WWI in comics

[Southside Bucky]

[Southside Bucky]

[Southside Bucky]

[Balloon_Buster]

Boy, Von Hammer sure went through a lot of triplanes! And considering only like, what, 130 were made all told?

[Balloon_Buster]

Here's that mini-series that I was talking about that took place in the 1920s called "Guns of the Dragon" and featured Von Hammer amongst others:

Google Image Result for http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bdVR-JIDi2g/SB-Id9XJSdI/AAAAAAAAGb8/nVzkrnxBCec/s400/3.jpeg

[Balloon_Buster]

Here's that issue of "All-American Men of War" that featured the time-travelling Yank and his Sopwith Camel:




DC featured WW1 air war stories quite a bit. Certainly more than Marvel did.

I like this topic!

[Balloon_Buster]

I see that DC also had a running series in "All American Men of War" entitled "Battle Aces of 3 Wars", too, featuring a WW1, WW2 and Korean War story. I remember they had one story where a WW2 pilot was telling his squad mates about his pilot father in WW1. In a nutshell, his mom is a natural born flier (she's in the army as a nurse) who goes up on a mission because his father is too hung over from a party. The squad mates don't believe that his mom saw combat, and right then a formation of Mustangs that are being ferried to their base land on their airfield. He tells them he knows the squad leader, and invites them over. As the pilot gets out of the lead 'Stang, he says, "Boys, meet my mother!", who pulls off her headgear and shows that yes indeed, it's dear old mom.

[jumpinjan]

Thanks for posting all those cover shots, they are great.
Here is a comic book that I bought in 1996, that I found in a store with my daughter. Its interesting just how recent this was made. There's some good Triplane profile illustrations in the comic book too.

[Kirk R. Lowry]

Bonjour mes amis!

How I have wanted to throw the hat into the ring, so to speak, and comment on comic books featuring Great War aviation, but, commitments and responsibility, curses and not of the Red Baron sort, have precluded the effort ... until now.

I thought to begin with the works published by the, legendary, publisher E.C. Comics and, in particular, with the work of George Evans (some of which has been contributed by Greg and Southside Bucky), who was (and remains) the greatest of them all.

George Evans was born on February 5, 1920 and developed a love for aviation which led to service in the U.S.A.A.F., but distinctly poor vision precluded flying. He became a mechanic and latter noted "they let me fool around with airplanes, but the were training airplanes. They never got overseas. They were AT-6s and BT-13s and I enjoyed the hell out of it". Following the war Evans studied at The Art Student's League, under Frank Reilly, and worked as an illustrator and comic strip and comic book artist from 1946 onward.

Evans worked at Fiction House, Better Publications, Fawcett and had work published in Air Trails. Believing the advice given by friend and artist Al Williamson to do so, he offered to work for Entertaining Comics, the infamous E.C., was given work and there flourished. The horror genre brought Evans success, as well as the admiration of peers, but, Great War aviation was the passion that motivated the hand.

The E.C. attitude was to maintain, what was for the time, a consistency of accuracy to historical subject matter and thus Evans was able to produce what must still stand as the greatest of Great War aviation artwork to appear in comics.


George Evans at work on FRANK LUKE! (originally appeared in FRONTLINE COMBAT NO. 13)


Orignial artwork by Evans for FRANK LUKE! which appeared in FRONTLINE COMBAT NO. 13


Detail from The Way It Was which appeared in ACES HIGH NO. 1.


Detail from CHIVALRY! which appeared in ACES HIGH NO. 2.


Detail from the cover of ACES HIGH NO.4 (Note the detail to this detail: the inscriptions to the patches over damage on the upper wing ... wonderful touch!)

Evans found working under publisher Bill Gaines and editor Al Feldstein a "joy ... you'd work for them for free". He related that that while it was alway others, Harvey Kurtzman for one, who actually wrote the stories illustrated in the various titles, for ACES HIGH he was paid by Gaines "25 to pick up what he called "major errors" ... In the first issue there were so many that when I handed him the list I think he paid the $25 extra each latter issue just to not to have to worry about it"! Evans efforts to establish accuracy where possible seem amazing for the time ... drawing a Sopwith Dolphin ... imagine what a comic book colourist thought when confronted with a lozenge pattern on a Fokker D.VII!

The pressure from elements of the American government, actually individual politicians generating and exploiting fear, brought about the demise of the two fisted E.C. comics as publishers and distributors began to censor and prohibit publications and Evans was forced to seek work elsewhere. ... more about that latter work to come. It should be remembered though, that while Evans was the master, there were other artists at E.C. illustrating air battles of The Great War ...

Salut!
Kirk

[Kirk R. Lowry]

Bonjour mes amis!

Among the great artists who worked for Entertaining Comics, the notorious E.C., there were four other than George Evans who created artwork for Great War Aviation stories that appeared in either TWO FISTED TALES or FRONTLINE COMBAT, both of which related tales of conflict, or ACES HIGH in which works were exclusively about aerial combat. Each was to be recognized as one of the great comic book artists and earn the respect of those who bought comic books and fellow creators. Perhaps none were able to apply the same passion as did Evans for the subject, but, each produced memorable work featuring Great War aircraft nonetheless.

Jack Davis became a celebrated comic book artist and illustrator particularly renown for work done with Harvey Kurtzman, though, when working at E.C. was a favorite for illustrating horror stories, particularly, in TALES FROM THE CRYPT.


Detail of the cover of TWO-FISTED TALES No.34 by Jack Davis (to accompany the story GUYNEMER!).


Original artwork for HOME AGAIN, ACES HIGH NO. 4, by Jack Davis.

Bernie Krigstein was a brilliant creator who incorporated art into illustration and sought the very limits of comic book conventions earning respect for works of oppressive horror and social commentary.


Original artwork for THE MASCOT, ACES HIGH NO. 1 by Bernie Krigstein.

John Severin proved to be an enduring talent who specialized in tales of action, often, military who strived for accuracy and would make some significant contributions to Great War aviation comic books in years to come ...


Original art for RED KNIGHT!, TWO-FISTED TALES No.29 by John Severin (note the initials on the desk which von Richthofen leans which are all of E.C. artists and writers, Joe Orlando, Wally Wood, Johnny Craig, Graham Ingels loves William Gaines, the publisher, Harvey Kurtzman, William Evans, Jack Kamen, Jack Davis, Al Feldstein).


Wally Wood was to become one of the most celebrated comic book artists of all time much appreciated for talents at depicting gleaming metal, be it on armour or machines, and, beautiful women.


From THE OUTSIDER, ACES HIGH NO. 1 by Wally Wood.

Of course Evans had great respect for all of these superb artists, but, must have had difficulty commenting politely about the aircraft drawn by the others working at E.C. He was to note that Davis was excellent at drawing beautiful caricatures of aircraft. Evans was to relate an amusing conversation at lunch between editor Al Feldstein, writer Harvey Kurtzman and him self when new with E.C. -
"Al Feldstein mentioned that I was kind of an aviation nut when Harvey gave me one of those piercing looks. He said, "Do you know anything about World War I aviation?"
I said, "Well, that's specifically the era that I'm most interested in."
He said, "How did you like 'The Red Baron?'" [The RED KNIGHT! story written by Kurtzman and illustrated by Severin] John Severin had done the artwork on it and, of course, the had taken it from Floyd Gibbons' book ... even the way it was handled. I said, "Well, it was good, but it contained Gibbons' errors. The airplanes were well drawn, but obviously John didn't know about rotary motors." The rotary motor goes round and round with the propeller ... John had drawn each cylinder standing nice and still.
Well Harvey didn't believe it. Afterwards he looked it up and found that it was a fact. Harvey wanted authenticity, and I appeared to know what was and wasn't authentic."

Salut!
Kirk