With Veterans Day having arrived it’s fitting that we salute an artist whose most inspired art was produced for war comics. With a career that began in the Golden Age, Joe Kubert (1926-2012) was a tremendous talent. Influencing artists the caliber of Steve Bissette, Neal Adams and, both of his sons, Adam and Andy, Kubert had a confident original style that expressed action scenes just as effectively as it communicated emotions.
As an artist, Kubert’s style developed throughout the late 1930s and 40s and by the early 1950s he had come into his own dynamic and original style with a special genius at emphasizing facial expressions. From the 1950s onward, Kubert’s work is almost instantly recognizable. His illustration work for G.I. Combat and especially his portrayal of the grizzled Sgt. Rock of Easy Company, first in Our Army at War and later in the Sgt. Rock comic, are - along with his 1970s resurrection of Tarzan - perhaps Kubert’s most iconic contributions to non-super-hero genres.
Regarding super-heroes, his work on Hawkman in the early 1960s is a high point.
Throughout many decades, however, Kubert indefatigably contributed work not only to war and super-hero comics but action adventure, horror, Archie comics. In fact almost any genre you can name was probably drawn by Kubert at some point. The world lost a great talent with his passing in 2012.
In this post, I want take a look at some iconic Kubert art highlighting his standout contributions through the years and picking out what I consider some of his most significant comics. Many of these books are also eminently collectible and highly valued by comic fans.
G.I. Combat #68 (1959) – Introduces Sgt. Rock prototype
The proto-type for Sgt. Rock, known simply as ‘The Rock’, first appears as in this comic. Kubert had produced not only a great deal of inside art but many of the covers for G.I. Combat, and he really started putting his stamp on it after issue #130 when he became the editor of DC’s war time anthology book. Other than the introduction of the Haunted Tank (in issue #87), the book is best known for its prototype of Sgt. Rock introduced in #68. At one time this was taken to be the actual first appearance of Sgt. Rock, but even as merely his prototype this book is valuable. With a mere 72 copies on the CGC census, the highest known grade in existence is a 9.2 and that has a value of $2, 500.00
Our Army at War #83 (June 1959) – First Sgt. Rock
Quickly after “The Rock” character Kubert drew the first actual Sgt. Rock comic. I will always associate Kubert’s work with Sgt. Rock, which I first read in the early 1980s. As war stories go, moreover, too many military comics are formulaic and easily forgettable. Anything but the above could be said of the Sgt. Rock comics. With Sgt. Rock, created by Kubert and Robert Kanigher the moral tragedy of war was depicted in a stark and bold way. So popular was this character that he was continuously in print from 1959 until the late 1980s and was then was revived again in Specials and other comics. Sgt. Rock is an icon of war comics and will always be associated with Kubert’s art. This character and these comics are undervalued masterpieces of the genre of war comics. With only 151 copies on the CGC census, the highest graded copy is a 9.0 with a jaw-dropping FMV of $60, 000.00.
I wrote about Hawkman in my last post, Kubert collaborated with Gardner Fox to relaunch Hawkman in the Silver Age and his pencils really hit their stride with issue #36 of Brave and the Bold. This comic features the Shadowthief, a fan favorite Hawkman villain. You can’t go wrong with this comic. Currently a 7.0 copy will cost you $180.00. Highest graded copy is a 9.4 but that has a FMV of $4, 000.00.
Star Spangled War Stories #138 (April 1968) – Enemy Ace Stories Begin
Premiering in Our Army at War #151 the Enemy Ace was a novel attempt by Kubert to describe war stories from the point of view of the enemy. A German fighter pilot ace modeled after the Red Baron, his rendition of Enemy Ace was drawn to perfection by Kubert in the later Star Spangled War Stories, starting with issue #138. A 9.2 of this comic sold for $262.90 on Heritage Auction on 02/21/2016.
Tarzan #207 (1972) - Tarzan Relaunch
When DC decided to relaunch Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Tarzan in the 1970s and continue the stories from where they stopped under Gold Key comics, Kubert was given the assignment and the rest is history. Kubert seemed born to bring to life the Lord of the Apes and his run on Tarzan represents possibly the greatest artistic portrayal of the character in the business. A 9.8 of this comic sold for $286.00 on November 11, 2018. It’s that Kubert cover I tell you!
