Growing Up With Comics: "the 'Nam"
An Editorial by Chris Partin
November 10, 2008

Since the very first editorial here at the site, I have wanted to start a series of irregular editorials talking about how comic books are not just for kids.  In saying that and looking at comics these days, comics aren't for kids anymore.  Comic books in today's market are geared for teenagers and adults.  My plan is not to talk about how comic books need to return to the way they were written when I was a kid because that's doing a disservice to the comic book creators that are really producing some entertaining and strong stories.  No, this series of editorials is a look back at comics when I was growing up and how even back when I was 10 years old (and slightly older) that the comic books I spent my time reading weren't for kids either.

As we are coming up on Veterans Day here in the United States on November 11 I tend to think about the men and women who have served our country in the military.  I'm not alone by any means.  This past Sunday in church the congregation applauded all of those who had served.  The pastor spoke about their bravery and selfless acts.  As I drove my kids to school today I heard a few things on the radio.  And as I went through my morning ritual of reading news site, comic sites, and blogs I came across an article over at Comic Book Resources about the 'Nam.  If you have not read the article, I highly recommend it because it is very well written and really reminded me how much I loved that series. 

Back in 1986, I was just eleven years old.  I had been reading comic books for about three years and most of the stuff I was reading, looking back, I wouldn't consider them for kids.  This was not a conscious decision on my part, it just happen to be during this time I picked up comic books for the art, not really for the story, and those comic books just had the best art.  I remember when I first saw the cover to the 'Nam #1 I was just blown away by everything that was on the cover.  I picked it up and flipped through it and decided to pick it up.  The cover and interior art was by the legendary Michael Golden, but at this point in my life I didn't know who that was.  All I knew was this art was good and I wanted more of it.  Once I got home, that's really when my interest in the art took second chair to the amazing story I began to read. 

The issue was written by Doug Murray, and it was the story of Private First Class Ed Marks and his time in Vietnam War.  The series was slated to be a twelve-year series, and after reading this first issue I was ready to read the next twelve years.  The unfortunate fate of this series is that it had to meet the requirements of the Comic Code and had to be an all-ages book.  I don't think it hurt the story that Murray was writing, but I wonder what those stories could have been like had the Code not been there.  The series would later lose Larry Hama as the editor and at that point the series that meant so much to me had really lost its genuine feel to it.  I can't remember the last issue of this series I read, but I still hold those first twelve issues in very high regards. 

At this point in my life I knew of the Vietnam War, but I didn't know a lot about it.  This series sparked my interest and got me curious about the war.  I spent a lot of time in the library at school and at the downtown public library reading about the war because of this comic book.  There haven't been that many comic books since this time that have driven me to read more about the subject matter outside of the comic book, even with the invention of the Internet.  Without getting up on my soapbox on this, I will say that as a young reader, this comic book was more than just a "funny book" as comics were easily called by those on the outside.  The 'Nam was a comic book that really wasn't meant for kids to read, but had to be tailored to fit censorship and regulations.  But, if it wasn't for the Code, I would have never seen this book and I would have never read it. 

Now, I could go on and on about this series and really break down the issues, but alas I don't own them anymore (that's a story for another time) but having spent a good amount of time today thinking about this series and reading about it on Comic Book Resources and on some other web sites I'm sure I will pick up the first couple of trades that are out and give them a read and remember that curiosity a comic book gave me about such a powerful and important era in history. 

If you haven't read this series before, I have to recommend this book to all of you.  You may be able to find the issues on eBay or in the back issue bins of your local comic book shop.  Personally, I would recommend finding the three trade paperbacks that Marvel published in the late 1980s which covers the first twelve issues.