BTW, I relaly enjoy reading this post.  It inspired me to register and participate.  And you all amaze me with your knowledge and with the fun you are having with this hobby.

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Let us go then you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient, etherized upon a table;...

  You know, I only own three war comics. I have Tod Holton, Super Green Beret #1 and two copies of #2. But I do not know if these even qualify. I have comics that place super heroes in war-time situations (Captain America, The Double Life of Private Strong, Punisher and even Tod Holton is kind of a super hero). Terrible. What war comics do you like and why? What key issues would you say are a must for fans of war comics?

Tex

Marvel then came up with Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos in the 60's.  I didn't like them so much, I guess because I thought they were a rip off.  DC replied with Capt. Storm on a PT Boat in OFF, and the Losers- a Fury rip off I suppose.  Then there was a DC series on a WWI German fighter pilot called Enemy Ace--based on the Red Baron, but not named Richtofen--which became its own title.  This was very different, because it showed an enemy soldier in a symapathetic light.  He struggled with the morality of war.  But he still shot down the enemy (ie Allied fliers) and lived by that ramantic chivalric code that finally died in the holocouast of the First World War.

As the war in Vietnam entered the national consciousness some of the story lines took a new tack-Enemy Ace was part of that.  Also a title called the Unknown Soldier-themes of loss and futility along with the jingoistic heroism of other titles.  I didn't so much notice that then, but that realization became part of my passion for collecitng later.

So anyway, when I grew up and got bored during my wife's forays into antique stores looking for "depressing " glass, I browsed the comics and started picking up a few.  They were cheap and I could while away the time with them--just like when I was a kid.  I found lots of other titles, including a number of Charlton titles-Fightin' Air Force, Fightin' Army, Fightin' Marines, Fightin' Navy, Army War Heroes, Attack, Battlefield Action, Marine War Heroes, Marines Attack, Submarine Attack, War and Attack, War Heroes, War Wings.  Some of these I had read as a kid, but they didn't have continuing story lines or characters, so DC got more of my attention than those titles.  In fact I don't think I knew or ever saw most of them until I began collecting.

Dell also had a number of war books that caught my eye as an adult.  One of the earliest Dell titles I picked up was called Jungle War Stories.  It was published in 1964 and was about the heroics of American advisors to the ARVN battling the buck-toothed, yellow-skinned terorists who lived in the jungles outside Saigon.  It occurred to me that the reading of war comics in the 50's and early 60's must have had an effect on other young fellows like me, and that many of them (too many) went off to war and died there.  (I did not serve in the armed forces, but I by God honor those who did.) So I began looking for other examples of stories set in the sixties, just before our involvement in Vietnam began ramping up.  I wanted to see what they were saying and to think about why and how they affected us.

Other Dell titles I have found include Guerilla War, World War Stories, Tales of the Green Beret, and a series called Combat.  The Combat line is a historical series in which each issue retells one significant battle from WWII-Pearl Harbor, Guam, Midway, D-Day, Iwo, etc. 

As my collecting expanded, I was facinated to see the huge number of war titles that flourished in the 50's during and after the Korean war:  GI-I in Battle, Heroic Comics, Joe Yank, Battle Stories, Warfront, Battle, Battle Action, Marines at War, Navy Action, Fightin' Marines, Battle Cry, Fighting Leathernecks, Monty Hall of the U.S. Marines.  And there are others.

I just can't get enough.  And  I think as I read them.

So tell, me, is this what you were looking for when you posted?

I don't know how to identify a "Key" except I suppose to go with the musings above;  ongoing characters like Sgt. Rock and Gunner & Sarge & the DC pantheon that had real staying power, new themes like Enemy Ace, maybe the first Vietnam stories, I guess for me Joe Kubert is the signature artist for this genre-but what do I know.

BTW, I appreciate your welcome to me on the other post and your answer about the Inhumans.  As you may have noticed, this thread was actually a mistake.  I am a newbie and accidentally posted this thread when I was trying to reply to the contest.

Regards.

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Let us go then you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient, etherized upon a table;...

  Enock, you really have a deep love for war comics. I think that is really awesome. Your answer is exactly what I was looking for. The reasons that stories and characters resonate with a particular person is just as interesting as the collection that person has of the comics. In reading what you wrote, you did exactly what I hoped you would do: give me an interest in war comics too. Thank you.

  As for what a key issue is, it's only what some would consider a "special issue" of a title. It may be a first appearance of a character, the death of a character, a first issue, a part of a groundbreaking storyline, etc.. These comics usually are valued at higher prices that other issues in the comic series' run.

 I really appreciate your post; it is an example of why I come to this site: the sharing of knowledge, and personal histories with people like me who see comics as fun and a mesmerizing part of history. Keep posting and I'll keep reading!

Tex

PS, do not worry about posting in the wrong place the first time. I did too.