Christmas Combat Comics WAR COMBAT "Silent Night"

TEN-HUT!

You believe war takes a time-out for the holidays, recruit?

Maybe it does!

Maybe it doesn't!

Illustrated by Mac L Pakula and scripted by a writer whose identity is lost in the fog of combat, this never-reprinted Yuletide tale from Atlas' War Combat #1 (1952) was typical of the melancholy tales the Korean Police Action inspired!

DIS-MISSED!

Halloween Horror MILITARY COMICS "Blue Tracer vs the Nazi Zombies!"

What could be more frightening than a slain enemy rising to fight again?

This Halloween tale (guest-starring Hitler himself) dares to answer the question!

This scary story from Quality's Military Comics #15 (1943) has a scientific, instead of supernatural, explanation.

Blue Tracer creator/writer/artist Fred Guardineer created and handled both sci-fi and mystical characters with equal enthusiasm, but he always seemed uncomfortable about doing war stories, unless they had a fantastical element.

Even this ongoing contribution to Military Comics (which was a fairly realistic war comic, except for Blackhawk), was about a fantastic torpedo-shaped vehicle that fought the Axis with super-science.

Asians in Combat JOHN WAYNE ADVENTURE COMICS "Bridgehead"

Ten-HUT!

You know John Wayne did a Vietnam War movie (Green Berets)...

...but he never did a Korean War flick!

(Jet Pilot is a Cold War movie involving Russians.

No Koreans or scenes set in Korea.)

Comic books were a different matter...

Trivia: Besides not doing a Korean War movie, Wayne never did a film set in World War II Germany!
This never-reprinted tale is from Toby's John Wayne Adventures #15 (1952), penciled by Mel Keefer.(The other credits are unknown)
You'll note that Wayne is referred to as "John Wayne", not "John Wayne as Sgt Stryker" or some other character he played in movies or a totally-new character!
One of the conceits of this 31-issue series, John Wayne Adventure Comics, was that Wayne was always himself in the stories, no matter where or when they were set!
Stories ran the gamut from Wayne in the French Foreign Legion to putting out oil-rig fires to big-game hunting in Africa to tracking spies in Hong Kong, with at least one Western-themed story every issue.
Oddly enough, though there are numerous comic adaptations of Wayne's Western movies, and even a comic based on The Conqueror (where he portrayed Genghis Khan), there are no comic adapting any of his war movies!
Until next time...

Dis-Missed!

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John Wayne
Four Fim Favorites

Christmas Combat Comics G.I. JOE "Weepy's Christmas"

Ten-Hut!

Christmas is a helluva time to be fighting a war...

 ...as the ORIGINAL G.I. Joe and his buddies discover during the Korean War!

This never-reprinted story from Ziff-Davis' G.I Joe #10 (1952), illustrated by penciler Irv Novick and inker Frank Giacoia, was published long before Hasbro unleashed their 12" action figures upon the kids of America, the phrase "G.I. Joe" was slang for American soldiers.

It was popularized in 1945 by the release of the movie Story of G.I. Joe, starring Burgess Meredith as real-life war correspondent Ernie Pyle as he traveled with American troops during the invasions of Tunisia and Italy.

Ziff-Davis used the phrase as the title for a new war comic beginning in 1950.

Set in the (then) present-day Korean War, the series detailed the saga of Private Joe Burch, and the rest of his unit.

Running an impressive 55 issues, the series ended in 1957 with Joe Burch and his unit reassigned stateside to Camp Humbolt.

We'll be presenting the highlights of the original G.I. Joe's comics career next year.

Until next time...

Dis-missed!

Halloween Horror AIR FIGHTERS COMICS "Meets Misery!" Conclusion

Ten-Hut!
When we last saw World War II's popular teen aviator hero...

...A shadowy figure calling himself "Misery" threatens to shoot down any British aircraft he encounters...and does so with frightening efficiency!
AirBoy responds to the challenge, but is knocked unconscious by Misery's otherworldly "Air Tomb" which zaps him with an electric charge...

Misery did, indeed, return...several times...in both AirBoy's Golden Age and Bronze Age adventures!
Note: the Bronze Age (1980s) series from Eclipse featured the son of the original AirBoy, but the original (Golden Age) versions of the Heap, Sky Wolf, and Valkyrie, with whom, like his father, he became...intimate!
Until next time...
DIS-MISSED!
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Airboy Archives
Volume 1