Monday, November 11, 2013

Top 5 Military based comic books

With today being Veterans day I thought I should do something for it. Since people seem to love lists I have put together my top 5 comic books starring military based heroes.


5.G.I. Joe-This is one of the first comics I subscribed to. Based off the mega popular toy-line and cartoon, GI Joe ended up being one of the longest running comics based off a toy-line. And one of the best. Larry Hama developed a great amount of back story for all the various Joes. Plus this is a comic that got some many kids in the 80s into the fandom.

4.Sgt Fury and his Howling Commandos-From 1963 until 1981 this World War II based comic was published. Nick Fury is unusual in that he had two series at one time. One set in WWII where he leads a team of soldiers. And another set in the modern  day where he works for S.H.I.E.L.D. and is a super spy in the vein of James Bond. As a kid I never read Sgt Fury. But since then I have read lots of issues and it is a fun lightweight comic series.

3.Sgt Rock-First appearing in the summer of 1959, Sgt Rock is another series set in World War II. This is one I loved when I was younger. I grew up hearing my Grandpa tell stories about "The Big One". So when I saw a Sgt Rock comic on the spinner rack I had to read it. One thing that makes this series stand out compared to all the other World War II based comics is the stunning artwork from the late Joe Kubert. Mr Kubert co-created Sgt Rock with Robert Kanigher. The picture above is one of the many Showcase Presents volumes that reprint in order the Sgt Rock stuff. These are easy to find and very affordable.

2.The Unknown Soldier-Another character created by Joe Kubert and Robert Kanigher. First appearing in 1966, The Unknown Soldier had a fairly long running series. He started off appearing in Our Armies at War. Then got his own series. Unknown Soldier is a guy,we never learned his name, who got badly injured during World War II in the Philippines. His face got badly scared. After he recovers he is trained to become the best undercover agent ever. Now this is another I barely read as a kid. But a few years ago I got the above pictured trade. And read the entire thing in about 3 days.

1.Captain America-This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that knows me. Cap first appeared not too long before the USA got into World War II. And he has been around ever since. Cap is always shown to be the ultimate soldier. While he doesn't like to kill he will if it is needed. One thing I have always loved about Captain America is he has many times went against what the government wanted him to do. He believes in the ideals the USA were founded on. And if his superiors want him to do something he thinks is wrong he is quit to refuse to do it.