Wartime Comic Strips

Joe Palooka’s World War II Battles

Upon the United States’ entry into World War II, many cartoonists focused their established comic strips on the war effort. Ham Fisher had been working on his comic strip Joe Palooka since 1930 when he enlisted the title character in the US Army in late 1941, and it soon became one of the most influential comics of the 1940s. In the strip, Joe Palooka was the world heavyweight boxing champion, a lovable and goofy small-town hero. When he was invited to compete in the fight of his life, he turned it down to enlist in the US Army. The patriotic cartoon encouraged American men to enlist in the war effort.

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Cartoon of three soldiers with shovels covered in mud with a car driving into the background

Bill Mauldin. Up Front. New York : H. Holt and Company, [1945].

MU Ellis Special Collections Rare D745.2 .M34 1945

Cartoon of one soldier standing in front of another soldier sitting at a desk who is holding a military medal

Bill Mauldin. Up Front. New York : H. Holt and Company, [1945].

MU Ellis Special Collections Rare D745.2 .M34 1945

Cartoon of two soldiers sitting beneath a tree in the rain

Bill Mauldin. Up Front. New York : H. Holt and Company, [1945].

MU Ellis Special Collections Rare D745.2 .M34 1945

Cartoon of three soldiers pouring drinks from a canteen while crouched in between rocks

Bill Mauldin. Up Front. New York : H. Holt and Company, [1945].

MU Ellis Special Collections Rare D745.2 .M34 1945

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Up Front

Other cartoonists used their pen to create comics from the front lines. Bill Mauldin was an amateur cartoonist when he enlisted in the Arizona National Guard shortly before it became federalized, which made Mauldin a soldier in active duty. He volunteered to draw for his unit’s newspaper, where he created a hit cartoon featuring two characters named Willie and Joe facing life in the infantry and on the front lines. The cartoon was later published in Stars and Stripes and 45th Division News, both popular military newspapers.

Mauldin received praise from much of the military, who found that the strip was an excellent way to vent their shared frustrations with life in the frontlines. The cartoon spoke to the less glamorous aspects of war, depicting the title characters in mud or in the rain, often contemplating the war and their place in it. After the war, Mauldin received a Legion of Merit medal for his publication.

Male Call

Similarly, Milton Caniff, popular at the time for Terry and the Pirates, was working as a cartoonist when he was drafted in 1943, though he was declared unfit for service due to a chronic illness. However, Caniff still found a way to contribute to the war effort, creating the popular Male Call, which he made exclusively for military publications. Caniff drew the comic for free as a means of providing a moral boost to the soldiers through this comedic/satirical newspaper cartoon. The strip starred the seductive pin-up girl Miss Lace, who was sexy, classy, and referred to any soldier she came across by “General,” regardless of their position. Miss Lace generated a sense of pride in each soldier she interacted with, which was reflected in the readers of the cartoon.

Cover page depicting a woman in a black dress sitting with drawings of soldiers faces in the background

Milton Arthur Caniff. Male Call : 1942-1946 : featuring Miss Lace. Princeton, Wis. : Kitchen Sink Press, ©1987.

MU Ellis Special Collections Rare-L PN6728.M35 C36 1987

Two comic strips; topmost one of a man asking a woman to bake him a pie; bottommost one of a woman and three soldiers playing a party game, last panel depicting one soldier being carried away by two others

Milton Arthur Caniff. Male Call : 1942-1946 : featuring Miss Lace. Princeton, Wis. : Kitchen Sink Press, ©1987.

MU Ellis Special Collections Rare-L PN6728.M35 C36 1987

Two comic strips; topmost one of soldiers attempting to touch a woman, then the woman speaking to a soldier behind a counter; bottommost one depicting a soldier walking through a city, causing a car crash, and being chased by the police

Milton Arthur Caniff. Male Call : 1942-1946 : featuring Miss Lace. Princeton, Wis. : Kitchen Sink Press, ©1987.

MU Ellis Special Collections Rare-L PN6728.M35 C36 1987

Two comic strips; topmost one of soldiers driving a car and gathering around a pool to watch a woman in a swimsuit; bottommost one of a woman and a soldiers standing in a control room, then of many planes flying by the control room window

Milton Arthur Caniff. Male Call : 1942-1946 : featuring Miss Lace. Princeton, Wis. : Kitchen Sink Press, ©1987.

MU Ellis Special Collections Rare-L PN6728.M35 C36 1987

Two comic strips; topmost one of a woman and a soldier walking past another soldier and then a memorial; bottommost one of two soldiers and one woman, the woman then hugs one of the soldiers

Milton Arthur Caniff. Male Call : 1942-1946 : featuring Miss Lace. Princeton, Wis. : Kitchen Sink Press, ©1987.

MU Ellis Special Collections Rare-L PN6728.M35 C36 1987