Blazing Combat

by Archie Goodwin, Egemen Görçek (Translator)

1960’lardaki Vietnam Savaşı esnasında, savaş-karşıtı hareket ortaya henüz belirgin biçimde çıkmamışken, savaş denilen şeyin kahramanlık anlatılarıyla perdelenen gerçeğini anlatmak için Blazing Combat vardı. 1966’da yasaklanana ve piyasadan silinene dek, bir yıl içinde 4 fasikül çıkarmayı başaran dizi efsanevi çizgi roman yazar ve editörü Archie Goodwin’in liderliğinde seçkin bir yazar ve çizerler grubunun elinden çıkmıştı ve kitap, bugün de, yayınlanmış en önemli savaş çizgi romanlarının başında gelmektedir. Vietnam Savaşı’ndan yola çıkarak savaş tarihinde gezinen eser, savaşın yarattığı tahribatın izini kimi zaman muharebe meydanında, kimi zaman çatışmanın “uzağındaki” çevrelerde, kimi zaman insan ruhunun derinliklerinde, gökyüzünde ya da denizin diplerinde sürüyor. İkonik savunmalardan post-apokaliptik geleceklere, savaşın kazananının sadece masa başında ona karar verenler olduğunu söyleyen / ima eden Blazing Combat, dönemin savaşperver egemen ideolojisi tarafından hedef tahtasına konulmuş ve yayınına son vermek zorunda kalmıştı.

Eşsiz çizgiler, sahadaki “aksiyonu” okura yaşatan sinematografik kompozisyonlar, kendi hayatının anlatıcısı haline gelen sorgulayıcı iç sesler; ölenlerden de olsa kalanlardan da, harcanan kuşaklar… Blazing hikâyeleri sadece 1960’larda halen “oyuncak” bir tür olarak görülen çizgi roman sanatını ehil ellerde karşı-kültüre ciddi bir katkıda bulunacak bir “yeni” medya haline getirmekle kalmıyor, kendi şimdisinden geçmişe ve geleceğe bakarak, tüm zamanlara da sesleniyor: Barışı savunun.

Blazing Combat’ın dört sayısı, ilk yayınlanmalarından yarım yüzyıl sonra tek cilt halinde, Archie Goodwin ve James Warren röportajlarını da içeren, her biri numaralandırılmış, sert kapaklı 777 kopya bir edisyonla Türkçe’de.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, War, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Military Fiction, Collections

228 pages, Hardcover

First published April 29, 2009

About the author

Archie Goodwin was an American comic book writer, editor, and artist. He worked on a number of comic strips in addition to comic books, and is best known for his Warren and Marvel Comics work. For Warren he was chief writer and editor of landmark horror anthology titles Creepy and Eerie, and for Marvel he set up the creator-owned Epic Comics as well as adapting Star Wars into both comics and newspaper strips. He is regularly cited as the "best-loved comic book editor, ever."

Reviews

[Sv · Rating 3 out of 5]

Toplama sayıların birleştirildiği kısa öykülerden oluşan savaş karşıtı grafik roman. Güzeldi, çarpıcı değildi. Yazıldığı dönemde daha etkili olmuş olabilir... Bu kadar. 🤷‍♂️

[Sleepy Boy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really shows its age, almost every dialogue bubble was punctuated with exclamation points. Seemed weirdly upbeat despite the content they were trying to portray. I'm spoiled by Garth Ennis' treatment of war via comics truth be told.

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best War/Anti-War comics ever done. Great art and very intense stories. Excellent read. Very recommended

[Keen Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!

“They killed it. The military outright banned it from sale on military bases-government censorship with no apologies…Blazing Combat died in a crossfire of political and economic attack.”

Oh just one look at this takes me right back (cue the music) to when I used to read all of those mini “Commando” comics. But that’s where the similarities end. With its authentic take on many aspects of armed combat from the American War of Independence all the way up to the Vietnam War this is really well-drawn and pulses with strong anti-war themes, it is so far ahead of its time and incredibly brave in its confronting honesty. It even has a number of Combat Quizzes thrown in as well as two lengthy interviews at the end, what’s not to like about this collection?...

So unlike the vast majority of belligerent and glorified nationalist junk that would have been churned out within the genre at around the same time, this is pure quality and really stands out in a number of vital and enduring ways and it has aged incredibly well too. This is a real treat and essential reading for comic fans.

[Metin Yılmaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bahsedildiği kadar iyi bir çizgi roman. Kısa kısa savaş hikayeleri. Çok etkileyici olanakrın yanı sıra, bilinen gerçeklerin yalanlık derecelerini de görüyoruz.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Following the success of their EC-inspired horror anthology Creepy , publisher James Warren and editor Archie Goodwin began Blazing Combat in 1965. The new magazine employed a similar format, using many of the same artists of the previous Warren publication -- Joe Orlando, Reed Crandall, John Severin, Al Williamson, Gray Morrow, Russ Heath, Alex Toth, and Wally Wood. Like Creepy, Blazing Combat also featured Frank Frazetta covers, and Goodwin scripts in a magazine format. But unlike its predecessor, Blazing Combat died an ignoble death after just four issues. Fantagraphics collects the complete run and outlines the whole sordid history via interviews with Warren and Goodwin in the handsome hardback Blazing Combat.

Modeling the content after Harvey Kurtzman's legendary EC comics Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat , Goodwin focused on the grim realities of war. The American public in 1965, a broad majority of which supported the newly-escalating involvement in Vietnam, proved ill suited for the new comic.

[War is:] a crazy way to settle things and you could be very sympathetic to the people who were stuck with having to fight them.
—Archie Goodwin

The first story of issue one ("Viet-Cong!") focused on the mistakes made by American soldiers in Vietnam and included scenes of torture and killing of villagers. Goodwin and artist Orlando teamed up for two more Vietnam stories, both well-rendered morality plays. Their most famous and controversial tale ("Landscape!" from Issue 2) related the tale of a Vietnamese rice farmer whose life is inextricably altered by the ongoing conflict.

After the second issue, the military banned Blazing Combat from bases citing the anti-war stance. The American Legion also protested, and most distributors stopped carrying the magazine. The quarterly publication limped on for another two issues.

If the censors had delved beneath the perceived bias, they would have discovered some of the finest war stories and illustration in the medium's history. Goodwin and his cadre of contributors detailed the uniquely personal views of soldiers and civilians through several engagements: the Revolutionary War, the U.S. Civil War, Indian Wars, both World Wars, and the Korean War, with a side trip through the Ancient Greek battle at Thermopylae. The dynamic art leaps off the pages throughout. In particular, Toth and Morrow created some of the best works of their long careers. Goodwin actually celebrated soldiers, sailors, and airmen rather denigrated them. Without leaning on glory and sensationalism, Blazing Combat focused on heroism, sacrifice, and dignity.

Archie [Goodwin:] was a prophet in his own time. He knew. He didn't have to wait until 1973 to find out that the war was a mistake.
—James Warren


This review originally appeared in "War on Two Fronts", Nexus Graphica May 1 2009.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love DC's war comics from the 50s-80s. Sgt Rock, Unknown Soldier, Gravedigger, the Losers, etc. Even though a lot of those stories were pretty realistic with respect to the ravages of war, the never came close to the brutality shown in these stories that were blacklisted by the US Army and the American Legion through pressure on the newsstand distributors. They're not anti-US as much s anti-war, but that was enough for the so-called patriots who never questioned our involvement in mass killings.

Writer Archie Goodwin tells some excellent stories here. Add in artists like Alex Toth, Wally Wood, Joe Orlando, Gene Colan, Gray Morrow, Reed Crandall, and more, and you have an outstanding book reprinting these classic yet rarely seen comics from 1965-66. Printed in B&W, this book reads as well as any current graphic novel out there. Can't believe it took me 50 years after their initial publication to read these.

[George Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

The big weakness is the writing by Archie Goodwin. Yes, Blazing Combat was a daring change in war comics and dealt with the horrors of war in a new and more realistic way, but Goodwin's writing is rather one-note and, when presented with back to back stories, starts to tire. That being said, the book is nicely produced and contains a roster of many of the best artists of the time.

[Brent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just the best.
There is so much here, and this edition is beautifully presented, with fine interviews at end with the late, great Archie Goodwin and original publisher Jim Warren. But the stories and comics art are so top notch.
Highest recommendation.

[Nikky Southerland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay wow, a very solidly anti-war comic book published in the mid-1960s? It's not perfect—the stories all follow a few different form factors—but the themes and art are astounding artifacts of the era.

[Mariano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of short stories with amazing art. Read today might not seem too groundbreaking, but it was at the time!

[Doğuhan Atış · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favori yayınevlerimden Flaneur'dan savaşa dair bir eser, Blazing Combat! ⚔️ 777 adet, sınırlı sayıda basılan ve kalın kapaklı bu çizgi roman, kütüphanedeki duruşuyla bile insanı mest ediyor. 💚 Amerika'nın Vietnam savaşı zamanında yayımlanmaya başlanan Blazing Combat, savaş karşıtlığı yaptığı düşünüldüğü için o dönemde baskı görmüş, satılamamış ve sonrasında piyasadan çekilmiş. Ardından, yıllar sonra seçilen öyküler birleştirilerek tekrar yayımlanmış.

Savaş hakkında pek çok kısa hikayeden oluşan Blazing Combat, savat karşıtı değil ancak savaşın gerçek yüzünü bütün çıplaklığı ile ortaya koyuyor. ✍️ Zaten savaşın gerçek yüzünü gören biri de mutlaka savaş karşıtına dönüşecektir. Siyah beyaz çizimler mükemmel, insanı ortamın içine çekiyor. Özellikle Frank Frazetta döktürmüş.

Ayrıca bu kitabın ayrı bir anlamı var. 🥰 Okuduktan sonra aklıma tank maketlerini seven ve evinde dekorasyonel olarak kullandığı bir sürü savaş malzemesi bulunan arkadaşım Serdar geldi. Sonrasında çizgi romanımı ona hediye ettim.

Savaş üzerine düşünenler için Blazing Combat gerçekten güzel bir çalışma. 🎖️: 7/10

[J. Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Way better than I expected. Brutal and honest. With beautful art from Gene Colan, Alex Toth, Al Williamson, and Angelo Torres. The one big problem is that the Frezetta covers wasn't published very big. Surprisingly powerful, not preachy, and somehow made making a 6-page story look easy.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this because it was written by Archie Goodwin, who wrote a wonderful fantasy graphic novel called Blackmark, one of the first graphic novels in fact, which was illustrated by Gil Kane. Although the writing is quite good and the art also good, I was somewhat disappointed. The level of language in Blackmark was elevated in comparison with the language here. I understand a lot of that is the requirements of the story, one a fantasy and the other set in realistic military settings, but I was hoping for a bit more of that high language. Apparently, Goodwin wrote Blackmark from an outline given him by Kane so maybe the higher level language reflects more on Kane's talents than on Goodwins.

Make no mistake, I found this collection well done and it really showed a lot of the negative and ambiguous characteristics of war. It apparently was even dunned by quite a few markets at the time because of that. This work collects all 4 of the Blazing Combat issues, which were published between 1965 and 1966. Frazetta was involved with some of the art for the series.

[Kris Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Warren magazines were the natural successors to EC Comics. Frontline Combat and Two-Fisted Tales depicted the horrors of war in often unfavorable ways, and this series ups the ante with it's early anti-Vietnam angle. The title was blackballed by distributors and cancelled, which is a damn shame considering the quality. The EC stable turns in fantastic artwork all around, and Russ Heath does what is, in my opinion, his finest work ever. The book is a super high quality presentation, with superb uncoated, thick paper stock, spotless art transfers from pristine sources, and luxurious sewn binding, all in hardcover to boot. The only gripe that I have is that the Frazetta covers are shrunk down to 1/4 page in the back of the book. Aside from that, this is the definitive document on this series for the ages. Interviews with James Warren and Archie Goodwin provide invaluable insight into the minds of the men who made it happen.

[Thaddaeus Immink · Rating 4 out of 5]

The WWII stories and Vietnam stories of ground soldiers were extremely tight and deserve 5 stars, but the stories involving fighter aces wasn't not nearly as strong.

But even though this comic was pretty great, the greatest part wasn't even the comic, it was the interview with the original publisher at the end of the book. He explained how this comic died and how they lost money trying to keep it alive. This was the best interview I've ever read. I know that sounds like some high praise, but honestly it made me appreciate the comics so much more.

[Lew · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a ten year old in 1965, who was already interested in military history, I was enthralled to read Blazing Combat. I never understood why only four issues were published. I recently found out that the Pentagon and others determined it was too anti-war and won't allow it to be sold at the PXs.
This book has the content from all four issues which still holds up after all these years. I strongly recommend this book to all military history geeks. The book includes two interviews, one with Jim Warren the publisher and Archie Goodwin, editor and writer for all but one story.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very, very good war stories, a little left-leaning when it comes to the causes of war and the impact of violence on young men's lives, but very sympathetic to the soldiers themselves and their heroism. Great art throughout, and I am convinced Archie Goodwin is one of the best short story writers in comics history.

[David Turko · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brutal and honest graphic novel on war. The book ranges from various war's throughout history through 5-8 pages of short stories. It's very impressive along with the art which is beautiful and each story is drawn from a different artist. I think the one major problem I had is that some of the dialogue/writing is a bit hoaky. Besides that these short stories on war are fantastic.

[Rex Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of the four issue run the magazine published by Warren Publishing. Despite very high quality work, the magazine's life was cut short due to the company's outspoken opposition to the Vietnam War. Done in the style of Two-Fisted Tales, none of the stories here presents war as fun or glamorous.

[Bob Wolniak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great war comic collection by some of the great artists of the time (Wood, Colan, Toth, etc.). All written by Archie Goodwin who was anti-Viet Nam right away and did a great job expressing anti-war sentiments in his stories. Stories of war take place in WW II, Korea, WW I, American Revolution, Civil War, and many other time periods.

[Jefferson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories are a little thin, but the artwork is incredible. Overall the stories in this book are quite sophisticated for the time, and the presentation is excellent -- high quality printing and binding.

[Juan Fuentes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Las mejores historias bélicas antibélicas que uno puede leer.

[Brian Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the comic magazine in the Sixties and this book collects all four in their entirety.

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best war comics you’ll ever read. Some of the best comics, period, you’ll ever read.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who's not a comics buff, I'd never heard of Blazing Combat until I stumbled across this book's arresting pop art cover in the library. Since I like graphic storytelling and military history, I picked it up and took it home. If you're familiar with the four original comic books (or rather "magazines," as this title was published) which appeared over the course of ten months in 1965-66, then you know what to expect. If you never saw those, then you're in for a treat, 'cause here are unsanitized stories of war from throughout (mostly) American history. In the interviews with the original writer and publisher that appear at the end of the book, they both cite Harvey Kurtzman's 1950s war comics as the primary influence on Blazing Combat. The concept was not to be anti-war (as many have accused the stories of being), but to represent the reality of war -- mainly illustrating the adage that "war is hell."

The 29 stories do so, ranging from the American Revolution through the Vietnam War that was just starting to heat up during the time the stories were originally published. Each tends to focus on a lone soldier and his own struggle to survive and cling to humanity, or in some cases, turn away from it. Some do tell "heroic" or inspiring stories, such as the Battle of Britain, or the amazing career of World War I Canadian ace Billy Bishop (72 confirmed kills!), but others show the darker side of war, such as a WWII G.I. prying gold fillings from dead bodies in the Pacific theater, or the terror of fresh troops. Almost every story is told from a soldier's point of view, a notable exception being "Landscape" -- a Vietnam story that shows the war's effect on a peasant farmer, in a remarkably prescient critique of all the problems of that benighted war.

All the stories were authored or coauthored by longtime comics writer-editor Archie Goodwin, and as such, have a fairly uniform voice. At times, they sometimes drift into cliche, such as the ones whose closing panels are a dead soldier's open wallet photo of wife and child, or a dead GI's valentine, and other such maudlin touches. There's also the regrettable abundance of explanation points, which appear at the end of practically every other sentence. But at roughly 5-8 pages each, they have a consistent rhythm and are generally solid enough little dramas. The one outlier is "Survival," a stellar Twilight Zoneish tale of a man trying to stay alive in a frozen post-nuclear war landscape.

As with pretty much every book I've seen published by Fantagraphics, the production is outstanding. High-quality matte paper retains the detail of the artwork (which was reproduced from the original films), beautiful printing, binding, etc. The range of artists ensure that there's a nice mix of styles throughout, which keeps the book from getting visually stale. Almost all are quite good, and special mention has to be made of Russ Heath's work in "Give and Take," which stands heads and shoulders above the rest. The only quibble I have is that the four covers to the original comics appear only as a small spread at the back of the book. These were amazing paintings by Frank Frazetta, and it's a real shame they couldn't have gotten their own full page each. On the whole though, the book is an amazing value, and makes a great gift for anyone interested in American military history or the history of comics.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title of this one almost made me skip it. But when I read the synopsis, I realized that it was definitely worth a look. Anytime a comic book is banned on US Military bases, I'm at least curious.

This is a collection of all four issues of "Blazing Combat", a military-themed action/adventure comic series. The stories vary widely in setting and time period; it features Vietnam, Korea, WWII, WWI, the Spanish-American War, the Western Indian Wars, the Civil War, and the American Revolution. Some of the stories are conventional "Heroes!" kind of military comic, nothing too outrageous. But even the conventional comics have a difference to them. If there is one uniting factor in these books, it's a focus on the experiences of the individual, and in a larger sense the full consequences of war. The comic that got the series banned, about a Vietnamese farmer who is accidentally killed in a firefight after his village has been captured and recaptured by both the Viet Cong and US Army. Though it is not shown where the bullet comes from, the US military objected to the idea that its soldiers could possibly kill civilians (....I'll let that sink in). Yes, the Vietnam War was still being fought at the time of publication, but the idea that this comic was saying anything that anyone didn't know is ridiculous. But I digress...

The bad press from the banning ended up killing sales, and the series was ended. But these issues stand as a fascinating look at a view of war that is both patriotic and empathetic, a look at the hell that is combat through the eyes of the common man, regardless of what uniform he wears (or does not wear)

[Matti Karjalainen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sotasarjakuvan ehdotonta eliittiä edustava "Blazing Combat" (Fantagraphics, 2010) sisältää samannimisen lehden neljä numeroa, jotka ilmestyivät 1960-luvun puolivälissä Warren-kustantamon toimesta. Lehden lyhyet, mustavalkoiset sarjakuvanovellit käsittelivät rujon realistisesti sotaa niin maalla, merellä kuin ilmassakin, ja sen antisankarin viittaa usein kantavat henkilöt osallistuivat niin Yhdysvaltain vapaus- ja sisällissotaan, molempiin maailmansotiin, Korean sotaan ja jopa harvemmin kuvattuun Espanjaa vastaan käytyyn sotaan.

Lyhytikäiseksi jääneen lehden kohtaloksi koituikin juuri karummanpuoleinen ja sankaruutta kyseenalaistava sotakuvaus, jota sensorit ja eritoten sotilastukikohtiin sarjakuvalehtiä välittävät tahot pitivät sodanvastaisena ja anti-amerikkalaisena. Lienee syytä mainita, että samaan aikaan USA taisteli Vietnamissa, jonne myös pari tarinaa sijoittuu, mukaanluettuna lehden historian tunnetuin yksittäinen sarja "Landscape", jossa tapahtumia kuvataan vanhan etelävietnamilaisen riisinviljelijän näkökulmasta.

Sarjakuvan käsikirjoituksesta vastasi etupäässä Archie Goodwin, eikä tekijäluettelo muutenkaan ole sieltä kevyimmästä päästä: Joe Orlando, Alex Toth, Al Williamson ja niin edelleen. Lehden kansikuvien tekijänä toimi puolestaan Frank Frazetta, mm. saman kustantamon Creepy-lehteen taiteillut legenda.

Suositellaan kaikille sotasarjakuvan ystäville, erityisesti niille joiden päässä "War Stories" tai "Charley's War" soittavat jonkinlaisia kelloja.

[Mieczyslaw Kasprzyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book and I would argue it should appeal to anyone interested in social history of the 60s and in "Pop Art" for reasons that would become obvious very quickly. The book is a compilation of all the stories that were published in "Blazing Combat) during the mid-60s. There were only four publications since the US military successfully established an embargo on the sales of the comics due to their unromantic and "unpatriotic" depiction of war (in particular, the story "Landscape" which showed the true meaning of involvement in the then newly embarked on war in Vietnam). The drawings are superb - I would argue, masterpieces in comic art. One can see the war art and media interacted during this era... some individual frames, or pages, are visually stunning.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

The great thing about reading books that have been banned is that we have the freedom to read them. Not that these comics were necessarily banned. They were however canceled after a very short run due to the anti-war nature of the stories. This during the Vietnam war times when this type of sentiment was not taken with a very popular view by those in charge. The odd thing is that the stories are more of a war is hell than anti-war stance. The stories themselves are good, and the artwork is also pretty decent. However the stories do tend to get a bit redundant and I can see where this publication would not have survived a very long run anyhow. Overall it does make for a decent read and I think for those interested it is worth a look.