Page 38 - Nov 2020 JOA

At The Front Lines: Collecting War Comics
by J.C. Vaughn, Vice-President of Publishing for Gemstone Publishing

ar comics have always had the ability to capture the nobility non-enthusiasts, to acknowledge
of individuals within the that most savage and ignoble of the place of war comics in the
Whuman achievements,” said writer-artist Billy Tucci, whose collecting community.
Sgt. Rock: The Lost Battalion, showcased the real-world tale of the “Certainly nothing has been
Japanese-American soldiers of the U.S. Army’s 442nd Regimental done to intentionally raise the
Combat Team in World War II. market or lower the market for
The Army’s most decorated unit, comprised of men who weren’t any specific book or books. I
trusted by the government to fight the Japanese in the Pacific Theater, think that this is just a natural
made their reputation going up against the Germans during the Battle result because knowledge is
of the Bulge. Tucci mixed them with familiar DC war comics charac- power,” said collector Andy
ters in real-world events to wide acclaim. Greenham, who contributed to
For many years, war comics have been a significant genre, a strong the 2020 War Report in The
subset of the general comics market. Like every other niche, they have Overstreet Comic Book Price
had their peaks and valleys in terms of popularity, and this extends to Guide #50.
both newly published material and back issues. “If you’re reading and getting
Stories in the genre range from those of real-life Medal of Honor information that maybe not
winners to gung-ho patriotic tales to morality plays about the high everybody is taking the time to
human costs of war, and they can span all of recorded human history. read in this War Report, you will
The bulk of the titles and stories, though, ranging from the American see Mick Rabin or Matt
Civil War to the present with a very heavy emphasis on World War II, Ballesteros or others mention
Korea, and Vietnam. Cover of The Overstreet Comic something that they feel is worth
Book Price Guide containing taking a look at – something that
In The Shadows “The War Report” is not getting a lot of attention
War comics had lingered in the but is very important in the book.
shadows of other genres for decades. “So, as we mention in the reports, we’ve been doing this type
There were definitely enthusiastic of research on different comic styles for years. We don’t recycle the
collectors, but available collecting same book every year because we’re not trying to pump a specific
information was not as highly style by saying ‘This is still undervalued.’ That’s not the point. The
organized nor as well documented as point is to share this knowledge with other people and say, ‘There is a
other comic genres, such as the hidden gem here, folks. If you are a collector, consider buying this one
superheroes, Disney, or horror, to as well,’” he said.
name a few. Matt Ballesteros, a film producer and head of several companies,
Two events helped change that. who serves as the ring leader for the War Report, agreed with Andy.
First, collector and author Chris “There’s a component of edification. We want to be educated by the
Pedrin’s Big Five, which is an infor- gathering of this information. It was both for our own benefit and to
mation guide focused on DC share it with others. We’re nerds, we love war comics and we want other
Comics’ top five war titles, All people to be fired up about it as well because a comic collector’s passion
American Men of War, G.I. Combat, peaks when he connects with somebody who has that same passion –
Our Army At War, Our Fighting it’s indescribable. It justifies your knowledge and beliefs, it gives your
Forces, and Star-Spangled War Stories. hobby meaning.
The book solidifies the collecting “It feels meaningful to do what you do if somebody else is praising
base and injects an acknowledgment what you’re doing and believes in what you’re doing. Just to share the
Chris Pedrin’s Big Five guide to war of the common experiences of war knowledge with other people brings satisfaction.
comics helped provide legitimacy for comics collectors. Not only are there “Now, the tangential side effect of sharing is that readers are like,
the genre’s many collectors. other fans who cared about war ‘Oh, this [kind of comic] book is important, let’s go buy it.’ They do
comics, but they are willing to pay for high-grade and rare copies. and then the prices are going to rise because more people are focusing
Second, The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide added “The War on that one item because they now know the impact this knowledge has
Report” to its market report section. In this annual summation, a group brought to many,” Ballesteros said.
of war comics collectors, dealers, and historians have crunched numbers, “I feel like much of what Matt said is right in the sense that,
dug into the history, and extrapolated standings for the top comics. especially with war books, it seemed like more of an anomaly when
These two landmark events have forced other comic fans, even you’d meet other collectors of war comics. It seemed like Overstreet

36 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles