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Comics as Propaganda in WW2
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Comic books were used as propaganda in the US, the UK, Germany, Japan and other countries during WW2. This video takes a look at how the comics were used to support the war effort, primarily within the US.
Пікірлер: 701
That intro is fire.
@farraca731
3 жыл бұрын
Right?
@user-ko6vj1tc5r
3 жыл бұрын
I agree
@Lord0x
3 жыл бұрын
I love it
@slothbaby2104
3 жыл бұрын
But it was so fire it will destory the human world
@-Teague-
3 жыл бұрын
It looks super good
Batman: "I don't use guns." Batman when he he sees nazis: "Robin, get the Batglin gun."
@Pacman8907
3 жыл бұрын
I like how he casually shot a sleeping vampire.
@TheRealProudNoob
3 жыл бұрын
@@Pacman8907 Batman: "Sometimes you just gotta ice a motherfucker."
@adamfox9651
3 жыл бұрын
I thought bullets didn't harm vampires. Or were they soaked in a solution of garlic and holy water first?
@Targisvear
3 жыл бұрын
"Batglin gun". Clap clap.
@cha5
3 жыл бұрын
@@adamfox9651 They were silver bullets that Batman casted himself in the story.
Oh hi, you caught me admiring your new intro.
@depthshell8017
3 жыл бұрын
Speaking of new intro, let's talk about this new episode of comic tropes
@ElvenSonic
2 жыл бұрын
Speaking of intros, let’s talk about video game title screens!
Damn that intro is baller. Good evening Chris!
@GoneFishingAmalgam
3 жыл бұрын
Indeed, quite the upgrade
Hitler’s face: *exists A large majority of comic book characters: (in Patrick Star’s voice) “AND HERE COMES A GIANT FIST!!”
@thegmanofEAP
3 жыл бұрын
Punching Nazis is an American past time.
THE NEW INTRO HOLY SHIT im so happy for you man look at this show growing you deserve it wowoww so dope very dope intro
@RickReasonnz
3 жыл бұрын
Came for the propaganda info, was FLOORED by the amazing intro. 11/10.
During those years Disney created the movie "The Three Caballeros" in an effort to cement the good relationships and potential military alliance with Mexico and Brazil. The movie shows Donald duck making friends with a Mexican rooster and a Brazilian parrot.
@SamuelSEdme
3 жыл бұрын
I used to watch that movie all the time as a kid when I saw it as a fun live-action/animation hybrid movie.
@ianfinrir8724
10 ай бұрын
It's a great movie, as well.
in Jerry Robinson's book The Comics, a history of comic art, he offers an account by Lee Falk about The Phantom helping the Norwegians during the war. This account was told to Lee Falk by a Norwegian reporter. The Nazis were trying to convince the Norwegians that America had fallen but the Norwegians knew this wasn't true because their newspapers carried the Phantom comic strip which they knew was from America. If America had truly fallen then the Phantom would no longer exist. The Norwegian underground used The Phantom as their password according to the reporter. In one of the Lil Abner dailies Al Capp presents a letter from a serviceman fighting overseas who tells Capp that he appreciates it that Lil Abner isn't in uniform because the guys in uniform want to have entertainment that isn't reminding them that a war is going on which they know all to well about . Bill Mauldin and his Willie and Joe characters from Up Front should be mentioned and how they were doing the opposite of presenting the soldiers life as anything but fun, according to Bill Mauldin, General Patton hated the strip and wanted to have it removed from the military paper Stars and Stripes but General Eisenhower overruled him because the soldiers supported the strips existence.
Captain America: *punches Hitler* Dan Garret Blue Beetle: *Portrays Hitler AS THE LITERAL DEVIL and RIPS THE MOUSTACHE OFF HIS FACE!*
@ComicPower
3 жыл бұрын
the Politics surrounding Cap Punching Hitler in 1941. Watch this too Thanks . kzread.info/dash/bejne/amhrq9aae7Sde8Y.html
KZread refuses to recommend your videos to me anymore, but they won't stop me from searching you up! Keep it up, amazing video.
@marfaxa
3 жыл бұрын
you could subscribe?
@niccthicc3234
3 жыл бұрын
Lmao. There's a bell next to the subscribe button. Hit that and select all. It'll give you notifications for his uploads
@shn4449
3 жыл бұрын
Are you subscribed? If you subscribe, the videos will always appear in your recommendations when they are uploaded by the KZreadr.
@Mitzi_DelverVRC
3 жыл бұрын
I know what you mean. I'm subbed *with* the bell rung and it *STILL* doesn't tell me when he uploads. Gotta love KZread totally working.
@roejogan5212
3 жыл бұрын
@@niccthicc3234 I have it hit, still recommends me random garbage instead of these videos
I love that explanation for why Clark Kent didn't join the military during World War 2.
You missed the oppurtunity to mention the comic "Vater und Sohn", a german comic during ww2 (which was one of the few, if not the only comic that was published in germany during that time). Nazis didn't like comics. "Vater und Sohn" was a comic about a father and his son, and often was suppoded to be funny or wholesome. Erich Ohser, the ceator of this comic, was actually against the nazis, and was only allowed to puplish this comic under another name, E.O. Plauen. Nazis started to use the Father and the Son in Propaganda pictures. Ohser didn't liked the idea, and reflected this in the comics itself, where the Father and the Son were running away from "fans", and they wanted to be left alone. Ohser ended the comic by letting the father and the son fly to the moon, away from the "fans". Ohser was later put into prison, and was supposed to go to a concentration camp. He killed himself in his cell before that happened. Apparently the Nazis found out that Ohser hated them, as they found writings in which he wrote down why he hated them. It was bitter irony, as a friend of Ohser who worked for Goebbels was ordered to find out if these writings were actually created by Ohser. Basically this friend of Ohser was the reason why he was put into the prison.
@-Zakhiel-
3 жыл бұрын
Hey, thank you, I didn't know about that comic ! I'm looking for a french edition right now (not that it would make any difference because it seems there is no dialogue). The art style is very modern, an interesting piece of history there.
@Redawt
3 жыл бұрын
@@-Zakhiel- Yeah that comic doesn't have much text at all, only sometimes on a few times, for example on warning signs. A few years ago the comic was continued by someone, so if you are searching for it keep that in mind.
@AnIdiotsLantern
3 жыл бұрын
Damn. I had no idea about this. There’s no good resources on Ohser in English, you really should make a KZread video about him!!
@bes03c
Жыл бұрын
Interesting story!
The term "the Paper Hanger of Berlin" shown on that World's Finest cover is a reference to Hitler, as it was believed that, as a young man, he had worked as a wallpaper hanger for a time. (Whether or not he actually ever held that job is subject of debate amongst historians.) In the film "Patton", the title character remarks to some of his soldiers that he's on his way to Berlin to personally shoot "that paper hanging son of a bitch". (Whether or not the real-life Gen. Patton actually said this, I'm not sure.)
@ROBOTPETER101
3 жыл бұрын
Seems like such a strange thing to call out or make up. Was there like, some stigma against wallpaper hangers? Like, it's not even an especially weird or funny job.
@adamfox9651
3 жыл бұрын
@@ROBOTPETER101 I think it had more to do with the overall fact that he was ne'er-do-well and a malcontent scumbag who bummed around doing odd jobs.
@jamesoblivion
3 жыл бұрын
Paper hanging was seen as a very "common" trade. It was meant to knock Hitler down a peg by denying recognition of his supreme government office.
I'm going to miss the classic vibe of the old opening but damn the new animation is sick.
Chris, have you heard of Jane. Better use that for an updated edition of this episode. Jane was a pornographic comic that was made in Britain during WWII for the British soldiers. Churchill often referred to Jane as “Britain’s secret weapon.”
@davidmcmahon4633
Жыл бұрын
Jane wasn't pornographic, it was a newspaper strip that run for about 20 years. Yes, she did wind up getting down into her undies in her adventures. And it is said that Churchill said something along the lines of "every time she loses her clothes, our troops advance another 50 miles."
@sirfrancisdrake6956
Жыл бұрын
Didn’t uk have battle and commando comics also
THAT NEW INTRO KICKS ASSES!!!
Up until very recently, the Army still used a comic called "PS, The Preventive Maintenance Monthly" to help train it's troops on the latest equipment updates. They only just stopped publishing a physical copy last year. Now they use a website psmagazine(dot)army(dot)mil. The cool thing is you can check out all the back issues on there.
The galling thing is that Jack Kirby had distinguished himself as a great comic artist, but all the US Army could think of him to do was to be an infantry soldier, or be an army scout. He should have been put to work in the Signal Corps in some drawing capacity.
@MrHantz101
3 жыл бұрын
The great oxymoron, "Military Intelligence" is the cause of that. They'll put a guy with cooking skills into the infantry, and put some grease monkey in the kitchen as a chef.
I think Batman, Robin and Superman were pelting the Axis leaders with all-American baseballs, not rotting vegetables.
Another wonderful episode, and as a bonus it's always nice to see Bill Finger get credit as Batman co-creator. Thanks Chris!
Congratulations on the All New-All Different Intro! Great look into the Golden Age as well!
Interesting you mention comics as being used to combat illiteracy... Back in the 70s, UK, Marvel was reprinting it's catalog in weekly issues. I had a massive argument with my parents regarding the quality of what I was reading. I found a passage from a Hulk story, and wrote it out. I found a Jim Steranko poster and photocopied it, and then presented these two things. The Steranko I passed off as a DaVinci, and the Hulk script as HG Wells... Then I revealed. They didn't like it, but they got the point. Years later, I showed my mother my copy of Peace On Earth... She wept. "Yeah," I said gently. "Comics."
Wow, this was an amazing episode! It's incredible to see how comic books have played such an important part in our history. Regardless of how someone views propaganda as good or bad, there's no denying the influence comics had at the time. Thanks for this cool episode, it might be one of my favorites now!
Speaking of fighting illiteracy in America back in the 1940s eith comics, I know a Czech immigrant, college educated, who worked on her English literacy by reading comics.
Omg dude that intro alone is awesome.
Incredible video! I thought I knew this era pretty well but I learned a lot here between the information you provide and your insight and analysis.
Found you through Harry's stellar intro (and KZread's algorithm to an extent), subscribed for the quality content. I really like how this video doesn't entirely focus on the U.S. side of the WWII comic propaganda. That side of History is severely undocumented. Also, That picture of Superman riding a bomb looks like something that would inspire a young Stanley Kubrick.
Nah, "the paper hanger" was actually a reference to Hitler who worked as a house painter before his rise to power. Also: what a cool new intro!
@LRM23936
3 жыл бұрын
And story goes that he wasn't very good at it.
@WildBluntHickok
3 жыл бұрын
Yeah I was thinking "surely a paper hanger is someone putting up wallpaper for a living"
I love old ware time comics and cartoons with their extremely patriotic propaganda. More and more companies seem ashamed of them and want to censor and pretend it didn't exist which I think is a shame. You can't just pretend the past didn't happen and ignore it.
Making sure my money goes to planes and guns sounds like a solid plan.
@aquabot
3 жыл бұрын
Always is ;-)
Love the new intro thank you for answering my question in the live stream
The "Paper Hanger of Berlin" was a reference to Hitler, as he was a painter before World War I, which was mockingly understood to mean that he was a "paper hanger," i.e., he painted house interiors and installed wall paper. This understanding was used to hilariius effect in Mel Brooks' movie, The Producers, when Franz Liebkind, the author of "Springtime for Hitler, (A Gay Romp with Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden)," was railing against Churchill and declared: "Hitler... now there was a painter! He could paint an entire apartment in ONE afternoon! TWO coats!"
Dick Sprang is such a glorious glorious name.
The spirits in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure are called Stands by the way
I loved the Captain Marvel cover where he rolls up his sleeve
What th- Was that a Harry Partridge cartoon!? *looks down at description* Well I'll be! Very nice!
Another good book about military cartoonists (cartoonists who served in the ranks) is "The Comic Art of War" by Christina Knopf. She looks at military cartoonists over the ages, some as far back as the Napoleonoc Wars but the heyday of course was World War Two era stuff like Bill Mauldin. She goes up through the modern age and features comics by veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars such as "Terminal Lance" and more.
As a graduate student of International Affairs, I appreciate your book recommendations and the insights presented in this video. Excellent work, as always. Would be interested in also seeing a deeper dive into those comics produced by other powers in WWII, that you touched on. Propaganda comics in other times and on other topics would also be fascinating to see. Also, perhaps surveys of how comics dealt with other events or social issues, in the USA and around the world? Sending encouragement and thanks for all you do. The new intro is great! P.S. If you are ever interested in North Korean comics, a good friend Jacco Zwetsloot, in Seoul, South Korea, is one of the top experts on that very topic and might be a fascinating interview.
@pippy6677
3 жыл бұрын
P.S.S. The topic of how French comics and animation has been produced in North Korea over many decades, do to special diplomacy between North Korea and France might also be a little known topic for a deep dive. Truth is often stranger than fiction. 🙂✌️
Love the intro, especially the All-Might cameo, very interesting video aswell!
Good to see you're making new videos again. That intro......woosh! The German-American Bund was picked up on in the recent *"Penny Dreadful: City of Angels"* TV series. Big fan from UK.👍😆
Killer new Intro? Check. My WWII obsession? Check. 10/10 video will watch again drunk
Love the new intro, Chris! Given the importance of comics' place in history, it saddens me that the industry is experiencing so many problems and seemingly on the brink. Hopefully comics can recover in some fashion. Thanks Chris!
That new intro is pognificent.
@LungsOutJem
3 жыл бұрын
That's the second time I've seen that word "pog" used today. What does it mean?
@trilobitose
3 жыл бұрын
@@LungsOutJem pog
@LungsOutJem
3 жыл бұрын
@@trilobitose yes, but what does "pog" mean?!?!?!
Love the new intro! Man, you really did your homework! I haven’t seen some of this material since visiting my grandparents (my grandfather was a VFW). And what an evocative subject! Things like this should be discussed more often,as we’ve seen what can happen without historical lessons. Couple of points: I have trouble believing the government ever had a Bureau of Intelligence. Are we sure that isn’t a comic book creation? Proof that propaganda, like any tool, is subject to intent. Wonder if we’ve learned anything since... Comics and other fantasy properties changed to fit a particular narrative? Nawwww, I don’t see see it. Certainly not any MODERN parallels... they’d never do THAT... Keep ‘em flying!
Chris that intro is awesome. I love Harry Partridge and I'm so happy to see you collaborate with him.
You made me remember an episode of Angel (the Buffy spin off) where at WW2 the U.S. government send him to rescue a submarine, since as a vampire he couldn't drown and was much more resisted to cold and pressure. One member of the crew say that Angel may be a super soldier like Steve Rogers or Captain America, only for the commanding officer to tell him that Steve Rogers is Captain America.
I hope the "oh, hi!" skits come back...
Will Eisner helped the war effort too. Thought you'd mention him, but his years of cartoons teaching equipment maintenance are historic, he worked on training manuals for decades after WWII. (👍👍....The new intro.)
"Transforming Robots- " Say no more my man, you got me (comic tropes on Bob Budiansky and Simon Furman, I'll have it someday)
The reference to Hitler as the "paper-hanger of Berlin" (at about 17:20) was not so much calling him a forger. Rather, Hitler was frequently mocked as having worked hanging wallpaper before the war. The allegation might well have been simply an urban legend, but it was widely believed at the time. In 1937, Chicago's Cardinal George Mundelein famously called Hitler "an Austrian paper hanger." More recently, you might even recall in Mel Brooks's "Springtime for Hitler," the actor portraying Hitler remarking, "I was just a paper hanger, no one more obscurer."
0:16 - I'll just check out that Harry Partridge intro one more time 25:40 - Going back for more intro
Another great episode. Liked the choice of topic.
It is awful how bad some depictions are but thinking on the impact they had, trying to imagine a world without them could be grim.
Love the topic and Alex Schomburgs covers!
I remember seeing those "How you tell your friend the Chinese from the bloodthirsty Japanese" comics in old issues of Stars and Stripes that my father had, handed down from his father, who'd fought in the Pacific theater. Even as a child (growing up in the 1980s), they made me cringe.
Dr. Seuss Goes to Wat is a fantastic collection in regards to this topic by the famous writer of childrens book, and definitely a side no one could have guessed.
I love your golden age videos. Awesome video!
Comic propagnada was a big thing in England too. Dudley Watkins at DC Thompson in England made several comic strips in the british comics "the Beano" (1938-) and "The Dandy" (1937-2012) with such comic strips like "Addie and Hermy" the idiotic misadventures of Hitler and Herman Gouring...and "Musso the Wop" for the Beano a comic ripping the piss out of mussolini and his hight. The comic propaganda was so effective Hitler put Dudley Watkins to his poltical enemies list. Though a lot of these comics do not exsist anymore in the UK cause the comics back in then encouraged people to recycle for the war effort.
Excellent video. Worth remembering also that a lot of comics creators served in the forces in WW2. Kirby, Lee and Eisner are usually mentioned but there were many others. Bert Christman, who drew the Scorchy cartoon strip and was the co-creator of DC's original Sandman, became a US Navy pilot and was killed in action in 1942.
Batman #15 cover - Maybe Batman is just testing newly manufactured supplies for quality control? OK, he's totally mowing down enemy troops.
That is one sick intro, well done Chris!
Love seeing the new intro in action!
New intro = EPIC Golden Age video = 😁
@jamesoblivion
3 жыл бұрын
For convenience's sake, I've compiled all the Golden Age Comic Tropes episodes into a single playlist, for everyone who, like myself, gets a special kick out of these old, oft forgotten gems (and plain old rocks that are still damn funny). kzread.info/head/PL_73IjbPuzwmiQBMh0ghFZX4SCWPASXx2 Let me know if I've missed any!
loved this episode! My two fav topics - ww2 and comics!
It would be great to have this same analysis for the Vietnam war
Here is a topic. History of Comic Book Roleplaying Games. 1) Pre-Hero 2) Champions/Hero System 3) Villains and Vigilantes 4) TSRs Marvel Super Heroes and DC Heroes 5) minor RPGs like TMNT and Other Strangies, Usagi Yojimbo, and others.
A brand new (and great) intro, Kirby dots in the background of images floating on the screen, a knowledgeable host doing his research...what else could we ask for??
I’m gonna miss the old theme song, but the new intro is just plain awesome. Major props to whoever put that together. Oh, and fantastic episode as always.
What a great episode! I'm a newer subscriber after I found your video on old comic book ads. Not disappointed!! 😁👍
What the hell is up with that amazing intro? Absolutely on FIRE!
THAT INTRO IS F*****G AMAZING!!😨
Digging the new intro, my good man! I haven’t read many WWII-era comics and their pushing of war bonds, but I did use to have an equally propaganda-filled VHS of WWII-era Looney Tunes my uncle bought me when I was a kid. I remember Bugs Bunny fighting Nazis, trying to steal veggies from Elmer Fudd’s Victory Garden, and other cartoons. About the depiction of the Japanese and Germans being made to look less capable, that even carried over into the 1962 movie “The Longest Day” with John Wayne. I remember watching it with my mom when I was a teen, and going “these Nazis are idiots! Of course we won the war!!!” And my mom explaining that they were only depicted like that because those who won the war wrote the script. “History is made by the winners.” It’s so interesting, to look back on things that were so common place then, but make us aghast today. Even back in 2001, you could get for a time novelty “Taliban Hunting Licenses” after 9/11. I remember seeing them for sale at maybe Spencer Gifts, and knowing that was in bad taste.
awesome video, I've always found this era of propaganda comics interesting.
That new intro made me grin real wide. Nice video!
Great video. I always like to learn more about the impact of comics during certain timeperiods. Also, the new Intro is awesome =)
I have quite a few of the Timely and Atlas hardcover collections chock-full of WWII-era comics, and it's is absolutely incredible how much propaganda there was in them. It's really telling that when the government had use for comic books, they worked with creators to finance a war by taking money from the poor and working class -- but once that use had been fulfilled the attacks on them as "degenerate art" and a "corrupting influence on the youth" started. It's astonishing how closely that kind of language mirrors Nazi propaganda about imaginary 'non-Aryan' art. Not to mention ridiculing it by subverting the intentions and purposes of new art. Funny how that works, isn't it?
@davestier6247
5 ай бұрын
Great points. I think it also reflects how popular the war actually was. We have painted the Greatest Generation as willing participants in this war. Both of my Grandfathers were drafted and fought in Europe. My grandfathers parents had fled Germany in the aftermath of WWI. This was not uncommon, and led to many men and women of the time hating FDR's guts. Of course, it being a different time, these views were rarely shared in on the record interviews. But the prewar sentiment of staying the hell out of Europe's business didn't magically disappear overnight.
Batman and Robin are never going to be able to produce children if that battleship decides to fire it's cannons. However, Superman might enjoy the sensation.
New intro is kickass man. Happy late thanksgiving!
This was a great video. The delay had me worried for a second - so glad it was, apparently, to produce something super thought-out and high-quality!
I have a lot of fond memories of the old intro but this new one is just 🤯🤯
Only just now started the video, but that intro is delightful!!
Hey man, greetings from Chile! thanks for the all the teaching!
That new intro was dope. I had to watch it 10 times.
Night shift finished and there's a new comic tropes episode with the new opening
That new intro is great!
You, your channel and your work are true gems. Your videos have been a constant companion as I renovate my house and perform my daily chores, and I am hoping my copy of Lauxor comes in tomorrow so I can read I get home from work. Thank you, you improve my life and that of my wife and son. Rock on.
Love the new Intro, Dear Sir ❤!
WOAAAAAH that is an awesome update to the intro!
love the intro had to watch it twice to figure if it was Howard or Donald. Freaking Fantastic
@ComicTropes
3 жыл бұрын
They’re all technically knock-offs.
@iancpowell
3 жыл бұрын
@@ComicTropes wonderful Knods to x with in appropriate usage to not bring down the lawyers, still freaking awesome
13:11 The nazi comic which says in portuguese "quem com ferro mata- com ferro morre!" means something like what goes around comes around. I'm Portuguese!😉
LOVE THE NEW INTRO!
Instantly recognized Harry's work. A surprising colab, but also a welcome one :)
I'm surprised you didnt include some of the Dr Seuss Private Snafu stuff
This is what separates you from other comic sites. Your historical insights into comics are stellar. Keep up the good work.
Your videos feel like a history lecture and I love that. Also that intro was insanely cool
Wow, great new intro. I got Harry Partridge vibes from that!
Oh my that intro!!! Reminds me of 80's/90's cartoons intros.
That intro was on a whole other level....well done Chris
congratulations for the new intro, its great!
Fantastic animated opening by Harry Partridge! Wow!