Willie & Joe: The WWII Years - Bill Mauldin and comic strips

[adeepercut2k]

Went to the comic store yesterday with my pops. He surprised me and actually bought something. ^^^^ Eh? Yup Willie & Joe.

It's a beautiful hard bound edition of Mauldin's classic comic strip series from his time spent with the troops. The outside is perfect...so I have to imagine it's same with the inside. :) He hasn't opened it yet and I can't wait till he does. Amazon has it listed for an April 28th release, but obviously some stores should have them out now. 65 bucks in store, 40 through amazon. It says it contains all of his WW2 work, some never seen since the first printing. I can't imagine it not being worth every cent.

When he opens that bad-boy I'll get back with a review.

P.S. I have to suggest that you guys do a comic-strip episode. There's some great stuff out there that's pushing the bounds of what comics can be. Lio and Pearls Before Swine are two just off the top of my head that are hilarious and well worth a read. Luann has a well written story arc as well as Funky Winkerbean, La Cucaracha by Lalo Alcaraz and Pooch Cafe...while not really pushing the boundaries, it's damn funny and another piece of media that makes me want to have a dog. :) There's a lot of material out there for an episode.

[conorkilpatrick]

I used to have a softcover collection of all of those cartoons. They are fantastic.

[six-gun]

that's awesome!

[adeepercut2k]

So I took a look at it and it's amazing. It comes with two hc volumes in a sturdy green thick cardboard box. The paper stock is top notch. It's covered with a military style green canvas. There's 650 b&w cartoons that spans his career from 1940 through the end of the war. It includes some never before seen sketches at the end of the second volume.

The first volume covers his time at home. From 40-43 he's drawing some political humor and some early Western - Indians & Cowboys mixed with a lot of car humor. The second volume is where it really picks up. This covers 1943-1945 when he's overseas drawing for Stars & Stripes. It reminds me of what Wood is doing with DMZ. Throwing someone in the fire and seeing his work and persona transform. Except this actually happened to Mauldin. His art goes from well thought out and planned humor in volume 1 that works but doesn't hit the heart. Then you see these thick brush strokes, frenetic sketching and this wry, cold, jaded humor. Yet it's full of heart. While reading it I'm thinking, "this fuckin' guy was in some war zone dodging bullets and sketching his ass off!"

It's funny as hell and f'n subversive. One image has Willie and Joe kneeling at a mortar, calling into the base "K Comp'ny artillery commander speakin'."

Another has them lying in the freezing snow and one says to the other, "remember that warm, soft mud last summer?" It's both funny and heart-wrenching.

I'd say it's a must buy, especially for his fans; and his art should be seen by everybody. Maybe pick up his own book called Up Front by Bill Mauldin or DePastino's biography - Bill Mauldin: A Life Up Front.

[adeepercut2k]

Forgot one factoid I wasn't aware of before visiting wiki:

Peanuts

From 1969 to 1999, cartoonist Charles M. Schulz (himself a veteran of World War II) would annually pay tribute to Bill Mauldin in his Peanuts comic strip on Veterans Day. In the strips, Snoopy, dressed as an army vet, would go to Mauldin's house to "quaff a few root beers and tell war stories."


Those were my favorite scenes in the Peanuts movies. Snoopy would be dressed in army threads at the French "pub" or une brasserie. :) (thank you internets) And he's getting drunk on root beer complaining and laughing and crying all at the same time. With that Snoopy voice...puts it all into perspective.

[paulsharkey]

it sounds like a real nice book. I am so tempted to pick up some of the nice reprints of the old newspaper strips that are selling now, my girl friend got the first peanuts one and it's just one of the best put together books i have ever seen.. seth does the covers and all. I am so tempted to get the popeye one .... comics first superhero... or Willie & joe.