America’s Best Comics #10: Purpose, Meaning, & Political Messages

Welcome back, comic book and war history enthusiasts! Today, I stumbled across a very attention- grabbing comic book cover. At first, I scrolled by and didn't think much of it, but the image was instantly burned into my mind. The flags of the main allied powers of WW2 were being held by four classic American superheroes (left to right) : Doc Strange, The Black Terror, The American Eagle, and Pyroman. I found the image anew and examined it multiple times, taking notes on striking features, possible meaning and what made the image communicate said meaning. A hypothesis I formulated on the illustrator's purpose for drawing this cover, aside from business and advertising tactics, is to communicate the strength of teamwork, and international cooperation in defeating true evil.

The colors used on the cover are bright and eye-catching shades of red, blue, and yellow. The
colors of the flags pull the viewer's eyes upwards and downwards, while also letting the viewer take in the provocative costumes and expressions of the superheroes. As expected, the bold and primary colors of the American Flag are in full view, and contrast the most with The Black Terror's dark figure. In comparison, the Soviet flag matches Doc Strange's shirt, and the British and Chinese Republic's flags also bear resembling colors to the heroes wielding them. The background colors are more pastel- like and of green tincture. This brings to mind the sky and feels freeing and safe, as mentioned in Molly Bang's, "Picture This" (p.44). The black planes accentuate this feature of the illustration.

The usage of lines and shapes in the image also bears much meaning and emotion. The wavy and secure figures of the Allies' flags are positioned at the top of the page, suggesting freedom, comfort and, most importantly, triumph. This is inversely reflected in the flags of the Axis powers below the feet of the heroes, which give a tone of defeat and constraint (Molly Bang, "Picture This" p.39,47). The shapes of the heroes, themselves, are big and stable especially since their bodies are centered. A quick observation: the American and British flags and the heroes bearing them are in front of the Soviet and Chinese flags, possibly representing negative feelings towards these countries. Smaller shapes like the stars and bayonets create tension between the vertical and horizontal lines of the heroes and Axis flags (Molly Bang, "Picture This" p.34). Quite obviously, diagonal lines are used alongside the heroes' figures to signify forward motion; their torsos are bigger and more spread out than their lower limbs.


The use of space provides a significant insight into how this image communicates a tone of heroism, speed, action, and vast expanses of space. A seemingly random part of the drawing is the flagpoles. However, their exact placement and thin size is used to emphasize the huge, triumphant bodies of the heroes. They also connect to the diagonal shapes of the flags and imply motion (Molly Bang, "Picture This" p.32). The position and orientation of the black planes also signify an outward motion (Molly Bang, "Picture This" p.38). The text on top of the illustration must be examined to grasp the full effect of the image. "America's BEST Comics", the title reads. Its red color matches both the flags and the heroes which are the main focus of the cover art. The small red, white, and blue flag at the top of the cover encourages the viewer to help the war effort, which seems reasonable when amassing such a collection of political messages in one picture. Finally, the borders of the cover do not hold the entire imagined image. The curved surface of our planet reaches far beyond the borders, suggesting a bigger picture (Molly Bang, "Picture This" p.43).

NOTE: The version of "Picture This" by Molly Bang which was used to form these citations comes from an uploaded PDF file found here, since I returned the original book back to the library.