Our Fighting Forces
| Our Fighting Forces | |
|---|---|
|
Cover to Our Fighting Forces #29 (Jan. 1958). | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| Schedule |
Bimonthly: #1-11, #53-64, #104-153, #167-181 Monthly: #12-52, #154-166 Eight Times a Year: #65-103 |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre |
|
| Publication date | Oct./Nov. 1954 - Sept./Oct. 1978 |
| Number of issues | 181 |
| Main character(s) |
Gunner, Sarge and Pooch Larry Rock the Fighting Devil Dog Capt. Hunter Lt. Hunter's Hellcats The Losers |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Robert Kanigher |
| Artist(s) |
List
|
| Collected editions | |
| Jack Kirby's The Losers | ISBN 1-4012-2165-3 |
Our Fighting Forces is a DC Comics war-anthology comic book series that ran for 181 issues from 1954-1978.
Publication history
Our Fighting Forces began with an October-November 1954 cover date.[1] Writer-editor Robert Kanigher's work appeared in most issues of the title. Artist Alex Toth worked with writer/editor Archie Goodwin on the story "Burma Sky" in Our Fighting Forces #146 (Dec. 1973-Jan. 1974) and Goodwin praised Toth's art in a 1998 interview, stating "To me, having Alex Toth do any kind of airplane story, it's a joy for me. If I see a chance to do something like that, I will. He did a really fabulous job on it."[2] Jack Kirby wrote and drew issues #151 to 162 featuring The Losers.[1][3] Other contributors include artists Jack Abel, Ross Andru, Ken Barr, Gene Colan, Ed Davis, Mort Drucker, Mike Esposito, Ric Estrada, George Evans, Jerry Grandenetti, Russ Heath, Bruce Jones, Joe Kubert, Irv Novick, John Severin, Tom Sutton, Frank Thorne, and Wally Wood, some of whom would also script. The series was cancelled with issue #181 (September-October 1978).[1]
A Our Fighting Forces one-shot was published in November 2010.[4]
Recurring features
Features published in Our Fighting Forces include:
- Gunner and Sarge (from issue #45 [May 1959] to issue #94 [August 1965]) — two "Mud-Marines" and their white German Shepherd dog Pooch on a small island in the Pacific.[5]
- The Fighting Devil-Dog Lt. Larry Rock (the brother of Our Army at War's Sgt. Rock) (from issue #95 [October 1965] until #98 [February 1966]) — Marine wounded at Corregidor by shrapnel in his head that literally makes him see red on a Pacific Island.
- Capt. Phil Hunter (from issue #99 [April 1966] until #105 [January/February 1967]) — Green Beret in the Vietnam War searching for his twin brother Nick, a pilot shot down by the Viet Cong.
- Lt. Hunter's Hellcats (from #106 [March/April 1967] until #123 [January/February 1970])— Capt. Hunter's father Ben in World War II who formed a unit of military prisoners (a comics copy of The Dirty Dozen).[5]
- The Losers (issues #123 [January/February 1970] to #181 [September/October 1978]) — DC Comics war heroes[5] who had lost their own features:
- Capt. Storm of the Navy who appeared in his own series Capt. Storm which lasted 18 issues.
- Johnny Cloud of the Army Air Forces who appeared in All-American Men of War.
- Gunner & Sarge of the Marines who appeared in their own feature in Our Fighting Forces.
Collected editions
- Showcase Presents: The Losers collects G.I. Combat #138 and Our Fighting Forces #123-150, 456 pages, April 2012, ISBN 1-4012-3437-2
- The Losers by Jack Kirby collects Our Fighting Forces #151-162, 240 pages, March 2009, ISBN 1-4012-2165-3[6]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Our Fighting Forces at the Grand Comics Database
- ↑ Cooke, Jon B. (Spring 1998). "Archie's Comics - Archie Goodwin talks about DC in his last interview". Comic Book Artist (TwoMorrows Publishing) (1). Archived from the original on March 7, 2012.
- ↑ McAvennie, Michael; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1970s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9.
Jack Kirby also took on a group of established DC characters that had nothing to lose. The result was a year-long run of Our Fighting Forces tales that were action-packed, personal, and among the most beloved of World War II comics ever produced.
- ↑ Our Fighting Forces one-shot at the Grand Comics Database
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Irvine, Alex "1950s" in Dolan, p. 73
- ↑ "The Losers by Jack Kirby". DC Comics. March 11, 2009. Archived from the original on July 26, 2013.
External links
- Our Fighting Forces at the Comic Book DB
- Our Fighting Forces at Mike's Amazing World of Comics
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