During the lead up to World War II, comic books were a growing phenomenon. In the United States, many comic book artists considered their mission not just to entertain, but also to influence the public and later to support the war effort. In The 10 Cent War, Goodnow and Kimble bring together a number of essays that dive into the variety of intersections between comic books and propaganda during WWII.

The opening essay considers how women were portrayed in the military and elsewhere in the war effort. The next essay looks at comics portraying the Flying Tigers and Chinese allies. The Boy Commandos and various super-hero sidekicks such as Bucky are examined in separate essays. Superman is considered as an allegory for isolationist/interventionist United States with Lois Lane as Europe. Captain America and Wonder Woman each merit their own essay. Then there is True Comic - using non-fiction as counter propaganda! Finally there are a quartet of essays looking at ordinary kids doing their bit for the war.

Propaganda during World War II and comic books is an interesting combination. The 10 Cent War provides a diverse and decent set of essays that explore numerous facets of this topic.

Non-fiction commentary on the effect of propaganda and use in comic books during WWII. Academic and dry, not appealing to young children.

Interesting compilation of articles. Well researched. Doesn't let itself get bogged down in Academic-eze. Sometimes the writing style gets too simplistic leading one to wonder if this is a collection of articles by undergrads. But that style certainly ensures that it is readable.

While I am not much of a comics reader, I am a World War II homefront buff (and my Dad, uncles and cousins fought in that war) and was fascinated by the subject of this book. I have read "teen era" children's series online from sources like Project Gutenberg and once 1917 rolled around, ALL of the books had youngsters and teens trying to help the war effort--amazing reading! This practice continued during World War II and the literature used to rally the children now included comic books.

I was particularly interested in the chapters about portrayals of women in the war, and Chapter 1 admirably covers this topic. While some comics portrayed women as treacherous spies or objects to be rescued, others featured women like Yankee Girl, Blond Bomber, Black Cat, and Flyin' Jenny who were contributing to the war effort by fighting the enemy. Predictably for the era, they faced razzing from men and often needed rescuing, yet their presence in the war effort was novel for the time. Another chapter addresses the liberties given to Wonder Woman, who, in a time when good guys did not resort to torture, was allowed to use her Lasso of Truth on enemy soldiers in a way that violated their rights.

Some modern adults might be appalled at the ideas espoused by the 1940s "Captain America" comics, in which young teen Bucky Barnes and his multi-ethnic gang of friends help "Cap" battle Nazis, but Chapter 3's review of some of their exploits provides a much-imitated template that goes back to those 1917-era series books.. (Sadly, Bucky's gang includes a stereotypical "colored" boy named "Whitewash"--stereotypes are also addressed in a chapter about the Flying Tigers and their brave but quaint Chinese sidekicks, and also about the stereotyping of the Nazis and especially the Japanese, who were portrayed as little more than monkeys with buck teeth.)

Two of my favorite chapters address two different brands of comics that I had never heard of. "True Comics" tried to explain the ideology of the Nazi party and debunking ideas of certain races being superior and others being inferior, and discussing the concept of the scapegoat and paralleling that to the treatment of Jews. "Novelty Press" eschewed superheroes and showed "regular kids" contributing to the war effort: buying war bonds with money won from a bond drive rather than spending the funds on candy or fripperies, going without new toys or clothes, contributing to scrap drives--and if occasionally they thwarted a Nazi spy ring, well, that was okay, too.

If you have ever been curious about children during World War II, their reading materials, and their war efforts, you may enjoy this examination of the message of comics during the era. Please note, however, that this is a scholarly book and the essays reflect this.

When the United States went to war against Germany and Japan, the whole country stood behind the armed forces. Joining the cause and promoting the interests of the U.S. were the comic books. In The 10 Cent War: Comic Books, Propaganda, and World War II, editors Trischa Goodnow and James Kimble have gathered a collection of articles which discuss the role of comic books in backing the war. The comic book industry had grown tremendously in the years before the war. Comics became a natural vehicle for propaganda during the war.

Comic books didn't have any trouble rallying against Hitler. Since many leading figures in comic book publishing were Jewish, they naturally raised their voices against the Nazis. They naturally rallied to the cause of the war, even without control or connection to the government or military. "The unofficial campaign was as vigilant and patriotic as any government-sponsored poster. . . ." Comic books even beat official U.S. policy to the punch so to speak: "Months before the nation officially entered the war, the cover of the first volume of Captain America showed Steve Rogers (Captain America's alter ego) punching Adolf Hitler."

Several of the authors pointed out that typical comic books from the era were "often violent, overly polarized, frequently repetitive, invariable sexist, occasionally distorted, and routinely racist." Well, yeah. None of this seems surprising. It's actually sort of refreshing. Today's comics tend toward more political correctness than relishing in the black and white nature of comic book conflict. Sure, WW2-era comics exaggerated racial stereotypes of the Japanese and Germans, but hey, they were the enemy. Thus, propaganda.

These essays, written by a variety of academics, read much more like academic papers than like anything written for a general audience. They tend to be rather ponderous and jargon-filled. Not to sound like an illiterate boob, but the analytical language tended to sap the fun and wonder out of the subject matter. Including more examples of the comics would have helped. Even better, they should work on an anthology of exemplary propaganda comics from the era. Even without an accompanying volume of war comics, the descriptions and analysis of the comics in The 10 Cent War inspired me to hunt down some of these now-classic comics and read them with the context of the war in mind.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!