#MemorialDayMarvelMonday

marvel.fandom.com/wiki/War_Is_Hell_Vol_1… Since this #MarvelMonday falls on Memorial Day, I’d like to bring up War is Hell. Eventually published at the Tail End of the American insurgency in Vietnam, the anthology series jumped around until it finally found its footing. #WarisHell#Nam#Kowalski It eventually remembered that it was a Marvel Book and introduced https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Category:John_Kowalski_(Earth-616)/Appearances… He dies in his first appearance and wanders the violent Earth for the rest of the series. After his series, he wrapped up the Claremont run on Man-Thing Vol 2, before showing up in an Avengers Title and a couple of Marvel Encyclopedias, Kowalski was gone. His namesake showed up in Ultimates Vol 1 Issue 1, but he was from another time, with a different feeling in the country. #70s#VolumeOne#Relic#Veterans#Messaging#GuestCharacter#Fifteen#Issues#Bygone Following the #DisneyPurchase of Marvel Comics there was an issue of War Is Hell, https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/War_Is_Hell_Vol_2_1… in a #VolumeII. This one got past my radar. #Biplanes#WWII#HistoricalFIction#Warstories#ANthology#FighterPlanes#Backissues#Vietnam#Seventyfour#seventyfive#Veteran

#MarvelMonday Let’s talk about the Ultimates.

I’ve noticed I can’t insert from URL, the way they offer to showcase pictures. Huh…

Outside of the Great Machine from #indiebook, Ex Machina, these were the definitive post #September11th superheroes. The title of the 12th issue is even called “Persons of Mass Destruction.”
Dealing with PR was one primary concern of #NickFury, but it was handled most directly through a re-imagined Betty Ross, (her namesake the Golden Girl being retconned out of existence).
#Budget concerns were regular features in the first volume, #CaptainAmerica was an angry old man, and optics sensitivity in the second volume forced them to whittle their forces down to just the #MaximoffTwins. #IronManxBlackWidow #IronMan #BlackWidow #Casp #Cap #Wasp #Vikings #Norse #AESIR #Loki #Bishi #BishiLoki

The War on Terror was the big push in the 2nd volume. We see them overthrow a country for holding a Nuclear Weapons stash. And then the entire country is overthrown by an Arabian mirror to Captain America (and subsequently the Statue of Liberty is knocked over, island and all).

And about those optics. Thor was a walking series of questions about how a self-described Norse God would be received by largely secular Christians and QuasiTheists. Since the writer was from Scotland, he had more insight into Norse policy than many Americans. So #UltimateThor was a Hippy, like Jesus. And there was an EU team, that he was supposedly going to be a part of, but Norway (still) isn’t part of the European Union. And they get this backstory told to them by his …brother… and I lost all respect for their intelligence. Everyone was a feckless idiot with no ability to do any research, and all critical thinking waited until an invading army of giant robots and supermen was just about to attack. I think the first Ultimates series handled grounded realism much better than the second.
What other series dealt with such detail in these subjects?  Let me know what you remember in the comments.