Military Medicine TRUE COMICS "Call Him 'DOC'"

They're Celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the US Army This Weekend...

...so let's tell a real story about a real medic!

I'm not sure if this never-reprinted tale from Parents Magazine Press' True Comics #33 (1943), is, in fact, true!

But it is just unusual enough to be believable.

Military Medicine SHIP AHOY "Navy Air Medic"

Before the Air Force Became a Separate Branch of the Military...

...all three of the services (Army, Navy, Marines) had their own, distinct air services...and unique ways of doing things tailored to their specific needs!

Now, this isn't to say they didn't share results of research between the branches, but there were aspects applicable only to each service.

This never-reprinted feature from Spotlight Publication's one-shot Ship Ahoy (1944) was likely checked by the government so that no critical/secret info was inadvertently published!

Military Medicine OPERATION: PERIL "Mauling Medic"

If You're a Combat Medic...

...what do you do when a wounded enemy wants you to treat them?

Note: May be NSFW due to racist language common to the time period.

This never-reprinted Korean War tale from ACG's Operation: Peril #15 (1953) by editor/writer Richard Hughes, penciler Dick Beck, and inker Leo Morey shows the American medic does treat the Communist Chinese wounded...by taking them as prisoners back to his HQ, with as much medical supplies as he can steal!
I leave it to you to judge the levels of compassion and self-serving hypocrisy in the story.

Military Medicine FRONTLINE COMBAT "Combat Medic!"

Sometimes a Dedicated Medic...

...at the front is the only person standing between life and death for a wounded combatant!

And, sometimes, no matter your dedication and determination, and even if you follow all the correct procedures, your efforts just aren't enough!

This tale from EC's Frontline Combat #4 (1952), was written by Harvey Kurtzman and illustrated by Jack Davis (both WWII-era veterans, though neither saw combat).

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EC Archives

Frontline Combat

Volume 1

Which Reprints this Story!

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Military Medicine WARTIME ROMANCES "Lovelife of an Army Nurse"

It is said that "All is fair in love and war"...

...an axiom that this nurse learns the hard way in a story from St John's Wartime Romances #1 (1951)!

Penciled by legendary "good girl" artist Matt Baker and inked by Ray Osirin, this tale of combat and cattiness was typical of the more adult approach that St John's creatives took in their various romance titles.

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Matt Baker

Art of Glamour

Military Medicine REAL LIFE COMICS "Fighting Surgeon"

Since this is Memorial Day weekend...

...we thought we'd present a tale of a combat surgeon who served in multiple theatres of war!

Note: it may be considered NSFW/NSFS due to racial stereotypes common to the era.

In reality, "Dr David De Leon" didn't exist!

Everything attributed to him in this story actually occurred to Dr Samuel Preston Moore!
Why his real name wasn't used in this piece is unknown!
Considering that other historical figures in this issue like Kit Carson, President Franklin D Roosevelt, Captain Oliver Perry, Francois Villon, Jim Thorpe, Helen Keller, Jessie Owens, and even Burl Ives weren't renamed, it seems...odd!
BTW, this never-reprinted illustrated feature from Standard Publishing's Real Life Comics #45 (1947) was the result of postal regulations!
In order to qualify as a periodical publication to receive lowered postal rates, a comic had to have at least one full page of typeset text per issue.
If there was a quarter-page or larger illustration on the page, then a second page had to be added to provide more text to fulfill the mandate!
When comics added letters pages from the 1950s onward, those fulfilled the text requirement, and these prose pieces all but disappeared!

Who says comics ain't educational???

Military Medicine BATTLE ACTION "Unarmed"

A soldier is supposed to be brave when in combat...

...but is he as brave as someone who's on the battlefield without any weapon?

This never-reprinted tale from Atlas' Battle Action #2 (1952) was part of the effort by the comics industry to be as gung-ho about the Korean War as it had been about World War II.

The plot about someone who may have failed earlier in life and being underrated/misunderstood by others, only to succeed in the cauldron of combat...even to the point of sacrificing his life...is a familiar trope, but this retelling of it works well, especially with the narrator's own words showing how wrong he was about the medic!

Note: the fact that prolific writer Hank Chapman scripted this melancholy story has been confirmed by access to his personal files.
But, since Atlas Comics' (now Marvel Comics') records from this period are (to put it politely) incomplete,  the question of who drew it is in doubt as the art matches the style of both George Tuska and Pete Morisi, both of whom were freelancing for Atlas (among other companies) during this period!

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Featuring tales from DC, Timely/Atlas/Marvel, EC, Harvey, Fawcett, Quality, Warren, etc.

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Military Medicine G.I. COMBAT "Medic in the Dark"

Though medics are supposed to be non-combatants...

...there are times when, to protect life, you have to take life!

Written by Robert Kanigher under the pen-name "Bart Regan" (who was a DC Comics character!) and illustrated by Ric Estrada, this never-reprinted story from DC's G.I. Combat #186 (1976) does pose an ethical dilemma...should a non-combatant defend himself and his helpless charges with lethal force?

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Our Artists at War

Best of the Best American War Comics

Featuring tales from DC, Timely/Atlas/Marvel, EC, Harvey, Fawcett, Quality, Warren, etc.