Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Tag: Our Army at War

Joe Kubert — Open Fire!

Original Art and The Artists

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.

Joe Kubert — Sure Shot

Original Art and The Artists

Our Army At War #145, August 1964

Joe Kubert likely drew more pages of war combat than any other artist in the history of comics.

And you would be hard-pressed to find any of his covers or stories that glorified combat.

Gritty? Yes. Realistic? Absolutely. Action-oriented? Of course. Suspenseful? Nearly every time.

But Kubert’s stories — typically collaborating with writer Bob Kanigher — focused on the horrors and tragedies of war. And his distinctive, roughhewn art, was a perfect fit for the genre.

If anyone created a “War Artists Hall of Fame” the inaugural class would likely feature Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Davis, Wallace Wood, and Russ Heath. 

And Kubert should absolutely be at the top of that list.

Happy Veteran’s Day, 2025. 

Today sees the arrival of a new reprint series: DC Finest — War, The Big Five Arrive, joining others that include the DC War Artist’s Edition a much earlier reprint, America at War. All four volumes of a DC archive collection reprinting Sgt. Rock are long out of print, and naturally, much sought after.

John Severin — The Bloody Flag

Original Art and The Artists

Our Army At War #272, September 1974

The single greatest compliment I ever heard abut John Severin’s art — and there were many others — came from Jack Kirby, via Mark Evanier:

“Jack used to say that when he had to research some historical costume or weapon for a story, it was just as good to use a John Severin drawing as it was to find a photo of the real thing.”

Severin’s lavish attention to detail caught my eye early. The line-work was so precise and polished. It was amazing stuff, especially considering that those details needed to reproduce on cheap, pulpy newsprint running on industrial web presses.

As a kid, especially remember his pitch-perfect inking on Herb Trimpe’s pencils for The Incredible Hulk. I also loved John’s pairing with sister Marie Severin on some of the earliest issues of Kull. John’s had one weakness was that occasionally his realistic line work could come off as stiff and inking Marie’s more dynamic layouts solved that issue.

Severin was best known for three non-superhero genres:  Westerns, humor, and war. He was a pro at all three, and everything else he touched as well.

As Evanier wrote, “They don’t make ’em like that anymore.” 

Indeed they don’t.

(These two pages, along with others, were especially selected for the exhibit “War No More” at the Words & Pictures Museum in Northampton, Mass. in 1993.)

John Severin’s first published war story appeared in EC’s Two Fisted Tales; inks by Will Elder and layouts by Harvey Kurtzman.
Early issues of Kull The Conqueror featured pencils (& colors) by Marie Severin and inks by brother John.

John Severin — Make War No More

Original Art and The Artists

Our Army At War #272, September 1974

DC’s war comic books, taking inspiration from EC’s titles years prior, featured some of the best stories published in any genre. They often dealt directly with the human toll and sacrifice of war, and rarely emphasized a false “glory of battle.” In the 1970s, Editor Joe Kubert quietly added in the widget “Make War No More” at the end of many of those stories. (Seen in the published page below as the paste-up in the original is missing.)

The brilliant John Severin (1922-2012), who drew some of the best of those original EC masterpieces, returns here to illustrate Robert Kanigher’s haunting Sgt. Rock tale “The Bloody Flag.” Rock’s dialogue, and his expression in panel three, sum up much more than just the story itself.

Today we honor John, and millions of other veterans of the armed forces, past and present. Thank you for your service!