Book Board Chat

Another Collecting Niche - Government Comics

Richard Graham’s first foray into comic books was a 1979 Army Training manual featuring a blonde bombshell going through key points on tire pressure, cooling system filters and payload limits. The dry subject matter contrasts oddly with the gorgeous illustrations courtesy of Will Eisner, one of the most beloved comic book artists of all time. Graham was just a boy growing up on an Army base in Germany when his old man handed him that comic.

Graham, now a 37-year-old professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has made government comics one of the focuses of his career. A few years back, he began a project scanning and digitizing hundreds of comics. This peculiar genre of comics ranges from Army-issued manuals on landmines and assault rifles to pregnancy pamphlets to guides on how to spot a bootlegger. Bert the Turtle taught kids how to prepare for the Atomic Bomb. Dr. Seuss drew a sultry mosquito for a soldier’s manual on malaria.

Graham has now parlayed his archive into a book, Government Issue: Comics for the People, 1940s-2000s. [Paperback ISBN-10: 1419700782] The book contains not just the comics, but also plenty of historical context and anecdotes from Graham. He chronicles the genre’s fascinating inconsistency and inherent contradiction. “They can be really kitschy,” Graham said of government comics. “Anytime the government uses popular culture, it’s like your teacher cussing in the class, trying to be cool. But there are some beautiful as well as some horrible artwork.”

Dr. Seuss drew his malaria comic as an enlisted man. In a lot of the comics, the agencies would pay to have a popular comic character like Captain America or Superman warn readers about the perils of drugs or landmines. The delicious irony is of course that in the 1950s as the government used the comic book form to educate audiences, it also was trying to ban the American comic book. Some schools banned and burned them. Fredric Wertham’s 1954 book, “Seduction of the Innocent,” claimed comic books were a dangerous form of popular culture promoting violence.

And yet all the while, government agencies couldn’t deny the usefulness of this bright and easily digestible format. “It’s strange,” Graham said. “In one way, the government was bringing the medium down by trying to get involved with it. But, on the other hand, it was also bringing some legitimacy to it. The government recognized comics as an effective communication medium, one to bring the message to the masses.”

http://journalstar.com/entertainment/arts-and-culture/books/article_f153acdc-1aa3-50cd-a0e1-edf49148e8d3.html

We asked Richard Graham to pick out a few of his favorite comics and tell us about them.

Fishing Fun is Just Around the Corner
Many colorful characters have been employed by the U.S. government as conservation and outdoors advocates, including Woodsy Owl, Mark Trail and the famous Smokey Bear. Fishing Fun is Just Around the Corner was distributed by the Illinois Department of Conservation. This comic uses the step-by-step illustrative nature of comics to demonstrate the proper way to tie a hook, as well as cast. It also points out the various parts of a rod and reel.

Time of Decision
Time of Decision is the story of a loner at a State University. His popularity and self-confidence increase after he joins ROTC. This comic involves the Pershing Rifles, a drill company started by Gen. John J. Pershing at the University of Nebraska. And like many military recruiting comics, this one showed that “real men” participate in parades and implied that girls would find men in uniform irresistible.

Operation and Preventive Maintenance The M16A1 Rifle by Will Eisner
One of the last military projects Eisner worked on dealt with the use and care of the M-16 rifle. The weapon had developed a reputation for unreliability. Full of double entendres, Operation and Preventive Maintenance The M16A1 Rifle is a classic example of Eisner's incredible ability to combine effectively informational/instructional design with graphic design.

http://journalstar.com/article_7a3b0d47-e8cd-5e1f-9680-7e0a311106b6.html

An Amazon Review of Government Issue: Comics for the People 1940s-2000s

“Since the 1940s, federal and state government agencies have published comics to disseminate public information. Comics legends Will Eisner and Milton Caniff produced comics for the army. Li’l Abner joined the navy. Walt Kelly’s Pogo told parents how much TV their kids should watch, Bert the Turtle showed them how to survive a nuclear attack, and Dennis the Menace took “A Poke at Poison.” Smokey Bear had his own comic, and so did Zippy, the USPS mascot. Dozens of artists and writers, known and unknown, were recruited to create comics about every aspect of American life, from jobs and money to health and safety to sex and drugs. Whether you want the lowdown on psychological warfare or the highlights of working in the sardine industry, the government has a comic for you! Government Issue reproduces an important selection of these official comics in full-reading format, plus a broad range of excerpts and covers, all organized chronologically in thematic chapters.”