World War II Comics and Cartoons

I am not a great fan of comics although I did read them when I was younger, but they don’t really interest me that much anymore.

However I can see the value of them and why they were popular even during war. Or maybe I should say especially during war, Because it was the perfect tool for escapism. It was cheap and more important easy to carry with you. Of course a lot of the comics would be oozing with propaganda.

Cartoons have often been use in a satirical way and have caused many controversies, as a matter of fact they still do. But the propaganda value of this was priceless

Below are just a few examples of WWII Comic books and cartoons.

Uncle Sam is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Based on the national personification of the United States, Uncle Sam, the character first appeared in National Comics #1 (July, 1940) and was created by Will Eisner

Classics Illustrated Special Issue Comic #166a – World War II.

Daredevil

Batman & Robin

Willie and Joe Cartoons drawn by Bill Maudlin

William Henry “Bill” Mauldin (October 29, 1921 – January 22, 2003) was an American editorial cartoonist who won two Pulitzer Prizes for his work. He was most famous for his World War II cartoons depicting American soldiers, as represented by the archetypal characters Willie and Joe, two weary and bedraggled infantry troopers who stoically endure the difficulties and dangers of duty in the field. His cartoons were popular with soldiers throughout Europe, and with civilians in the United States as well.

One of the most iconic “Willy and Joe” cartoons of WWII, drawn by Bill Maudlin

David Low

Sir David Alexander Cecil Low (7 April 1891 – 19 September 1963) was a New Zealand political cartoonist and caricaturist who lived and worked in the United Kingdom for many years. Low was a self-taught cartoonist. Born in New Zealand, he worked in his native country before migrating to Sydney in 1911, and ultimately to London (1919), where he made his career and earned fame for his Colonel Blimp depictions and his merciless satirising of the personalities and policies of German dictator Adolf Hitler, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, and other leaders of his times.

Rendezvous, 20 September 1939.