What If... Essential The 'Nam volume 1?

Another in this look at hypothetical Essential volumes...

Essential The 'Nam volume 1 would contain issues #1 to #21. These are otherwise available in two trade paperbacks that are Classics in all but name, released in 2009 & 2010 with the last issue in the third from 2011. (Be warned there were other trades with suspiciously similar names in the late 1980s and again in the late 1990s.) Additionally it would include a couple of brief stories from Savage Tales #1 & #4 that were a forerunner of the series and which can also be found in the third volume. Bonus material would include "'Nam Notes", a glossary of military terms and slang from each issue plus perhaps some of the covers from the special magazine that reprinted two issues at a time. All the issues are written by Doug Murray with an initial art run by Michael Golden who is succeeded by Wayne Vansant with one issue by John Severin. The Savage Tales stories were also written by Murray and drawn by Golden.

War stories have a long tradition in comics but by the mid 1980s they were largely dying out in the US market and were one of the genres that didn't really survive the transition to the direct market. So it's a surprise to see that Marvel launched not only a new title but on focusing on what was at the time the single most controversial conflict that the United States had been involved with. But The 'Nam is a far cry from the traditional war comic that shows soldiers performing incredible actions against a demonised foe. Indeed the first of the Savage Tales stories that act as a forerunner say it best when the narrator declares, "All in all, this ain't 'Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandoes'." [sic] Nor does it set out to justify the conflict in retrospect. Instead, it tells the story of ordinary soldiers on the ground, showing what it was really like.

My country was not (officially) involved in Vietnam. Had it been then it is quite possible my father and/or one of my uncles would have seen service there. Instead, the British mainly know the war only through exposure to its portrayal in US media. Consequently it doesn't have the same resonance here, nor is there an obvious equivalent conflict. The United Kingdom's confidence as a world power had been blunted in the 1950s by the Suez Crisis but that was very much a diplomatic and economic humiliation rather than a military one. Nor were tactics and methods known about and attacked back home in a way that split society and saw many returning soldiers attacked and shunned. The military did not go out of fashion in entertainment here - e.g. military toys did not have problems in the market so that whereas G.I. Joe shifted to become more of an adventurer, Action Man carried on in traditional military combat. More recently Iraq has seen bitter division over taking action and it has certainly had an impact on foreign policy since. Servicemen and women have been through an experience that nobody who wasn't there can ever truly understand. However, returning troops haven't been attacked as though they are the ones responsible for the invasion. The scars are deep but different from those created by Vietnam. As a result, the demonisation and rehabilitation of Vietnam veterans is something that is only understood indirectly here.

Doug Murray is a veteran of Vietnam and it shows in the writing. How much of it is autobiographical and how much comes from others is unclear, but there's a strong personal element and passion to the writing, as though he's finally getting the chance to tell how it really was. This stands out particularly with the depiction of some officers who are so callous about the men under their command that it's a surprise they don't get shot or fragged (murdered with a grenade) by their own side sooner, or with the fates of men as diverse as tunnel runners or the left behind. The language may be a little sanitised and there may be some subjects such as drugs that are steered clear of but that was a price worth paying to be able to get as much of the story out there to a wide audience - and in any case the series does get close with some of the swearing such as "Holy sh--" or "REMF" - the acronym for Rear Echelon Mother Fucker, meaning desk based staff who took decisions without being in the field themselves. There's a lot of army jargon in use and each issue carried "'Nam Notes" to explain the various acronyms, slang and technical terms used by soldiers at the time.

At this stage, the series takes place in approximately real time, with the first issue starting in early January 1966 and issue #21 is set in October 1967. Each issue takes place roughly one month after the previous, with no grand cliffhangers. It's thus possible to dip in and out of any individual issue, making it extremely new reader friendly and helping the title to grow its audience once word of mouth came in. But it also provides a degree of rigid structure to the narrative, reflecting the rigidity of army postings, and preventing the title from getting bogged down with individual incidents. This also allows the series to rotate its cast, reflecting the way men were assigned for a thirteen month period and looked forward to the last months when they were "short" and could expect to not be sent out in the field then a wake-up and the freedom bird home. Of course not everyone was limited to thirteen months and the series does show some longer serving officers and NCOs as well as men who choose "re-up" for additional tours of duty in Vietnam, whether because they want better promotion prospects to help their careers, to leave the army sooner or to exploit the rule on only one family at a combat zone at any given time and thus keep younger brothers out of Vietnam. However even the last reason is questioned with the story of what instead happened to one brother.

The first issue gives a strong flavour of what is to come. Edward Marks is a young private who gets deployed in Vietnam in the 4/23d Infantry ("Mechanized, of course!") in January 1966. And nothing has prepared him for what he finds there. The art captures a young fresh faced soldier discovering just what war really means. There's confusion and corruption in the army when he arrives. When he goes out on patrol, he rapidly finds out how dangerous it is in the field. He sees bodies and kills for the first time and his reaction isn't triumph but to vomit. He meets fellow soldiers at various stages of their tour of duty, all slowly conditioned by what they have experienced and becoming ever more cynical. At the end of the issue the soldiers watch a war film and comment how it is nothing like reality.

Marks is the primary character for the first thirteen issue and later on another devotes a large chunk to a letter from him about his experiences back in "the world" (which the "'Nam Notes" glossary tells us means the US - an interesting insight into perspectives) as he comes home. We don't learn too much about his background until the letter issue but it's clear he comes from a close knit family and is relatively naive of not only the world of Vietnam around him but even parts of the adult world in general. This is most notable early on when he's taken on leave to Saigon and is ignorant both about cinema snacks and about women, to the point where he's nearly mugged when he thinks he's getting off for the first time. However he's also supported by the camaraderie of the his fellow soldiers who are used to "greenie" new recruits who take time to learn. Service has a clear impact on Marks, most immediately apparent in his increased swearing as commented on by others who note how the "altar boy" is changing. Similarly, he slowly learns that shooting in action is not "a little John Wayne" but a much more brutal and inefficient experience. When he leaves and goes back to his hometown it becomes clear things have changed for both him and his friends. Wider public opinion has also shifted and he doesn't recognise the conflict portrayed in the media. As a result, he determines that someone has to tell the story of how it really is and opts to be that one, in one of the most explicit autobiographical moments.

Marks finishes his tour in issue #13 but we continue to follow the ever-rotating squad with attention shifting to Sergeant Rob Little and Specialist Andy Clark. Little is a long serving soldier who has been wounded twice and ended up on desk duty before the series began but befriends Marks when they're lost in the field on a special mission for a reporter. The action makes him want to go back to the field permanently and he gets a promotion. He serves as the main bridge between Marks and the next generation of soldiers until he's badly wounded by a grenade and ends up nearly losing a leg. Clark is nicknamed "Aesop" for the stories he tells and it's not always clear how much truth there is in them. He has already done one tour but is motivated to re-up both by his seeing an orphanage that he wants to help and by a desire to keep his two younger brothers out of the combat zone.

The progress of time and action brings an ever-changing nature to the cast though the emphasis is nearly always on the 4/23rd. Some characters only appear in a single issue that focuses upon a particular aspect, whether it's defectors from North Vietnam, tunnel runners with one of the worst jobs of all or the air force providing cover. Others continue from issue to issue, making for a real poignancy when they're injured, killed or captured. This truly is a series where anyone can die and it doesn't pull its punches. Nor are the fates always glorious. Mike Albergo is the squad's comedian in the early issues, taking an ironic attitude to the war and becoming Marks's closest friend. Albergo is relaxing after a night's action and looking forward to an early discharge when he's suddenly shot dead by a sniper. It's a shocking moment that shows just how suddenly a man could be lost. Also of note is the platoon leader's letter to the parents, part of which is reproduced on the last panel showing how it gives a different impression from reality in order to disguise the senseless nature of it.

But the biggest anger expressed comes over two soldiers who are last shown alive. Frank Verzyl is a tunnel runner, one of the men sent into the underground tunnels and bases with limited weapons to sweep them clean. In what feels like an inventory story left over from Savage Tales we learn how he was freaked out when exploring a base and suddenly releasing two dozen hungry rats. He escaped only for a newly arrived greenie 2nd lieutenant to insist on sending him back down and the only way out was to shoot the lieutenant. There's a real sense of anger with the idiocy and callousness of such officers who took needless risks with other men's lives and sanity, with the result that Verzyl went insane. The story is told in narrative text rather than speech bubbles and it feels very much as though it's a name change telling of something Murray himself witnessed. There's also a clear sense of anger around the fate of Chandradat Ramnarain. An arrogant experienced soldier who mainly keeps himself to himself, it soon becomes clear he's a black marketer. But his fate is nevertheless undeserved when the incompetent Lieutenant Alarnick sends just three men to check out a village, then declines to send back-up when it becomes clear the Viet Cong are active in the area. Then when under attack and with the other two staggering in wounded, Alarnick writes off Ramnarain, in spite of protests by the sergeant, and orders an air strike. We last see the private alive and captured, watching the platoon being evacuated by helicopter. The issue of men missing in action who were believed by many to still be alive as prisoners of war abandoned by the army and US government has been a contentious one over the years and here we get a strong statement in support of that view.

The depiction of NCOs and officers varies, showing both good competent commanders who will never take unnecessary risks through to foolish glory seekers, cold hearted blunt men of action and corrupt officials. Indeed right at the outset Marks learns about corruption the hard way when he doesn't realise he should have bribed First Sergeant J. Tarver to get a comfortable assignment and is instead placed with Sergeant Polkow, the "Top"'s nemesis. Eventually Tarver is set up and caught out. It's a more comfortable fate than that received by Lieutenant Alarnick, a brutal, callous, racist and arrogant officer who ignores entitlements, puts men onto stupid duties, takes risky action and abandons soldiers in the field. It gets to the point where Little is having nightmares about being dragged ever further into danger by Alarnick who then offers a place in a body bag. The line is crossed when he shoots an unarmed prisoner in the head and declares himself more worthy of medical attention than Little who has just shielded him from a grenade. It comes as no surprise when Alarnick is fragged - murdered with a grenade in his quarters with the strong implication that it was First Sergeant Rowland who planted it. Rowland himself may be a heavy drinker and a covert murderer but otherwise is portrayed as a more reasonable competent man who won't risk lives needlessly. The same is true of the initial commander, Lieutenant Fenelli, and Sergeant Polkow but such is the nature of rotation that both get replaced.

If there's one thing conspicuously absent from the series it's glorification. This is a warts and all version - literally so with even the fungus in wet boots covered. There's also a strong blast at the media coverage, with a television reporter appearing in an early issue and being given special treatment to the point that a helicopter's landing is altered just to get good pictures - with fatal consequences when it's shot down. A village is casually ordered to be napalmed, creating dramatic pictures. Later on Marks sees the typical coverage when he gets back home and is shocked by how different it is from his experience, portraying the Viet Cong as unstoppable and not explaining how important napalm drops and defoliant are to the troops. Marks's letter is written in March 1967, at an early stage in the anti-war momentum, but even at this stage there's a real sense of disconnect and outrage about the image of the war given to the public back home.

But equally life is not all miserable men with many shown finding their own amusements and various official entertainments, including a popular visit by a female university choir. Clark forms an attachment with a nurse, but she is eventually overwhelmed by all the action and injuries and takes a posting in Japan. There are trips into Saigon, though even there the men have to dodge both explosions and crime. Christmas sees an attempt at a truce but it doesn't last with first rocket attacks and then a child brings a grenade into a party. But in spite of all the dangers and despair there's a strong resilience shown as the men do their best to enjoy their time away from the action, making each day easier to bear.

Being the story of ordinary soldiers on the ground, the series doesn't spend much time focusing upon the causes and background to the conflict. The domino theory is raised but only to explain the presence of troops from Thailand which has agreed to join the US action, with the troops taking part in a joint action to acclimatise them. The main background comes in an issue devoted to the story of Duong, a "Kit Carson Scout" who has defected the North Viet Cong. When asked his reason by Marks, Duong tells a personal tale through the events of the Japanese invasion, the French recovery, the French repression and expulsion, partition, the repression under Ngô Đình Diệm and the arrival of the Americans. It's a tale of successive brutal repressions in which the Japanese, the French Foreign Legion including ex Nazis, the Diệm government and the Viet Cong all committed atrocities to the point that Duong came to doubt his own side was bring freedom. It explains his motives but also the motivation of the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army. And it's told in a way that's a far cry from classic wartime atrocity propaganda.

Overall The 'Nam is a novel in comics form. It aims to give a voice to the ordinary soldier, men who did not take the decision to go to war with North Vietnam or decide what tactics to use. Instead, they found themselves deployed in a chaotic situation in the field and felt nobody back home ever truly understood what it was like. In their heyday many war comics where written and drawn by veterans, who often brought their own experiences and the tales they heard from others to the printed page. The 'Nam sits in that tradition but does so very differently. It's not glamorous. It doesn't set out to justify a controversial military action. It just tells it like it was for the ordinary guy caught in the thick of it. At once so simple and so complex, this is an incredible series that turns the genre on its head and finally delivers a voice. It's easy to see why this series was especially popular with veterans who found they could give it to their families to explain what they had been through. This series is a fine example of what can be achieved with comics.

Should it have had an Essential volume? DC have been much better than Marvel at getting their non-super-hero material into print in the black and white format and have reprinted a good number of war comics. Marvel tends to use other formats for reprinting material from this era so it's unlikely they would ever have done The 'Nam in the Essentials. But given the format of the narrative this is a series that deserves big chunky reprints rather than lots of smaller ones, with the most recent trade paperbacks only having reach issue #30. It's certainly a deserving series.

Essential Man-Thing volume 1

Hoh boy. This is the one that brings out all the sniggering.

So let's take this slowly. Essential Man-Thing volume 1 contains material from multiple titles including issues of Giant-Size Man-Thing.

Let's just pause for a moment to let everyone get the sniggering out of their system.

[Lengthy pause.]

All done? Because there won't be another break.

(But on an aside, did the term "man-thing" actually have such connotations in early 1970s America, or are the sniggers all down to latter-day use of the term or even transatlantic differences? A quick Google search is unhelpful, being dominated by the comic character, but then the term is far from the most common name for the... well you know.)

Now down to business.

Essential Man-Thing volume 1 contains the eponymous creature's earliest appearances and issues, consisting of material from Savage Tales #1, Ka-Zar's feature in Astonishing Tales #12-13, Adventure into Fear #10-19, Man-Thing #1-14, Giant-Size Man-Thing #1-2 and Monsters Unleashed #5 & #8-9. Most of these series were anthologies in either comic or magazine format, the latter not falling under the Comics Code Authority and allowing for less censored material. Adventures into Fear was previously a reprint series and then became another long-run try-out title before successful characters received a title in their own right. Bonus material includes Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe entries for both the Man-Thing and Jennifer Kale. One notable omission is the cover to Savage Tales #1 but on investigation it seems that this is because the cover spotlights Conan the Barbarian and so presumably having lost the Conan licence Marvel are unable to reprint it even when accompanying a non-Conan story.

The Man-Thing's debut in the magazine Savage Tales is written by Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway and drawn by Gray Morrow. All contribute to subsequent tales which are written mainly by Steve Gerber, with contributions by Len Wein and Tony Isabella. The art is mostly by Val Mayerik and Mike Ploog with contributions by John Buscema, Neal Adams, Rich Buckler, Howard Chaykin, Jim Starlin, Alfredo Alcala, Vincente Alcazar and Pat Broderick. As this produces many labels, some have been placed in a separate post.

Reading through this volume I've felt as though I was stuck in a swamp myself. It has been a very long and slow read and, although a variety of real world events have intervened to contribute to that, the series itself has not proved very inspiring at times. At the heart of it the series suffers two major problems. One is the complete mindlessness of the title creature, resulting in no dialogue or character development at all and making it hard to get interested in what happens to him. The other is the swamp environment not lending itself to many obvious story types and the ones that are do get used fall into a mixture of stiltedness or just plain weirdness.

There's a long tradition of swamp monsters and it's now unknown just whether the inspiration for the Man-Thing or the Swamp Thing came first. But it takes more than just a walking mound of slime to create excitement. For the Man-Thing there's an attempt to create some tragedy through his origin as we see scientist Ted Sallis betrayed to spies by his assistant/girlfriend and having to take a serum to survive, only for it to interact with the swamp and turn him into a shambling monster. As origins go it's nice and self-contained but with openings that could be used to spin off multiple further adventures. Unfortunately not too much is done in this volume with that. The monster seemingly has no coherent thoughts or memories so can neither embark on a quest for vengeance nor try to find a cure for his condition. Ellen appears again only in a special story from Monsters Unleashed as she recovers from her burns and returns to the swamp to deal with the memories. In doing so she comes face to face with what Ted has become, leading to a memorable moment as she demonstrates no fear, but in the regular series she is forgotten. The organisation Ellen works for, later revealed as AIM, don't catch on to what has really happened to Ted and come after the monster again and again. And so all we're left with is the stumbling monster wandering the swamps and influenced by the emotions of those around it.

That said the Man-Thing does demonstrate some interesting ideas such as the ability to literally ooze through any small opening and a touch that burns whenever the recipient demonstrates fear. Visually he's also a good design, even in black and white, and so makes for a series of strong images though I generally prefer Val Mayerik's depiction to Mike Ploog's. However I'm not sure how he displayed in colour - the front cover shows some very similar shades of green being used for both the monster himself and the background swamp. Fortunately the back cover has found some more distinguishing variations of green.

The character took a while to take off, not helped by Savage Tales only publishing one issue for some years. But the following year, after an appearance in Ka-Zar's strip in Astonishing Tales, which isn't particularly memorable in its own right but which does serve to thrash out some of the details of the character, the Man-Thing soon got an ongoing title in the pre-existing Fear, albeit with the title expanded to Adventure into Fear. This series had previously reprinted many monster stories from Marvel's pre-superheroes era, and the choice of this title helped to place the Man-Thing within the sense of a restoration of the non-superhero monsters. This is also reflected in the guest stars that appear or rather don't.

Once we get past the guest appearance in Ka-Zar's strip, there are no further substantial guest appearances included in this volume (although there are some cameos). This is despite the period covering guest appearances in Avengers, Daredevil and Marvel Two-in-One which show that the Man-Thing wasn't completely isolated from the wider Marvel universe. Such a limited interaction as presented here can allow a character to strive and thrive on their own two feet without interruptions, but it can also leave their deficiencies heavily exposed with precious little to fall back on. It's very much the latter effect here and I feel the series could have seriously benefited from either some appearances by familiar faces or else a fully developed supporting cast who actually hang around long enough to make a big enough impact.

The swamp is located in the Everglades in Florida and comes with all the traditional contents of a swamp from fierce crocodiles to hillbillies, as well as being the site for a proposed airport. But it also contains some decidedly fantastical elements. There is a hidden civilisation based around a Fountain of Youth. And the swamp is the site of the Nexus of All Realities, a gateway that links it to many dimensions containing all manner of weird oddities. The Man-Thing has become the guardian of the Nexus, offering the ironic spectacle of such a great responsibility falling upon such a mindless beast.

There's a tendency for the supporting cast to only appear briefly before disappearing. The first notable case is Jennifer Kale, a young amateur witch who develops a psychic link with the Man-Thing but it is subsequently broken. Her brother Andy and their grandfather Joshua, the head of a cult that seek to defend the Earth from the demons found in the Nexus, also appear, as does Jennifer's boyfriend Jaxon, offering some broader mythology but it's not really developed here. However the Kale family would go on to be tied into the continuity of another of Marvel's horror heroes but when I last tried to read a summary of the family history all I could grasp was just how much my head hurt. Elsewhere are two distinctly strange beings who come through the Nexus - Korrek, a barbarian who arrives through a jar of peanut butter, and Howard the Duck. To my surprise Howard is killed off early on and doesn't come back within this volume but his popularity would take him to great heights elsewhere. Later on we meet Richard Rory, a perpetual loser who repeatedly finds himself in the swamp. More than once he seems to hit it off with a woman who is also lost there, only for things to go wrong. However he does land a spot as a night-time radio DJ. The first such woman is Ruth Hart, on the run from a gang, and it at first seems as though she may have staying power but it comes to nothing.

Villains range from the earthly to the fantastic. At the grounded level the Man-Thing's most persistent nemesis is F. A. Schist, an industrialist intent on building an airport in the swamp, which brings him into recurrent conflict with the Man-Thing, including bringing in the scientist Professor Slaughter. Eventually Schist's greed consumes him when he finds the Fountain of Youth and is destroyed by the Man-Thing, but his vengeance seeking widow later comes after the monster. Elsewhere is the first appearance of the serial killer called the Foolkiller, who is seemingly killed off in his first appearance but would later come back. There are also a string of one-off criminals who pass through the swamp and usually come to grief at the hands of the Man-Thing, though things aren't always great for the victims. There's an especially nasty case of this in a two-part text story from Monsters Unleashed where an unsuccessful writer flees after his girlfriend was killed by a mugger only to get caught between a mad father trying to kill his daughter. But things are not always as they seem, as shown early on when the Man-Thing encounters a black man on the run from a racist and jealous sheriff, only to discover disputing claims between them. The more fantastical foes include various magical beings from the Nexus such as Thog the Nether-Spawn, Dakimh the Enchanter and various one-off named and unnamed demons. Or there's the first appearance of the alien Wundarr, a parody of Superman and his origin. A rare trip away from the swamp bring an encounter with ghost pirates led by Captain Fate, doomed to never reach port due to a curse inflicted by a crewmember they abandoned.

Giant-Size Man-Thing may have a title that everyone laughs at, but the first two issues are straightforward serious content, with the only change from the regular series being an increased use of characters from the wider Marvel universe. The first issue sees the Man-Thing battle the Glob, previously seen in the Incredible Hulk, due to the influence of the Cult of Entropy. The second sees a bunch of cameos, most notably from Mister Fantastic, as the Man-Thing gets briefly transported to New York in a partial parody of King Kong. But otherwise these bigger issues are just expanded versions of the normal sort of story for the series, which has now settled into a pattern of some edginess and social commentary wrapped up around monster and magic tales.

Overall this volume may have some imagination to it but it's the execution that is the problem. Ultimately the central character just isn't sufficiently exciting and there's not enough going on around him to make this compelling stuff. Steve Gerber's issues do include a degree of commentary and satire, but this approach can either date all too easily or else sink if the reader does not have the cultural background to spot the targets. What we're left with is a title that begins as a latter-day monster story in the vein of an earlier generation of Marvel that gets crossed with fantasy and absurdity in the hope that something in this mix will congeal. But the result just doesn't work for me.