by Alex Toth and John Celardo, this tale from Standard's This is War #5 (1952) was typical of the tales of the Korean War era with less bombast and anti-enemy vitriol than the comics of World War II, and more emphasis of the "we're just regular joes doing our duty" concept.
The writer is unknown.
Until we meet again...
Dis-missed!

Thursday, June 18, 2015

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...
Wow...

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

WORLD WAR STORIES "Glory at Gallipoli: Endless Fight"

...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.

Saturday, April 25, 2015

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

...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.

Thursday, April 9, 2015

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.