War Is Hell (comics)
War is Hell | |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
Format | Ongoing series Limited series |
Genre | |
Publication date | January 1973-October 1975 May–September 2008 (The First Flight of Phantom Eagle) |
Main character(s) | John Kowalski ISBN 0-7851-1643-5 |
War Is Hell was a
John Kowalski
During the series, Kowalski inhabits bodies of those about to die, not necessarily of the same side or sex, during World War II, including both the European and Pacific theatres, and needs to change things for the better before he is killed. Death summons him from the nether regions each story, and Kowalski wonders how many times he will have to do so. The series was created by writer Tony Isabella, but after successfully pitching the series and submitting his plot for the first issue, his new position as editor ate up a lot of his writing time.[1] Isabella recalled that "Roy [Thomas, Marvel editor] wanted to give Dick Ayers a series to replace "It! The Living Colossus" and asked me to come up with a new series for War Is Hell. Dick and I had worked together on a number of things and enjoyed working with each other."[1]
Chris Claremont, a former political theorist and historian, took over as the series's writer for the remainder of its run. According to Claremont, "The parameters were that we were going sequentially through the war. The rest was up to me."[1]
"My Love Must Die", a story published in War Is Hell #12 in which Kowalski is brought together with his lost love and son, is generally considered the high point of the series. Penciller Don Perlin kept the original art for page 16 from the story in his home as one of his favorites.[1]
The series was canceled with issue #15, which Claremont said was no surprise: "Nobody thought it would last more than six issues."
Kowalski later appeared with
Bibliography
- War Is Hell #9 – "War Is Hell!" Isabella, Thomas, Claremont, Gerber,[2] Ayers, Springer (19 pp)
- War Is Hell #10 – "The Corridor" Isabella, Claremont, Ayers, Springer (18 pp)
- War Is Hell #11 – "Winter Kill" Claremont, Perlin, Trapani (18 pp)
- War Is Hell #12 – "My Love Must Die" Claremont, Perlin, Hunt (19 pp)
- War Is Hell #13 – "Today Is a Lovely Day to Die" Claremont and Trimpe (17 pp)
- War Is Hell #14 – "The Duty of a Man" Claremont and Evans (17 pp)
- War Is Hell #15 – "A Christmas Eve in Hell" Claremont and Trimpe (17 pp)
- Man-Thing vol. 2 #10 – "Came the Dark Man, Walkin', Walkin'..." Claremont, Perlin, Wiacek (22 pp)
- Man-Thing vol. 2 #11 – "Hell's Gate!" Claremont, Mayerik, Wiacek (22 pp)
- Solo Avengers #5 – "A Love That Never Dies" Mallonee and Ridgway (11 pp)
Phantom Eagle
In 2008, a new five-issue
Reprints
The series began as a reprint book, mostly from Atlas Comics-era war comics, adding Sgt. Fury for its last two issues before printing new material. The first six issues contained four stories an issue, each around five pages:
- Reprinting stories from Battle #30 (1 story) and #55 (3 stories)
- Reprinting stories from Battle Action#30, (1 story) Battlefront #30 (2 stories), and Battle #55 (1 story)
- Reprinting stories from Battle Action #15 (1 story) and G.I. Tales #5 (3 stories)
- Reprinting stories from Battleground #15 (3 stories), and War Comics #17 (1 story)
- Reprinting stories from Battlefront #34 (1 story), and Battleground #20 (1 story) and # 18 (2 stories)
- Reprinting stories from War Comics #30, "Court Martial" by Werner Roth, Battleground #15, and War Comics #17
- Reprinting Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #17
- Reprinting Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #18
Collected editions
- War Is Hell: The First Flight of the ISBN 0-7851-1643-5)
- Marvel Ghost Stories includes War is Hell #9 (176 pages, October 2011, ISBN 978-0785156093)
- Marvel Universe by Chris Claremont includes War is Hell #9-15 (1144 pages, August 2017, ISBN 978-1302907150)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Catto, Ed (June 2021). "Beyond Capes: War Is Hell". Back Issue!. No. 127. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing. pp. 35–41.
- ^ Letter column of War Is Hell #12
- ^ Nick Lowe on Marvel Max's War is Hell series, Newsarama, January 7, 2008
- ^ Laura Hudson, Ennis Moves from Punisher to Phantom Eagle, Publishers Weekly, February 19, 2008