Don Lomax (born 1944) is an American comic book writer/artist best known for his long-running comic ''

Vietnam Journal ''Vietnam Journal'' was a war comic, war comic book series written and drawn by Don Lomax and published by Apple Comics from November 1987 to April 1991. Plot The story follows Scott Neithammer, nicknamed "Journal" by the American soldiers, a ...

''. A veteran of the Vietnam War, much of Lomax's adrenaline-fueled work centers on the military experience, and its gritty, unflinching depiction of the reality of war, specifically in Vietnam.

Biography

Early life

Growing up in Bushnell, Illinois, Lomax's artistic influences included Jack Davis and Berni Wrightson,Lomax profile
, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. as well as the war comics '' Two-Fisted Tales'' and ''

Blazing Combat ''Blazing Combat'' was an American war-comics magazine published quarterly by Warren Publishing from 1965 to 1966. Written and edited by Archie Goodwin, with artwork by such industry notables as Gene Colan, Frank Frazetta, John Severin, Alex Toth ...

''.

Military service

Drafted into the U.S. Army in the fall of 1965, Lomax did his basic training at

Fort Knox Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository, which is used to house a large portion of the United States' official gold res ...

. In the fall of 1966, he was shipped out to Vietnam on the ''

USS General John Pope USS ''General John Pope'' (AP-110) was a troop transport that served with the United States Navy in World War II. After the war she was transferred to the Army and redesignated USAT ''General John Pope''. She later served in the Korean and Vietna ...

'',Epstein, Daniel Robert
"Don Lomax's Vietnam Memories,"
Newsarama (August 28, 2003). deployed to the 98th Light Equipment Maintenance Company. During his tour of duty, Lomax made notes and sketches which later were incorporated into ''

''. According to Lomax, the War ". . . opened my eyes. Before I went into the war I trusted everybody, and when I came out I trusted nobody or the government."

Comics

Lomax's first professional comics work was ''Atilla the Frog'' for '' Heavy Metal'' magazine in 1979. In the early 1980s, he published comics stories in magazines like '' Cavalier'' and '' Hustler Humor'', as well as contributing to Fantagraphics' ''Anything Goes!''. Lomax supplied art for Pacific Comics' ''

Twisted Tales ''Twisted Tales'' was a horror comics anthology published by Pacific Comics and, later, Eclipse Comics, in the early 1980s. The title was edited by Bruce Jones and April Campbell. Publication history ''Twisted Tales'' was published on a bi-mo ...

'', and for back-up stories in First Comics titles like '' American Flagg!'', ''

Starslayer ''Starslayer: The Log of the Jolly Roger'' was an American comic book series created by Mike Grell. Publication history Grell originally created ''Starslayer'' for DC Comics, but plans to publish it were halted after the mass cancellation of title ...

'', and ''The Black Flame''.

''Vietnam Journal'' and ''Desert Storm Journal''

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

, after doing some work for the fledgling publisher

Apple Comics Apple Comics, also known as Apple Press, was an American comic book publisher which operated from 1986 to 1994. Founded by Michael Catron, they began by taking over the publishing elements of comic production from WaRP Graphics, before expanding ...

, Lomax pitched Apple editor Michael Catron his proposal for ''

''. Given the concurrent success of Vietnam-related films like '' Platoon'' and ''

Full Metal Jacket ''Full Metal Jacket'' is a 1987 war drama film directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Herr and Gustav Hasford. The film is based on Hasford's 1979 novel ''The Short-Timers'' and stars Matthew M ...

'', Catron agreed to Lomax's proposal. Between 1987 and 1991, Apple published 16 issues of ''

'', which then spawned a selection of limited series and one-shots. ''Vietnam Journal'' tells the fictional adventures of war correspondent Scott "Journal" Neithammer. During this period, Apple also published Lomax's four-issue limited series ''High Shining Brass'', collecting the Vietnam War stories of Robert Durand. ''

'' collections were published by Apple Comics in 1987 and 1991. The publisher went bankrupt in 1994; right at that time Lomax published new ''

'' material in the short-lived Dark Horse Comics series ''Harvey Kurtzman's The New Two-Fisted Tales''. ''

'' was later revived as a monthly full-page strip from 2002 to 2006 by '' Gallery''. ''

'' collections were re-issued by

iBooks iBooks may refer to: * iBooks, the former name of Apple Books. * ibooks Inc., a book and comics publishing company founded by Byron Preiss Byron Preiss (April 11, 1953 – July 9, 2005)Harvey Award for Best Domestic Reprint Project. Lomax was at the time continuing the ''

'' series and posting it on his website in five-page increments twice a month. The entire ''

'' series was re-issued in graphic novel form through

Transfuzion Publishing Gary Reed (May 21, 1956 – October 3, 2016) was an American Comics, comic book writer, and the Publishing, publisher of Caliber Comics, an independent comic book company that released 1,300 titles in the 1990s and published early work by m ...

. In 2004, iBooks published Lomax's ''Gulf War Journal'', featuring the further adventures of "Journal" Neithammer. This time Journal is covering the Gulf War. Journal gets caught up in the war between the Pentagon and the press, and heads off into the desert on his own, getting an unwelcome first-hand taste of the fury of American firepower. Then, years later, Journal once again finds himself dealing with the war in Iraq with the launching of

Operation Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

Other comics work

In 1992–1993, Lomax wrote Marvel Comics' Vietnam comic '' The 'Nam'', as well as providing inks for their comic '' Sleepwalker'', '' The Punisher'', and others. He has also had comics and cartoons appear in dozens of national magazines, including ''Easyriders'', ''Heavy Metal'', ''CARtoons,'' various truck magazines, and numerous pornographic magazines. His weekly comic, "Boomer Hayes" is created in collaboration with Steven Calitri of
American Towman Magazine
'. Some of Lomax's recent and ongoing projects include ''Guard Tales'', a nonfiction strip about National Guard of the United States soldiers published in ''GX Magazine''; ''Knights of the Road'', a nonfiction strip about truck driver heroes, published in ''Overdrive Magazine''; ''Above and Beyond'', true stories of law enforcement personnel, published by ''

Police and Security News ''Police and Security News'' also known as ''P&SN'' is a bimonthly American magazine which covers news, information, products and services which affect policing and law enforcement.

''; and ''The Boys in the Basement'', a strip published in '' Model Railroading Magazine'' from 1998 to 2006.

Personal life

Lomax lives in Illinois with his second wife Zenaida. He has four children, two of whom have also served in the military.

Bibliography

Comics

* ''Twisted Tales'' (issue 4, August 1983) * ''The 'Nam'' (issues #70-84, July 1992-September 1993) * ''Vietnam Journal'' (16 issues, November 1987–April 1991) * ''Vietnam Journal: Bloodbath at Khe Sanh'' (4 issues, 1992–December 1993) * ''Vietnam Journal: Indian Country'' (Apple Comics, 1 issue, 1990) * ''High Shining Brass'' (4 issues, 1990–June 1991) * ''Survive!''(Apple Comics, 1 issue, 1992) * ''Vietnam Journal: Tet '68'' (6 issues, March 1992 – 1993) * ''Vietnam Journal: The Iron Triangle'' (Apple Comics, 1 issue, 1993) * ''Vietnam Journal: Valley of Death'' (1 issues, June–August 1994)

Graphic novels and collections

*''Vietnam Journal Book One: Indian Country'' (reprints #1-4, plus original story) (Apple Press, 1990) *''Vietnam Journal Book Two: The Iron Triangle'' (reprints 5–8, plus original story) (Apple Press, 1991) *''Vietnam Journal: Delta to Dak To'' (reprints 9–12) (Apple Press, 1991) *''Gulf War Journal'' (reprints #1-9) (iBooks, 2004) *''Burlington Route Tower Cartoonist'' (''Boys in the Basement'' collection;

South Platte Press South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

, 2004) *''Vietnam Journal Book One: Indian Country'' (Transfuzion Publishing, 2009) *''Vietnam Journal Book Two: the Iron Triangle'' (Transfuzion Publishing, 2010) *''Vietnam Journal Book Three: From the Delta to Dak To'' (Transfuzion Publishing, 2010) *''Vietnam Journal Book Four: MIA'' (Transfuzion Publishing, 2010) *''Vietnam Journal Book Five: Tet '68'' (Transfuzion Publishing, 2010) *''Vietnam Journal Book Six: Bloodbath at Khe Sanh'' (Transfuzion Publishing, 2011) *''Vietnam Journal Book Seven: Valley of Death'' (Transfuzion Publishing, 2011) *''Vietnam Journal Series Two, Book One: Incursion'' (Caliber Publishing, 2017) *''Vietnam Journal Series Two, Book Two: Journey into Hell'' (Caliber Publishing, 2018) *''Vietnam Journal Series Two, Book Three: Ripcord'' (Caliber Publishing, 2020)

Notes

References

* * "Don Lomax: An Interview With The Creator of ''Vietnam Journal''," ''The Comics Journal'' #136 (July 1990), pp. 86–109. * "Don Lomax: An Interview with the creator of ''Vietnam Journal'',and Writer of the ''Nam' Comic for Marvel 'Vietnam Magazine" (June 2012) pgs 46–51.

External links

*
Vietnam Journal Continuum
— sample ''

'' pages {{DEFAULTSORT:Lomax, Don 1944 births Living people United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War People from Bushnell, Illinois United States Army soldiers