" Take That, Adolf!: The Fighting Comic Books of the Second World War"

Art historian Mark Fertig explores the geopolitical underpinnings of World War II through the colorful covers of Golden Age comic books. 

With surprising sophistication, these images reflect the complexities of that global conflict. 

Chapters on Building Towards War, She Can Do It!, Pulling Together, Kids Can Fight Too!, In Der Führer’s Face!, and The Birth of Captain America provide a perfect context for the patriotic comic books of the era. 

Jack Kirby, cover for 1941’s first issue of Captain America

The iconography of this imagery remains breathtaking. The seminal creations of American masters like Jack Kirby, Walt Kelly, C. C. Beck, Alex Schomburg, Bill Everett, L.B. Cole, Lou Fine, Joe Simon, Reed Crandall, and many others played an important role in fighting fascism in the forties. 

Given our current political climate, this approach to comics seems suddenly relevant.

Take That, Adolf!: The Fighting Comic Books of the Second World War

Edited by Mark Fertig.

Read also:

"Chronicling the Days When Superheroes Knocked Out Nazis" in Hyperallergic.