It was Veteran’s Day last week so we celebrate it a week later with a war comic.  War comics were all the rage back in the 50s, 60s and 70s.  There were many great characters that came out of that genre like Nick Fury and Sgt Rock but one of the lesser known heroes was The Unknown Soldier.

DC introduced him on the pages of Sgt. Rock and he became so popular that he eventually received his own monthly title in the 70s that ran until 1982.

After that, the Unknown Soldier faded back into DC obscurity until a 1988 12 issue miniseries tried to resurrect him but that did not work.

Then in 1997, Garth Ennis (who likes the old DC war characters) pitched a 4 issue miniseries for but with a more mature storyline so DC picked it up and published it under the Vertigo imprint.

The series continued where World War II left off and put the Unknown Soldier in every clandestine meeting and leading every wet works operation from the 40s up until the present and it was a fun read.  It had fantastic interior art by Kilian Plunkett and the covers were done by the incomparable Timothy Bradstreet.

I read the original miniseries when it came out and recently bought the trade.  Jon had the opportunity to read it so we decided to give it a glowing review and explain why it’s a great comic for war historians and those that want to take a closer look at the US’s foreign policy since WWII.

Your Comics Pal,

Jim

Comics Misremembered Podcast 130