- G.I. Combat
"G.I. Combat" is a long-running comic book series published first by
Quality Comics and later byNational Periodical Publications , which was the primary company of those that evolved to becomeDC Comics .Publication history
The focus of the book was on stories about American soldiers or
G.I. s. Initially, the stories involvedCold War adventures with stronganti-communist themes, but over time the focus shifted to tales fromWorld War II , and most of the stories from the mid 1950s on 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 of "G.I. Combat" was published in October 1952. When NPP acquired the rights to the Quality Comics characters and titles, they continued publishing the book starting with issue #44 in 1957. "G.I. Combat" was one of very few titles that NPP continued publishing, along with "Blackhawk", another war title. Many notable writers and artists worked on "G.I. Combat" during its run, including
Joe Kubert andNeal Adams .Each issue of "G.I. Combat" was an anthology book (composed of several short comic stories), a format that continued throughout its run. There were several popular recurring features, including most notably
The Haunted Tank , which was featured in "G.I. Combat" from 1961 to 1987. Other recurring features included "The Bravos of Vietnam" (about US 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. The title continued uninterrupted for over 30 years, through the transition of NPP to DC Comics. Beginning in 1977, "G.I. Combat" was DC's only war comic to be upgraded to its "Dollar Comic" line, with additional pages of content beyond the then-standard 32-page format.By the 1980s, war comics grew less marketable and comic companies began dropping these titles. DC's Sgt. Rock, The Unknown Soldier, and
Weird War Tales as well asMarvel Comics ' "Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos " were all discontinued in the 1980s. The final issue was #288 (March 1987)Video game
An unrelated video game of the same name was released to poor sales in 2002; it was the precursor of
Eric Young's Squad Assault . [ [http://pc.gamezone.com/news/07_08_02_10_44AM.htm Enter the world of GI Combat with Freedom Games Eric Young - PC News ] ]References
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