Today they're respected as graphic novels, but back in the day comic books were for kids and propaganda. The People's Republic of China issued thousands of these things: short morality fables with compelling color covers and exciting black-and-white action scenes inside. They're kind of like the communist version of those Chick Publications religious tracts you find about the dangers of Satan and gays.
With my handful of Chinese characters, I'm guessing this 1973 comic book is about an anti-tank battalion of the "Chinese People's Volunteers" aka the Red Chinese Army fighting American forces in Korea in the early 1950s. The first part of the book shows US planes and tanks wreaking havoc; two volunteer buddies stationed in a cave plan retribution, succesfully taking their bazooka to a marauding American tank, and in the climactic panels shown below, dispatching the crew and triumphantly capturing the vehicle. Unlike American comic books, there are no ads in the back for sea-monkeys.
Actually the Chinese for that says they took them alive (for prisoners). Very entertaining! I wish I could get my hands on some of thse.
ReplyDeleteOh thanks for the translation Nial!
ReplyDeleteIf you see any other Chinese posters here you'd care to translate I would express my eternal gratitude.
I picked this book up on Ebay; from a dealer in Canada who sells them pretty cheap though his supply is unpredictable. I'll try to remember his name...