''Fightin' Marines'' 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 ...

magazine that was published by St. John Publications from

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

–

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

, and

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

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

–

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 ...

, although it was primarily a reprint title from 1978 to the end of its run. Telling fictional stories of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

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

''. ''Fightin' Marines'' was the home of the long-running Vietnam War feature "Shotgun Harker and Chicken", written by

Joe Gill Joseph P. Gill (July 13, 1919 – December 17, 2006)Social Security Death Inde ...

. Gill wrote the majority of stories for the title during its entire run. Other notable contributors to ''Fightin' Marines'' included Pat Boyette, Sam Glanzman, Jack Keller,

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 ...

, Fran Matera, 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 ...

Publication history

As with many comic book titles published at the time, ''Fightin' Marines'' did not start with issue number one; it continued from issues #1–14 (August 1948–June 1951) of St. John Publications' ''The Texan'', as ''Fightin' Marines'' #15 in August 1951. While St. John also continued ''The Texan'' with #15 in October 1951 (ending with ''The Fightin' Texan'' #17 in December 1952), it published #2–12 of ''Fightin' Marines'' from October 1951–March 1953. Charlton took over the series in May 1955 with issue #14 (no issue #13 was published). Early issues of ''Fightin' Marines'' 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", "

Leatherneck Leatherneck is a military slang term in the U.S. for a member of the United States Marine Corps. It is generally believed to originate in the wearing of a "leather stock" that went around the neck. Its original purpose was to protect the neck fr ...

s in Combat", and "Rip-Snortin' Action Tales". Issues #121 – #130 (March 1975 – July 1976) featured painted covers. Issue #122 was called ''Fightin' Marines Presents War'', which was a tryout issue for the new Charlton title ''War'', which ran from July 1975 – October 1984. From issue #131 (September 1976) onward, the cover of each issue featured a

head shot A head shot or headshot is a photographic portrait in which the focus is on the subject's face. The term is usually applied to professional profile images on social media, images used on online dating profiles, and promotional images of actors, ...

of a Marine in

dress uniform Full dress uniform, also known as a ceremonial dress uniform or parade dress uniform, is among the most formal wear, formal type of uniform used by military, police, firefighter, fire and other public uniformed services for official parade (mili ...

in the upper left hand corner, next to the title. Like much of the Charlton line, ''Fightin' Marines'' went on a publishing hiatus between November 1976 and October 1977 (issues #132 and 133). From issue #136 (April 1978) onward, ''Fightin' Marines'' was primarily a reprint title, mostly using material from earlier issues. The series ran through issue #176; Charlton published a total of 163 issues.

Features

The cover art for ''Fightin' Marines'' #5 is by

Matt Baker Matthew James Baker (born 23 December 1977) is a British television presenter. He co-presented the children's television show ''Blue Peter'' from 1999 until 2006, BBC One's '' Countryfile'' since 2009 and ''The One Show'' from 2011 to 2020, wi ...

, best known for his work on

Quality Comics Quality Comics was an American comic book publishing Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, ...

Phantom Lady Phantom Lady is a fictional superheroine appearing in media published by Quality Comics and DC Comics. She was created by the Eisner & Iger studio, one of the first to produce comics on demand for publishers. The character's early adventures we ...

. Among the characters featured in early issues of ''Fightin' Marines'' is Canteen Kate, who appeared in issues #2-9 and #14–15. The character starred in three issues of her own title in 1952. Another recurring character from early issues of ''Fightin' Marines'' is Leatherneck Jack, who appeared in issues #2–15. A topic addressed in ''Fightin' Marines'' #42 is

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

intrigue in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. The writer's opinion left no doubt that Communists were the enemy and needed to be eradicated. The bulk of the stories in ''Fightin' Marines'' 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 ...

and 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 ...

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

, to better show the menace of Communism.

Shotgun Harker and Chicken

The ongoing

feature Shotgun Harker and Chicken ran in ''Fightin' Marines'' issues #78–108, from January 1968 – January 1973. Created by writer

Joe Gill Joseph P. Gill (July 13, 1919 – December 17, 2006)Social Security Death Inde ...

and artists Bill Montes and Ernie Bache, the series starred Sgt. Arkie "Shotgun" Harker and PFC "Chicken" Smith of Alpha Company. Harker is the gung-ho, hard-bitten Marine, while the

bespectacled Glasses, also known as eyeglasses (American English), spectacles (Commonwealth English), or colloquially as specs, are vision eyewear with clear or tinted lenses mounted in a frame that holds them in front of a person's eyes, typically uti ...

blond Blond () or blonde (), also referred to as fair hair, is a human hair color characterized by low levels of eumelanin, the dark pigment. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. The color can be ...

-haired Chicken is more reserved — though not actually a coward. Perhaps reflecting 1960s

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...

and the antiwar movement, Chicken was occasionally portrayed with flowers on his helmet. Shotgun Harker and Chicken stories were reprinted in '' Fightin' Army'' issues #140, 141, 146, 148, 156, 163, 167, 168, 172, 173, and 175 (as well as the Charlton titles ''War'' #45 and ''Battlefield Action'' #69 and #81).

Notes

References

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External links