''G.I. Combat'' was an American

comics anthology A comics anthology collects works in the medium of comics, typically from multiple series, and compiles them into an anthology or magazine. The comics in these anthologies range from comic strips that are too short for standalone publication to ...

featuring war stories. It was published from 1952 until 1956 by

Quality Comics Quality Comics was an American comic book publishing company which operated from 1937 to 1956 and was a creative, influential force in what historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comic Books. Notable, long-running titles published by Qualit ...

, followed by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...

until its final issue in 1987. In 2012 it was briefly revived.

Publication history

The focus was on stories about American soldiers or G.I.s. Initially, the stories involved Cold War adventures with strong

anti-Communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and th ...

themes, but over time the focus shifted to tales from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and most of the stories after Quality ceased publishing the title 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 the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. The first issue of ''G.I. Combat'' was published in October 1952. When DC Comics acquired the rights to the Quality Comics characters and titles, they continued publishing the series starting with issue #44 (January 1957). ''G.I. Combat'' and '' Blackhawk'' were the only Quality titles which DC continued publishing. Many notable writers and artists worked on ''G.I. Combat'' during its run, including

Robert Kanigher Robert "Bob" Kanigher (; June 18, 1915 – May 7, 2002)Social Security Death Index, social security #116-07-5117. was an American comic book writer and editor whose career spanned five decades. He was involved with the Wonder Woman franchise for ...

, who also edited the title,

Joe Kubert Joseph Kubert (; September 18, 1926 – August 12, 2012) was a Polish-born American comic book artist, art teacher, and founder of The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman. He is also ...

Jerry Grandenetti Charles J. "Jerry" Grandenetti (April 15, 1926 – February 19, 2010) was an American comic book artist and advertising art director, best known for his work with writer-artist Will Eisner on the celebrated comics feature " The Spirit", and for h ...

and

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...

. Each issue of ''G.I. Combat'' contained several short comic stories, a format that continued throughout its run. There were several recurring features in the DC Comics version of the title, including most notably "The

Haunted Tank The Haunted Tank is a comic book feature that appeared in the DC Comics anthology war title '' G.I. Combat'' from 1961 through 1987. Publication history The Haunted Tank was created by writer and editor Robert Kanigher and artist Russ Heath in ...

", which first appeared in issue #87 (May 1961) and ran until 1987. The Losers' first appearance as a group was with the Haunted Tank crew in issue #138 (Oct.-Nov. 1969), in a story titled "The Losers". Other recurring features included "The Bravos of Vietnam" (about U.S. 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. Beginning with issue #201 (April–May 1977), ''G.I. Combat'' was DC's only war comic to be upgraded to its " Dollar Comics" line, with additional pages of content beyond the then-standard 32-page format. The Dollar Comic format was used through issue #259 (November 1983). The series continued in a 52-page giant-sized format through issue #281 (January 1986) before returning to a standard 32 page size with #282 (March 1986). The Monitor's first full appearance was in ''G.I. Combat'' #274 (February 1985). By the 1980s, war comics grew less marketable and ''

Sgt. Rock Sgt. Franklin John Rock is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Sgt. Rock first appeared in '' Our Army at War'' #83 (June 1959), and was created by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert. The character is ...

'', ''The Unknown Soldier'', and ''

Weird War Tales ''Weird War Tales'' was a war comic book title with supernatural overtones published by DC Comics. It was published from September–October 1971 to June 1983. Publication history The original title ran for 12 years and 124 issues. It was ...

'' were discontinued. ''G.I. Combats final issue was #288 (March 1987).

2012 series

DC launched a new ''G.I. Combat'' ongoing series (

cover date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unu ...

d July 2012) as part of

The New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero American comic books, comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint (comics), Flashpoint" Fictional crossover, cross ...

. Featured stories included " The War that Time Forgot" by writer J. T. Krul and artist

Ariel Olivetti Ariel Olivetti (born November 15, 1967) is an Argentine comic book penciller best known for his work on American comic book titles such as ''Daredevil'', '' X-Man'', '' Space Ghost'' and '' Punisher War Journal''. Career Olivetti studied Graph ...

, with back up stories starring the Unknown Soldier by writers

Justin Gray Justin Gray is an American comic book writer working mostly for DC Comics. Career Gray has often collaborated with fellow writer Jimmy Palmiotti on series such as ''Hawkman'', '' Jonah Hex'', ''Power Girl'', '' 21 Down'', ''Uncle Sam and the ...

and

Jimmy Palmiotti James Palmiotti (born August 14, 1961) is an American writer and inker of comic books, who also does writing for games, television and film. Early life Palmiotti attended the High School of Art and Design in New York City. Career Palmiotti sta ...

with art by Dan Panosian. The

feature began in issue #5. The new series was canceled as of issue #7 on sale in December 2012 and cover dated February 2013.

Collected editions

* ''Sgt. Rock Archives'' Vol. 1 includes ''G.I. Combat'' #68, 240 pages, May 2002, * ''America at War'' includes ''G.I. Combat'' #87: "Introducing -- the Haunted Tank" by

and

Russ Heath Russell Heath Jr. (September 29, 1926 – August 23, 2018), was an American artist best known for his comic book work, particularly his DC Comics war stories and his 1960s art for ''Playboy'' magazine's " Little Annie Fanny" feature. He also pro ...

, 247 pages, July 1979, * '' Showcase Presents: Haunted Tank'' ** ''Volume 1'' collects ''G.I. Combat'' #87-119, 560 pages, May 2006, ** ''Volume 2'' collects ''G.I. Combat'' #120-157, 560 pages, June 2008, * ''DC Through the 80s: The End of Eras'' collects ''G.I. Combat'' #288, 520 pages, December 2020, * ''G.I. Combat Vol. 1: The War That Time Forgot'' collects ''G.I. Combat'' vol. 2 #0-7, 224 pages, April 2013,

References

External links

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''G.I. Combat''
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an
''G. I. Combat'' vol. 2
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