Friday, May 4, 2018

The Grooviest Covers of All Time: Joe Kubert's Unknown Soldier

Check it out, Groove-ophiles! While Young Groove dug Sgt. Rock, Haunted Tank, and the rest of DC's war features, his fave was (and still is) the Unknown Soldier. Debuting in Star Spangled War Stories #151 (April 1970), the "Mystery GI of WWII" took over the title of the mag with issue # 205 (January 1977), and continued on until the final ish (#268, July 1982). Pretty successful mag with lots of cool stories and art, and tons of magnificently illustrated covers by some of DC's best--mostly, though, by the great Joe Kubert. Here's a dozen of Ol' Groove's fave Kubert covers featuring the Unknown Soldier from the Star Spangled War Stories era. So action-packed, stylish, and even (at times) profound! Enjoy!












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8 comments:

  1. keythd23May 4, 2018 at 4:22 AM

    I could never get enough of Joe Kubert's covers, whether war, jungle or the occasional superhero ones. His sense of drama, style and layout were second to none. I remember reading in an interview once that he said he could complete a cover in about 11 hours, from layout to finished inks.

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  2. Mike MikulovskyMay 4, 2018 at 5:55 AM

    I used buy and fread all of Joe Kubert's books. I'm curious did they ever really explain who the Unknown Soldier really was? And when the series ended, did they do a final story where he dies or goes home? Thanks! Love seeing these old gems of DC especially from 1970-72.

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    Replies
    1. The Groovy AgentMay 6, 2018 at 9:08 AM

      The final issue of Unknown Soldier (#268, July 1982) did, indeed wrap up (ouch, bad pun) our hero's saga--and with a (few) bang(s) (if I may add yet another bad pun)! You can read it here: http://readcomiconline.to/Comic/Unknown-Soldier-1977/Issue-268?id=36056#1

      Delete
    2. Mike MikulovskyMay 6, 2018 at 5:07 PM

      GROOVY!! Thanks Groovster! Ironic I was in Marine boot camp then. I'll be sure to read that issue here! Semper fi

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  3. AnonymousMay 4, 2018 at 3:32 PM

    Loved Joe's covers, especially with the rich colors & printing inks of the late '60s & early '70s. His drawings remained great from the mid 70's onwards, but the print quality began to lessen as the prices increased (ironically). Compelling dramatic scenarios in his covers---always.

    Regards,
    Chris A.

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  4. tomMay 4, 2018 at 9:47 PM

    LOVE the Unknown Soldier, wish DC Showcase would release more volumes. Is that his real face on the cover of issue #183? Never saw that image before.

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    1. AnonymousMay 6, 2018 at 7:57 AM

      Showcase series was discontinued several years ago, unfortunately.

      Chris A.

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    2. AnonymousMay 7, 2018 at 4:20 PM

      Yes, I believe that the unknown soldier's face was supposed to have been terribly marred, almost skeletal.

      Regards,

      Chris A.

      Delete

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Special thanks to Mike's Amazing World of Comics and Grand Comics Database for being such fantastic resources for covers, dates, creator info, etc. Thou art treasures true!


Note to "The Man": All images are presumed copyright by the respective copyright holders and are presented here as fair use under applicable laws, man! If you hold the copyright to a work I've posted and would like me to remove it, just drop me an e-mail and it's gone, baby, gone.


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As for the rest of ya, the purpose of this blog is to (re)introduce you to the great comics of the 1970s. If you like what you see, do what I do--go to a comics shop, bookstore, e-Bay or whatever and BUY YOUR OWN!