Wikipedia

G.I. Combat

G.I. Combatis an Americancomics anthologyfeaturingwar stories.It was published from 1952 until 1956 byQuality Comics,followed byDC Comicsuntil its final issue in 1987. In 2012 it was briefly revived.

G.I. Combat
G.I. Combat#168 (January 1974), cover art byNeal Adams.
Publication information
PublisherQuality Comics(1952–56)
DC Comics(1957–1987, 2012–2013)
ScheduleMonthly:
#1–78, #158–170
#175–200, #221–277
Bimonthly:
#79–157, #171–175
#201–220, #278–288
FormatOngoing series
GenreWar
Publication dateVol. 1:October 1952–March 1987
Vol. 2:July 2012– February 2013
No.of issuesVol. 1:288
Vol. 2:8 (#1–7 plus issue numbered 0)
Main character(s)The Haunted Tank
Creative team
Written by
List
Penciller(s)
List
Inker(s)
List
Editor(s)
List

Publication history

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The focus was on stories about American soldiers orG.I.s.Initially, the stories involvedCold Waradventures with stronganti-Communistthemes, but over time the focus shifted to tales fromWorld War II,and most of the stories after Quality ceased publishing the title were set during this period. As with other media, the World War II setting was sometimes used to discuss themes pertinent to contemporary conflicts such as theVietnam War.

The first issue ofG.I. Combatwas published in October 1952.[1][2]When DC Comics acquired the rights to the Quality Comics characters and titles, they continued publishing the series starting with issue #44 (January 1957).[3]G.I. CombatandBlackhawkwere the only Quality titles which DC continued publishing. Many notable writers and artists worked onG.I. Combatduring its run, includingRobert Kanigher,who also edited the title,Joe Kubert,Jerry GrandenettiandNeal Adams.

Each issue ofG.I. Combatcontained several short comic stories, a format that continued throughout its run. There were several recurring features in the DC Comics version of the title, including most notably "TheHaunted Tank",which first appeared in issue #87 (May 1961)[4]and ran until 1987.The Losers' first appearance as a group was with the Haunted Tank crew in issue #138 (Oct.-Nov. 1969),[5]in a story titled "The Losers". Other recurring features included "The Bravos of Vietnam" (about U.S. Marines in the Vietnam War) and late in its run, a return to Cold War themes with a short-lived recurring feature about 1980s mercenaries. Beginning with issue #201 (April–May 1977),G.I. Combatwas DC's only war comic to be upgraded to its "Dollar Comics"line, with additional pages of content beyond the then-standard 32-page format. The Dollar Comic format was used through issue #259 (November 1983).[6]The series continued in a 52-page giant-sized format through issue #281 (January 1986)[7]before returning to a standard 32 page size with #282 (March 1986).[8]

TheMonitor's first full appearance was inG.I. Combat#274 (February 1985).[9]By the 1980s, war comics grew less marketable andSgt. Rock,TheUnknown Soldier,andWeird War Taleswere discontinued.G.I. Combat's final issue was #288 (March 1987).

2012 series

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DC launched a newG.I. Combatongoing series (cover datedJuly 2012) as part ofThe New 52.[10]Featured stories included "The War that Time Forgot"by writerJ. T. Kruland artistAriel Olivetti,with back up stories starring theUnknown Soldierby writersJustin GrayandJimmy Palmiottiwith art byDan Panosian.[11]TheHaunted Tankfeature began in issue #5.[12]The new series was canceled as of issue #7 on sale in December 2012 and cover dated February 2013.[13][14]

Collected editions

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  • Sgt. Rock ArchivesVol. 1 includesG.I. Combat#68, 240 pages, May 2002,ISBN978-1-56389-841-9
  • America at WarincludesG.I. Combat#87: "Introducing -- the Haunted Tank" byRobert KanigherandRuss Heath,247 pages, July 1979,ISBN978-0671249533
  • Showcase Presents:Haunted Tank
  • DC Through the 80s: The End of ErascollectsG.I. Combat#288, 520 pages, December 2020,ISBN978-1779500878
  • G.I. Combat Vol. 1: The War That Time ForgotcollectsG.I. Combatvol. 2 #0-7, 224 pages, April 2013,ISBN978-1-4012-3853-7

References

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  1. ^G.I. Combat(Quality Comics)at theGrand Comics Database
  2. ^Overstreet, Robert M. (2019).Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide(49th ed.). Timonium, Maryland:Gemstone Publishing.p. 722.ISBN978-1603602334.
  3. ^G.I. Combat(DC Comics)at theGrand Comics Database
  4. ^McAvennie, Michael (2010). "1960s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.).DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle.London, United Kingdom:Dorling Kindersley.p. 103.ISBN978-0-7566-6742-9.G.I. Combat#87 saw Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart guide Lt. Jeb Stuart and the Haunted Tank on their first adventure by scribe Robert Kanigher and artist Russ Heath.
  5. ^McAvennie "1960s" in Dolan, p. 135: "Scribe Robert Kanigher and artist Russ Heath turned these self-described Losers - including" Navajo Ace "Johnny Cloud of the U.S. Army Air Force, Marines Gunner Mackey and Sarge Clay, and Captain William Storm, a PT boat commander with a prosthetic leg - into a fighting force that meshed as one".
  6. ^Romero, Max (July 2012). "I'll Buy That For a Dollar! DC Comics' Dollar Comics".Back Issue!(#57). Raleigh, North Carolina:TwoMorrows Publishing:39–41.
  7. ^"G.I. Combat#281 ".Grand Comics Database.
  8. ^"G.I. Combat#282 ".Grand Comics Database.
  9. ^Kanigher, Robert(w),Glanzman, Sam(p), Glanzman, Sam (i). "Death March"G.I. Combat,no. 274 (February 1985).
  10. ^Moore, Matt (May 2, 2012)."DC adds 6 new titles, including modernG.I. Combat".Yahoo! News.Archivedfrom the original on July 2, 2012.RetrievedNovember 3,2012.
  11. ^Kushins, Josh (January 12, 2012)."DC Comics in 2012-–-Introducing the" Second Wave "of DC Comics The New 52".The Source.DC Comics. Archived from"second-wave" -of-dc-comics-the-new-52/ the originalon January 15, 2012.RetrievedJanuary 14,2012.
  12. ^Tomasi, Peter(w),Chaykin, Howard(p), Chaykin, Howard (i). "Mettle"G.I. Combat,vol. 2, no. 5 (December 2012).
  13. ^Johnston, Rich(September 17, 2012)."DC Comics CancelsG.I. CombatWith Issue Seven ".Bleeding Cool. Archived fromthe originalon October 22, 2012.RetrievedNovember 3,2012.DC Comics has cancelled the first of their Second Wave titles.
  14. ^Langshaw, Mark (September 18, 2012)."G.I. Combatcanceled by DC Comics ".Digital Spy.Archived fromthe originalon October 14, 2012.RetrievedNovember 3,2012.G.I. Combatdraws to a close with issue #7 in December.
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