Comic strips and books during the 1940’s were created for various reasons. While some were created to serve as instructional cartoons, others were purely designed to serve as entertainment. Most comic artists at the time, for example Will Eisner, wouldn't' present an antiwar opinion, and were instead associated with promoting the war. “People were swept up in a sense of common purpose, “ recollects Will Eisner. On the other hand, it was the artists intention to distract people from what was happening in reality and they would want to reassure and encourage readers that certain things would stay the same. There are many military comic strips appearing in Stars and Stripes as well as camp papers that would serve as an enormous self-confidence boost. This would include fighting forces, along with reminders of their families who are waiting back home for them.
As well as incorporating entertainment, the strips would also involve sympathetic stories towards the soldiers in the trenches. These would be depicted as amusing illustrations of daily frustrations and anxieties they might face. These strips were easily targeted at the soldiers, as they were able to relate them to their own experiences. Bill Mauldin created characters who would undergo positive and negative incidents that they would come across during the war. Mauldin was especially successful as he experienced the front lines hands on, and didn't develop his cartoons simply from stories. His cartoons represented grouchy dog-faced soldiers who maintain the courage to fight for their country, while also being well aware of the numbing consequence of being hungry, cold and in a bureaucratic mindlessnes. ‘The Sad Sack’ is a similar comic that interprets the day-to-day actions of soldiers military life.
‘Male Call’ on the other hand, depicted a pin up of a seductive and gorgeous Miss Lace, who’s character would act as a consistent reminder of who they could come across when home and what they were fighting for. The creator of ‘Male Call’, Milton Caniff, was a devoted patriot who was proud of his country. This made him glorify the war in ‘Terry and the Pirates’, but his aim in Male Call was to produce memorable and exceptional strips for the servicemen. His comics were made precisely for camp papers, beginning in 1942, but were shown in almost 3,000 publications towards the end of the war. Caniff rarely earned any payment from these and would design the strips during free moments of time.
The main character was a brunette, elegant lady, wearing as much provocative clothing as Caniff was allowed to portray. Every soldier would read the comics and would cherish her character. The comics, as well as illustrations or photographs would act as a way of keeping a memory alive of what is waiting for the soldiers when they get back home.
Nazi's in Fiction
The comic book industry would portray super heroes, including Captain America and Wonder Woman, battling with the Nazis. The stories would end in the Nazis being defeated and Brough to justice. It didn't take much to portray them as the villains, who will loose eventually. Among other examples, Nazi’s being brought to justice include imagery of American military causing an explosion of swastikas or Captain America coming into battle with Adolf Hitler in person or Captain Marvel challenging Hitler and Captain Nazi, who is a cliche German officer. British comics inclined to interpret absurd and clumsy, as this was the cartoon-style of comics in this era, for example in Desperate Dan. Big Bang Comics also use Nazi’s as villains, secret agents and saboteurs.
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