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Author
Dellecese, DavidStam, Kathryn; Thesis Advisor
Lizardi, Ryan; Second Reader
Kahn, Russell; Instructor
Keyword
Comic BooksComics
WWII
World War II
National Allied Publications
All American Publications
DC Comics
Propaganda
American Propaganda
Media
Justice Society
JSA
Justice Society of America
Max Gaines
Marvel Comics
Jack Kirby
Joe Simon
Superman
Captain America
Batman
Detective Comics
Nazis
Pearl Harbor
Comics as Propaganda
Frederic Wertham
Seduction of the Innocent
Bob Rozakis
Tom Peyer
Dave Dellecese
Homefront
American Media
Newsstands
Action Comics
The Flash
Green Lantern
Wonder Woman
Hawkman
Social Crusaders
Early superheroes
Golden Age of Comics
Hitler
War Writers Board
WWB
Office of War Information
Wartime PSA
Public Service Announcement
racism
sexism
Date Published
2018-05
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
American comic books were a relatively, but quite popular form of media during the years of World War II. Amid a limited media landscape that otherwise consisted of radio, film, newspaper, and magazines, comics served as a useful tool in engaging readers of all ages to get behind the war effort. The aims of this research was to examine a sampling of messages put forth by comic book publishers before and after American involvement in World War II in the form of fictional comic book stories. In this research, it is found that comic book storytelling/messaging reflected a theme of American isolation prior to U.S. involvement in the war, but changed its tone to become a strong proponent for American involvement post-the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This came in numerous forms, from vilification of America’s enemies in the stories of super heroics, the use of scrap, rubber, paper, or bond drives back on the homefront to provide resources on the frontlines, to a general sense of patriotism. This research looks to the motivations behind such storytelling in the background of comic book writers and artists as well as involvement from government agencies such as the War Writer’s Board. It’s also important to note that while comics often vilified the enemies of America through the use of terrible stereotypes and caricature, within those same pages were messages promoting solidarity among religion, race, and background for the purpose of winning the war. These mixed messages often make for very contradictory presentations, especially when looked at retroactively and allow comic books from this time period to be looked at as media artifacts, providing insight into cultural and societal ways of thinking during this period, with appropriate historical context. I have created a website supplement to this thesis where many examples of the types of images discussed have been collected and organized for viewing: https://comicsgotowar.weebly.com/