''Star Spangled War Stories'' was the title of a

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 t ...

published 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 thei ...

that featured

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

-themed characters and stories. Among the features published in this series were writer-editor

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 ...

and artist

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 ...

's "

Mademoiselle Marie Mademoiselle Marie (often shortened to Mlle. Marie) is the name of two fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. She first appeared in ''Star Spangled War Stories'' #84 (August 1959), and was created by Robert Kanigher ...

", about a

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

fighter, debuting in #84 (Aug. 1959); ''

The War that Time Forgot ''The War that Time Forgot'' was a comic book feature published by DC Comics beginning in 1960 in the title '' Star Spangled War Stories'', created by Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. It ran for eight years, ending in 1968 and retur ...

'' featuring the

Suicide Squad The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...

, the "

Enemy Ace ''Enemy Ace'' (german: Feindliches Ass) is a DC Comics property about the adventures of a skilled but troubled German anti-hero and flying ace in World War I and World War II, Hans von Hammer, known to the world as "The Hammer of Hell". Debutin ...

" and the " Unknown Soldier".

Publication history

Original series

Initially, ''Star Spangled War Stories'' was a retitling of ''

Star-Spangled Comics ''Star Spangled Comics'' was a comics anthology published by DC Comics which ran for 130 issues from October 1941 to July 1952. It was then retitled '' Star Spangled War Stories'' and lasted until issue #204 (February–March 1977). Publication hi ...

'' and continued the numbering of its predecessor with #131. That lasted until #133, when DC rebooted the numbering with issue #3 — even though there had already been three issues before that. The end result was that there are two separate comics numbered as ''Star Spangled War Stories'' #131, #132 and #133 — the ones issued in 1952 and the ones issued in 1967. "

" was an ongoing feature introduced by writer

and artist

Ross Andru Ross Andru (; born Rostislav Androuchkevitch, June 15, 1927 – November 9, 1993) Part 1: Animation: We Leave the Army", p. 21. In 1948, Andru's first professional work as a comic strip illustrator was drawing layouts for the ''Tarzan (comics), T ...

in issue #90 (May 1960). The Unknown Soldier became the lead feature in #151 (June–July 1970). ''Star-Spangled War Stories'' ran for over 200 issues from 1952 to 1977. The series ended with issue #204. With #205, the numbering resumed under the title of ''The Unknown Soldier''.

The New 52

An ongoing series, ''Star Spangled War Stories Featuring G.I. Zombie'', set in the present-day

New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC canceled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new series ...

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...

debuted in September 2014. This series was canceled as of issue #8 (May 2015) which went on sale in March.

Creators associated with ''Star Spangled War Stories''

Writers who worked on ''Star-Spangled War Stories'' include Kanigher (its editor) and

David Michelinie David Michelinie (; born May 6, 1948) is an American comic book writer best known for scripting Marvel Comics' ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and '' Iron Man'' and the DC Comics feature Superman in ''Action Comics''. Among the characters he created o ...

Ed Herron Francis Edward Herron (July 23, 1917 – September 2, 1966) was an American comic book writer and editor active in the 1940s–1960s, mainly for DC Comics. He is credited with co-creating Captain Marvel Jr. and the Red Skull, as well as such char ...

Bill Finger Milton "Bill" Finger (February 8, 1914 – January 18, 1974) was an American comic strip, comic book, film and television writer who was the co-creator (with Bob Kane) of the DC Comics character Batman. Despite making major (sometimes, signatu ...

, and

Bob Haney Robert Gilbert Haney, Jr. (March 15, 1926 – November 25, 2004) was an American comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics. He co-created the Teen Titans as well as characters such as Metamorpho, Eclipso, Cain, and the Super-Sons ...

. Among the artists who contributed were

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 creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and recognition for Supe ...

Gene Colan Eugene Jules Colan (; September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011)Eugene Colan
at the Social Security Death Index via ...

Mort Drucker Morris "Mort" Drucker (March 22, 1929 – April 9, 2020) was an American caricaturist and comics artist best known as a contributor for over five decades in '' Mad'', where he specialized in satires on the leading feature films and televisio ...

, Mike Esposito,

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 prod ...

Carmine Infantino Carmine Michael Infantino (; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics artist and editing, editor, primarily for DC Comics, during the late 1950s and early 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comic Books. Among his character creat ...

Bernard Krigstein Bernard Krigstein (; March 22, 1919 – January 8, 1990), was an American illustrator and gallery artist who received acclaim for his innovative and influential approach to comic book art, notably in EC Comics. His artwork usually displayed the s ...

Joe Kubert Joseph Kubert (; September 18, 1926 – August 12, 2012) was a Poland, Polish-born Americans, 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 Hawkm ...

Leonard Starr Leonard Starr (October 28, 1925 – June 30, 2015) was an American cartoonist, comic book artist, and advertising artist, best known for creating the newspaper comic strip '' On Stage'' and reviving ''Little Orphan Annie''. Early life Born Octob ...

, and

Curt Swan Douglas Curtis Swan (February 17, 1920 – June 17, 1996) was an American comics artist. The artist most associated with Superman during the period fans call the Bronze Age of Comic Books, Swan produced hundreds of covers and stories from the 195 ...

Awards

The series won the 1969

Alley Award The Alley Award was an American annual series of comic book fan awards, first presented in 1962 for comics published in 1961. Officially organized under the aegis of the Academy of Comic Book Arts and Sciences, the award shared close ties with the ...

for "Best War Title".

Collected editions

* ''America at War'' includes ''Star Spangled War Stories'' #87: "T.N.T. Spotlight" by

and

; #134: "The Killing Ground" by Kanigher and

; and #183: "8,000 to One" by

and Gerry Taloac, 247 pages, July 1979, * ''Showcase Presents:

'' Vol. 1 collects "The War that Time Forgot" stories from ''Star Spangled War Stories'' #90-137, 560 pages, June 2007, * ''DC Universe Illustrated by Neal Adams'' Vol. 1 includes ''Star Spangled War Stories'' #134: "The Killing Ground" by Robert Kanigher and Neal Adams and #144: "Death Takes No Holiday" by Kanigher, Adams, and

, 192 pages, January 2009, * ''Showcase Presents:

'' Vol. 1 collects "Enemy Ace" stories from ''Star-Spangled War Stories'' #138-152, 158, 181-183, 200, 552 pages, February 2008, * ''Showcase Presents: The Unknown Soldier'' Vol. 1 collects "Unknown Soldier" stories from ''Star Spangled War Stories'' #151-190, 544 pages, November 2006, * ''The Art of Walter Simonson'' includes ''Star Spangled War Stories'' #170: "U. F. M." and ''Star Spangled War Stories'' #180: "Return" both by Gerry Boudreau and

Walt Simonson Walter Simonson (born September 2, 1946) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for a run on Marvel Comics' ''Thor'' from 1983 to 1987, during which he created the character Beta Ray Bill. He is also known for the creator-owned w ...

, 208 pages, June 1989, * ''Showcase Presents: The Unknown Soldier'' Vol. 2 collects "Unknown Soldier" stories from ''Star Spangled War Stories'' #191-204, 592 pages, July 2013,

References

External links

*
''Star Spangled War Stories''
at Comicvine
''Star Spangled War Stories''
at Cover Browser
''Star Spangled War Stories''
an
''Star Spangled War Stories Featuring G.I. Zombie''
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics {{The New 52, state=collapsed 1952 comics debuts 1977 comics endings 2014 comics debuts 2015 comics endings Comics anthologies Comics by Archie Goodwin (comics) Comics by Arnold Drake Comics by Bob Haney Comics by David Michelinie Comics by Robert Kanigher Comics magazines published in the United States DC Comics one-shots DC Comics set during World War II Defunct American comics Magazines disestablished in 1977 Magazines disestablished in 2015 Magazines established in 1952 Magazines established in 2014