Before they more or less solidified as an superheroes only medium, American comics were always trend chasing, finding something new to catch the audience’s eye. So, when the Korean war erupted in 1950, war comics suddenly became all the rage. At Atlas, their flagship book was called literally that: War Comics.
Buy Atlas Comics Library No. 4: War Comics Vol. 1This, the fourth in Fantagraphics Atlas Comic Library series, contains the first eight issues of War Comics. The series ran for 49 issues, from December of 1950 (just a few months after the conflict began) to 1957. The format is similar to many of Atlas’ other genre specific books. There are four comic stories and one short prose story, all of them related to war. Specifically, Korea and WWII.
The stories have an interesting range within the narrow confines of the genre. There are stories of individual gallantry or the power that resides in a group of men coming together for a single purpose. They come from several different branches, though they are mostly infantry tales.
Most of the stories are essentially a form of propaganda. A common pattern is some soldier voices dissatisfaction, either with the mission or the way the military works. They know better and will go their own way. Only after hardship (and often, just before death) do they find out that their mission is true. Their superiors know best. Stay in line.
The writing is generally in line with what one expects from ’50s comics. There’s a lot of description, a lot of expository dialogue. Some of the stories are better than others, of course, but the real draw here is the art. Various artists worked on each book, many of them uncredited. But there are several great, dynamic scenes of combat. Explosions, vehicles, equipment, men trudging over hills and through jungles. Several of the artists were themselves veterans of World War II, and I think that lends authenticity to their depiction of the madness of war.
A particular standout is “Alone!”, the opener of Issue #7. This depicts a soldier with the unenviable duty of having to go house to house in a bombed-out Korean town, making sure it’s been cleared out. The grim, almost impressionistic artwork and montage-like story create a real atmosphere of dread, as the soldier, going through his terrifying duty, wonders what he could do if ends up face to face with an enemy, all on his own.
Like all the Atlas Comics Library collections, how much one likes it depends entirely on how warm one can get to really old comics. As a historical document, it’s an impressive production. There’s a typically well researched and informative essay by series editor Michael J. Vassallo, providing context for the books. As best as he is able, he credits the various artists and writers who go nameless in its pages. These books are scanned and restored from the comics. They do not look like they’ve been at all digitally recolored. It feels like an authentic reading experience, albeit in the form of a big expensive oversized hardcover and not a floppy printed on newsprint. I find these books fascinating, though sometimes more interesting as historical artifacts than affecting stories. Still, if the subject is in your interest zone, I don’t think you could ask for a better presentation than this book.
