Joe Kubert — Open Fire!
Our Army At War #124, November 1962
A gorgeous, emotional war page from the master, Joe Kubert. Want to know how good DC’s war comics could be? This is a pretty good place to start.
And as good as it looks here, it’s even better when you’re looking at the large original. You’ll have to trust me on that.
I picked it up at SDCC this past summer, although “picked it up” makes the whole thing sound much easier than it was.
The original seller—a well-known vintage comics dealer who doesn’t specialize in original art—had already flipped it. This despite my telling him I would beat any realistic offer. Had I not been sitting in the right place at the right time, I would have missed it entirely. Getting it home still took some doing, including having to buy a rather expensive package of pages to get the one I really wanted.
No sour grapes. I got the page, and I love it. Besides, I was already leaning toward buying the others. (For the names of the guilty and the helpful, you’ll have to ask me in person.)
Having this one in hand also reminded me of one of my favorite sights at the old IDW offices in Point Loma. I may have told this story before, but Dirk Wood, our illustrious VP of Marketing, used proof pages from our DC war comics Artist’s Edition to wallpaper his office. And I mean wallpaper.
Kubert, Heath, Toth, Kirby… wall to wall.
War comics might seem like an odd choice for office decor, but wow, was it beautiful. Most of us hung a few pieces on the wall. Dirk went all in.
Happy Veterans Day. To all who served, thank you.
