| Weird War Tales | |
|---|---|
 Cover ofWeird War Tales #1 (September–October 1971), art byJoe Kubert. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | List
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| Genre | |
| Publication date | List
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| No. of issues | List
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| Creative team | |
| Written by | List
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| Penciller | List
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| Inker | List
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Weird War Tales is awarcomic book title with supernatural overtones published byDC Comics. It was published from September - October 1971 to June 1983.
The original title ran for 12 years and 124 issues.[1] It was ananthology series that told war stories withhorror,mystery,fantasy andscience fiction elements.[2] Changes in theComics Code Authority made the use of horror elements possible.[3] The first seven issues were reprinted material. Each issue beginning with issue #8 was hosted byDeath, usually depicted as a skeleton dressed in a different military uniform each issue. The title's name was inspired by editorJoe Orlando.[4]Walt Simonson's first professional published comic book work appeared inWeird War Tales #10 (January 1973).[5]Roger McKenzie andFrank Miller's first collaboration was on a two-page story published inWeird War Tales #68 (October 1978).[6] Recurring characters began to appear late in the series run, notably theG.I. Robot, and the return of "The War that Time Forgot" which originally ran inStar Spangled War Stories. WriterJ. M. DeMatteis and pencilerPat Broderick created theCreature Commandos inWeird War Tales #93 (November 1980).[7]
Several issues featured a series of short vignettes titled "The Day After Doomsday" featuring largely doomed characters dealing with various threats and harsh ironies of living in a post-nuclear war apocalyptic landscape. The first few stories dealt with a society reduced to medieval ways seven centuries after a war but most others dealt with the near-term aftermath, with the unexpected results of radiation or infrastructure damage almost always catching the characters by surprise.
Other stories featured robot soldiers, ghosts, the undead, and other paranormal characters from different eras of time.[2]
Weird War Tales was revived for DC Comics'Vertigo imprint in 1997. It was published as a four-issue limited series, followed by twoone-shot special issues in 2000 and 2010.[1]
With the Comics Code Authority relaxing its decades-long stance on censoring the use of monsters and the undead in mainstream comics, DC placed an emphasis on the horror of combat withWeird War Tales.
'Carmine Infantino and I found out that the wordweird sold well', [editor Joe] Orlando recalls. 'So DC createdWeird War andWeird Western.