Action and adventure
Action and adventure |
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Page 23 of 42  Cover and strip from All Winners (Marvel Comics, 194C). Art: probably Alex Schomberg. Script: Anon. Here, the 'Cap' teams up with The Human Torch and Sub-Mariner, among others. The idea was to have a comic with 'all winners and no losers'. American war comics concentrated on the Second World War, just like their British counterparts, and were just as racist towards the Germans and Japanese (the latter were sometimes referred to as 'Japanazis' for extra effect). They also fed much more from the Korean conflict in the early 1950s: titles like War Action and War Adventure (both Atlas, 1952) portrayed the Koreans in the same way as the Japanese - yellow-skinned demons - and generally perpetuated old formulas. By far the best war comics were two anthologies published around this time by EC (Entertaining Comics), Two Fisted Tales (1950) and Frontline Combat (1951), which took a more realistic approach. With outstanding, historically-accurate artwork by Wally Wood, John Severin and others, and under the proselytizing influence of contributing editor Harvey Kurtzman (who simultaneously fulfilled the same role on Mad), these comics pointedly eschewed gung-ho glamour in favour of an emphasis on war's horrors.  Cover and strip from All Winners (Marvel Comics, 194C). Art: probably Alex Schomberg. Script: Anon. Here, the 'Cap' teams up with The Human Torch and Sub-Mariner, among others. The idea was to have a comic with 'all winners and no losers'.  Cover and splash pages from Captain America (Marvel Comics, 1968). The 'Cap' was revived in the 1960s, but his patriotism seemed decidedly out of tune with the Vietnam era. The artist for this issue was the great Jim Steranko who would be a major influence on the next generation of superhero creators |