“The Death of Joe Hallen” hits its penultimate chapter with “Burned” from The ‘Nam #57. Joe and his Marine unit finish their covert mission for a CIA agent and try to find their way back to more friendly territory, but things don’t exactly turn out as planned. It’s brought to us by Chuck Dixon, Wayne Vansant, and Tony DeZuniga. Plus, I’ll take a look at the historical context for October 1970.
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It’s the first episode of 2016 and I’m back from Vegas, baby, so I’ve decided to take a look at one of the biggest independent film success stories of the mid-1990s, Swingers. Directed by Doug Liman and starring Jon Favreau (who also wrote the screenplay) and Vince Vaughn, the film is a comedy about guys, Hollywood, and attempts at romance in their twenties.
“Whipping Post” is the title of The ‘Nam #56 and part three of “The Death of Joe Hallen.” Here we see Joe and his new unit take on a very secret, possibly sketchy mission into enemy territory that involves a connection to the Chinese and the CIA. It’s brought to you by Chuck Dixon, Wayne Vansant, and Tony DeZuniga.
Chuck Dixon, Wayne Vansant, and Tony DeZuniga bring us part two of “The Death of Joe Hallen” in The ‘Nam #55 as Joe Returns to Vietnam for some LRRP and falls in with a new group. Plus, I take a look at “Christmas in Saigon,” an episode of the classic 1980s Fox television drama 21 Jump Street.
Chuck Dixon’s regular tenure as the writer for The ‘Nam begins with part one of “The Death of Joe Hallen,” a special five-party storyline featuring art by Wayne Vansant and Tony DeZuniga. In this issue, we get a closer look at Joe (whom we’ve seen briefly before) and what is waiting for him when he returns from Vietnam to Baltimore. Additionally, I take a look at another story of a vet returning home from Vietnam by looking at Bruce Springsteen’s classic song, “Born in the U.S.A.”
“The Long Sticks,” the first Punisher Invades The ‘Nam story, concludes with The ‘Nam #53 in a story written by Roger Salick with art by Mike Harris and Jimmy Palmiotti. Additionally, I take a look at Tim O’Brien’s 1994 novel In The Lake of the Woods.
The ‘Nam heads in a brand new direction for two issues as we take a look at the Vietnam War experience of Frank Castle, who is also known as The Punisher. That’s right, it’s THE PUNISHER INVADES THE ‘NAM! This one is brought to us by Roger Salick, Mike Harris, and Jimmy Palmiotti and is the first of a two-part story where Frank combats a fellow sniper. Don’t miss “The Long Sticks” from The ‘Nam #52.
Our three-part chopper pilot and donut dolly romance story comes to an end as does Doug Murray’s run as the writer of The ‘Nam with issue #51, “Stone Age,” which has art by Herb Trimpel.
It’s time to beam aboard and join me as I take a brief look at one of DC’s most successful licensed properties comics: Star Trek. In this episode, I take a quick look at Star Trek (1st series) #33, an issue billed as a “Twentieth Anniversary Special” that has the Excelsior as captained by James T. Kirk and his former Enterprise crew meet up with the crew from … the Enterprise?!
The ‘Nam reaches a milestone with issue #50 and I continue my look at series creator Doug Murray’s final story arc with this second part of a three-part story about a donut dolly and a chopper pilot. It’s “Between a Rock and a Hard Place” by Doug Murray and Herb Trimpe.
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