The 'Nam is a war comic book series detailing the U.S. war in Vietnam from the perspective of active-duty soldiers involved in the conflict. It was initially written by Doug Murray, illustrated by Michael Golden and edited by Larry Hama, and was published by Marvel Comics for seven years beginning in 1986, which was intended to roughly parallel the analogous events of the period of major American military involvement in Vietnam from 1965 to 1973.
Plot
The comic was initially structured as the narrative of a fictional soldier, Private First Class Edward Marks (but sometimes following other characters), as he experiences real events that occurred during the conflict. Each issue of the comic occurs one month after the previous issue, detailing events that occurred approximately 20 years prior to the publication date.
The events depicted are sometimes famous ones, such as the Tet Offensive of 1968, and sometimes more personal ones, depicting the interaction between soldiers or between soldiers and the local populace of Vietnam, or between soldiers and their families, friends and others in the United States.
Some of the stories are typical of those in war comics of any era, such as the interaction with a callous officer or a description of combat, while others are unique to Vietnam, such as the experience of soldiers on leave bearing the personal burden of animosity from civilians opposed to the war. Issue #8 introduced the character of Frank Verzyl, the Tunnel Rat, who appeared again briefly in #26.
Publication history
Background and concept
Vietnam War veteran Larry Hama contacted fellow vet Doug Murray in 1984 about doing a Vietnam War series for his black-and-white magazine, Savage Tales Vol. 2. Hama teamed Murray up with artist Michael Golden and together they created "The 5th to the 1st", which was well received.
In 1986, Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter approached Hama with a mock-up of a comic book cover that was, as Hama remembers, "a color copy of the artwork from a G.I. Joe cover, one that showed an Infantryman in camo face paint peering through dense jungle foliage. A logo had been pasted over the art that read: THE 'NAM." Shooter told Hama to come up with a book to go along with the cover and produce it. Hama suggested that Murray put together a proposal for a regular comic book about the Vietnam War. Murray has stated that having the series take place in real time was a joint decision between him and Hama. Murray was surprised when Shooter greenlit the series, but felt that he "wanted to try different experiments in different subgenres". Murray said that the comic was "a pretty accurate view of the way the average soldier looked at the war. It was outside ordinary experience. The world was elsewhere." In particular, most of the stories in the first 13 issues were based on incidents which had happened to Murray or one of his acquaintances during the war.
Awards
During its run, The 'Nam was nominated for the Best New Series category of the 1987 Jack Kirby Awards.
Reaction
Marine Corps veteran and former Newsweek editor William Broyles Jr. praised the comic for having "a certain gritty reality", but Jan Scruggs, President of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, questioned if the Vietnam War should be the subject of a comic book and if it might trivialize it.
Collected editions
- Volume 1 (collects The 'Nam #1–4), 1987, 96 pages,
- Volume 2 (collects The 'Nam #5–8), 1988, 96 pages,
- Volume 3 (collects The 'Nam #9–12), 1989, 96 pages,
- The 'Nam (collects The 'Nam #1–4), 1999, 96 pages, Marvel's Finest,
- The 'Nam (collects The 'Nam #1–10), 2009, 248 pages,
- The 'Nam (collects The 'Nam #11–20), 2010, 240 pages,
- The 'Nam (collects The 'Nam #21–30 and short stories from Savage Tales Vol. 2 #1 & 4), 2011, 248 pages,
- Punisher Invades the 'Nam (collects The 'Nam #52–53, #67–69, Punisher Invades The 'Nam: Final Invasion #1, Punisher War Journal #52–53, and Punisher War Zone #26–30), 2018, 352 pages,
- The 'Nam: 1966-1969 Omnibus (collects The 'Nam #1-45 and material from Savage Tales Vol. 2 #1 & 4)), 2025, 1128 pages,