Looking Past the Caricatures to Say "Thank You"

Although war stories have long been a part of the comic book world, far too often the U.S fighting man has been portrayed as little more than a faceless pawn or a 2-dimensional caricature. Sometimes the wars they fought and died in became mere backdrops in the dopey desperation of selling just one more comic book.

To be sure, some war comics genuinely tried to portray soldiers and the wars they fought in with some degree of accuracy, empathy, and appreciation...but sadly, the vast majority of them fell far short of that. Let me be the first to admit I've enjoyed some of these crazy takes on war, but whenever Memorial Day rolls around, I realize just how stupid alot of that stuff was...and feel a bit ashamed for allowing it to obscure the true heroism and sacrifice made by so many fighting men.

So, on this Memorial Day, I need to remember these soldiers not as green plastic toys, dinosaur-hunters, or buffoonish cartoons...but as real people with real histories who gave everything they had.

Comments

[Pat Curley]

If they ever reprint them, I recommend reading DC's war comics of the 1950s. They're really very well done, with interesting characters and plots. One thing that DC did very well is that they tried to cover all the various occupations involved in the war.

Since you mentioned letters, one story I particularly loved was about a mail clerk in the army who never gets any mail himself. On of the soldiers in his regiment is anxiously awaiting a letter from his wife, who is expecting any day now. When the letter arrives the clerk braves his way to the front lines so that the guy will know his wife had a baby boy. And the mail clerk is surprised when a few weeks later he is deluged with mail from the sisters of the men in his regiment who were impressed with his courage and dedication.

I will admit having to get a hankie at the end of that story.

[zubzwank]

I didn't read DC's war comics as a kid, but I did read Sgt. Fury 'cause it was Marvel. The Howlers were not portrayed as buffoons or whatever, but as soldiers with a job to do, and who had lives besides that (like Fury's doomed lady friend).
One story was about a bigot who joined the team and ended up getting a blood transfusion from Gabe.
Stan and Jack played up the irony of a bigoted American fighting another country whose whole way of life was based on racial hatred.
Then the man's life was saved by the blood of a black man.

I was 11. There were some pretty serious things going on in that war comic, which also had great battle scenes.

[John]

I'm always amused that german troops in comics, computer games and movies are swastika obsessed. They are everywhere, flags, armbands, everyhing! But if you look at old pictures of that period you see hardly any swastikas at all.