''Fightin' Army'' is a bimonthly

war comic War comics is a genre of comic books that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following World War II. History American war comics Shortly after the birth of the modern comic book in the mid- to late 1930s, comics publishers began inc ...

that was published by

Charlton Comics Charlton Comics was an American comic-book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T. W. O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line (comics), line was a divi ...

from

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

–

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

(though it was primarily a reprint title from 1978 to the end of its run). Telling fictional stories of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, it was a sister title of the other Charlton war comics '' Fightin' Air Force'', ''

Fightin' Marines ''Fightin' Marines'' is a bimonthly war comic magazine that was published by St. John Publications from 1951–1953, and Charlton Comics from 1955–1984, although it was primarily a reprint title from 1978 to the end of its run. Telling fiction ...

'', and ''

Fightin' Navy ''Fightin' Navy'' is a bimonthly war comic that was published by Charlton Comics from 1956 in comics, 1956–1966 in comics, 1966, and then again from 1983–1984 (though it was then a reprint title). Telling fictional stories of the United State ...

''. In the late 1960s, ''Fightin' Army'' was the host of the ongoing feature " The Lonely War of Willy Schultz", written by Will Franz and illustrated by

Sam Glanzman Samuel Joseph Glanzman (December 5, 1924 – July 12, 2017) was an American comics artist and memoirist. Glanzman is best known for his Charlton Comics series ''Hercules'', about the mythological Greek demigod; his autobiographical war stories ab ...

. Other notable contributors to ''Fightin' Army'' included

Jon D'Agostino John P. D'Agostino Sr., generally credited as Jon D'Agostino (June 13, 1929November 28, 2010) was an Italian-American comic-book artist best known for his Archie Comics work. As well, under the pseudonym Johnny Dee, he was the letterer for the ...

Sanho Kim Sanho Kim (born 1939 in Korea) is a South Korean comic book artist, considered the first artist working in a manhwa style to be published regularly in the United States. The bulk of Kim's American work was for Charlton Comics' horror comics, a ...

, Jack Keller,

Rocke Mastroserio Rocco A. "Rocke" Mastroserio (June 8, 1927 — early March 1968Dates per Additionamade June 15, 2010. Note: The Social Security Death Index lists Rocco Mastroserioof New York City, born September 15, 1901, died December 1966.) was an American comi ...

, and

Warren Sattler Warren Sattler (born September 7, 1934) is an American artist and cartoonist, who contributed work to many popular publications from the early 1960s through the 1990s. Biography A lifelong Connecticut resident, Warren Sattler started cartooning ...

Don Perlin Donald David Perlin (; August 27, 1929 – May 14, 2024) was an American comic book artist, writer, and editor. He is best known for Marvel Comics' ''Werewolf by Night'', ''Moon Knight'' (a character he co-created), '' The Defenders'', and ''Ghos ...

drew a majority of covers in 1972–1973. Editors

Pat Masulli Patrick J. Masulli (July 31, 1930 – June 10, 1998) was an American comic book creator. During the Silver Age of Comic Books, he was the executive editor of Charlton Comics from 1955–1966. Besides editing over thirty titles in ten years, Masul ...

(1957–1966) and

George Wildman George Wildman (July 31, 1927 – May 22, 2016) was an American cartoonist most noted for his work in the comic books industry. From 1971 until 1985, he was a top editor at Charlton Comics, where he also became the long-time regular artist o ...

(1971–1984) both had long tenures in charge of the title.

Publication history

As with many comic book titles published at the time, ''Fightin' Army'' did not start with issue number one; it was a renaming of a series called ''Soldier and Marine Comics'', which published five issues, numbered #99–69, from Dec. 1954 - Aug. 1959. The title became ''Fightin' Army'' with issue #15, published in January 1956. Early issues of ''Fightin' Army'' sported such

tagline In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, so ...

s as "Breathtaking Action Stories", "Action Packed Battle Stories", "Thrill Packed Combat", and "Rip-Snorting Combat Tales". Issues #120 – #126 (Sept. 1969 – Oct. 1969) featured painted covers. Like the entire Charlton line, ''Fightin' Army'' went on a publishing hiatus between January and August 1969, issues #126 and #127. From issue #132 (Apr. 1978) onward, ''Fightin' Army'' was primarily a reprint title, mostly using material from earlier issues, as well as the 1963–1970 Charlton title ''Army War Heroes''. ''Fightin' Army'' ran through issue #173, publishing a total of 157 issues.

Features

The ''Fightin' Army''

letter column A letter to the editor (LTE) is a letter sent to a publication about an issue of concern to the reader. Usually, such letters are intended for publication. In many publications, letters to the editor may be sent either through conventional mai ...

was called "Weapons, Wars, and Wisdom". Reader letters were answered by the fictional "General Knowett". The bulk of the stories in ''Fightin' Army'' take place during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, but as the series moved along, more were set during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. The

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

was only rarely featured, and only made the cover of two issues, #65 (Dec. 1965) and #135 (Nov. 1978).

"The Lonely War of Willy Schultz"

From 1967–1970, ''Fightin' Army'' ran an ongoing

feature called " The Lonely War of Willy Schultz", written by Will Franz and illustrated by

. "Willy Schultz" was a departure from most other combat features of this time, with its conflicted hero caught between loyalties, in part because of his German heritage. During combat in the

European Theater The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main Theater (warfare), theatres of combat during World War II, taking place from September 1939 to May 1945. The Allies of World War II, Allied powers (including the United Kingdom, the ...

, U.S. Army captain Schultz is falsely accused and convicted of murder; he escapes and blends into the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

while seeking a way to clear his name and retain his Allied allegiance. The feature, reprinted as late as 1999, was serialized in Charlton's ''Fightin' Army'' #76–92 (Oct. 1967 - July 1970), skipping only issue #81. In 2023,

Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person, team or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, that is unlikely to succeed but has a fighting chance, unlike the underdog who is exp ...

released a collected edition, including an added final chapter drawn by Wayne Vansant and an introduction by Stephen R. Bissette.

In popular culture

John Taylor John Taylor, Johnny Taylor or similar is the name of: Academics *John Taylor (Oxford), Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, 1486–1487 * John Taylor (classical scholar) (1704–1766), English classical scholar *John Taylor (English publisher) ...

of the band

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

can briefly be seen reading issue #157 (

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 unusu ...

d April 1982) of ''Fightin' Army'' in the

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for their song "

Rio Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Fl ...

".''Rio'' (1982), directed by Russell Mulcahy, EMI/Harvest Records

Notes

References

* *

External links

''Soldier and Marine Comics''/''Fightin' Army'' cover gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fightin' Army Comics magazines published in the United States War comics Comics set during World War II 1956 comics debuts 1984 comics endings Magazines established in 1956 Magazines disestablished in 1984 Charlton Comics titles Defunct American comics