Propaganda, more enjoyable than you’d expect.
Creative Staff:
Writer: Frank Victor Martinek
Art: Leon Beroth, Carl Hammond, and Ken Ernst
What they say:
A collection of the best stories from the classic run of Don Winslow of the Navy, one of the most popular comic books running during and after World War II. Edited by Craig Yoe, the selected stories are digitally remastered and contextualized with Yoe’s historical research. Preceding the full, colorful tales is a detailed introduction on the creation of the adventurous Don Winslow. The character served to foster recruitment and entertain Navy personnel and the general public alike during World War II and beyond. Winslow fights the Axis and supervillains like The Snake and the attractive, but deadly, Singapore Sal.
Content: ( please note content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
For years before Pearl Harbor, Frank Victor Martinek warned the American people of the intentions of the Japanese Empire. As is evidenced by his work as a journalist and eventual volunteer for World War I. Martinek was placed in Naval Intelligence, something he has akin to his patriotic creation Don Winslow. Winslow, like Martinek, spent the bulk of his comic series dueling with The Scorpion and his mysterious group the Scorpia.
Don Winslow of the Navy was a tool used to recruit and propagandize the youth of America. Today, having a voluntary military, we can’t see the need for every man woman and child to make the sacrifices that were made by the greatest generation. Metal, paper, and rubber drives sent kids of every kind scrounging and dumpster diving, for whatever they could find. Our entire country was mobilized and participating in the war effort.
What I found to be so interesting about the collection was the old newspaper type print. Nothing says comics to me like the four-color panels, with crammed balloons and hollow backgrounds (usually). Another great nugget is the self-contained one story per issue. Today, the rise of trades have pushed writers into telling stories that take more than the standard 20 – 22 pages. In the good old days, when you bought an issue, it was a self-contained story that could stand alone. Making single stories is a fading art. If a writer were to pick up this collection, she would see that not only can a good story be told in the allotted pages, but when you have a story that spans multiple issues you have a unique storyline. We don’t see that much in comics today.
The comparisons between Winslow and supersleuth Dick Tracy are easy to see. Each is a tall, slender, white man with a jutting chin and a fashionable outfit that makes them stand out in a crowd. The villains also fit a similar profile to Tracy, in that each has traits that create their mystique. Example? Dick Tracy has Flathead. His head is flat, I know, I know. In this collection, we see The Snake, a slender man who can scale buildings with his wiry frame.
In Summary:
I am a total nut for anything comic and military related. Don Winslow of the Navy is an excellent read for someone like me. It gives you a window into the past but also shows that comics have a value beyond entertainment. I highly recommend this collection, for history buffs, fans of old-school comic strips, and fans of war. The old school storytelling is like a clinic for young writers, featuring a strong lead, excellent sidekick, and stable of evil spies and soldiers.
Grade: A
Age Rating: E
Released By: Dead Reckoning
Release Date: September 15th, 2018
MSRP: $25.00