Combat Kelly is the name of two fictional characters appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. Both appear in

war comics War comics is a genre of comic books that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following World War II. History American war comics Shortly after the birth of the modern comic book in the mid- to late 1930s, comics publishers began inc ...

titles: ''Combat Kelly'', published by Marvel's 1950s iteration,

Atlas Comics Atlas Comics may refer to: * Atlas Comics (1950s), one of the two comic publishing companies that would be the forerunner of Marvel Comics * Atlas/Seaboard Comics Atlas/Seaboard Comics is a line of comic books published by the American company S ...

, and set during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

; and the 1970s series ''Combat Kelly and the Deadly Dozen'', set earlier during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Hank Kelly

Combat Kelly starred in the 44-issue,

-set '' Combat Kelly'' (Nov. 1951 to Aug. 1957), published by

, the 1950s forerunner of

. The character also made two appearances in the Atlas

series ''Battle'' comics. Kelly is accompanied by his

sidekick A sidekick is a close companion or colleague who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to those whom they accompany. Origins The first recorded use of the term dates from 1896. It is believed to have originated in pickpocket slang of ...

Cookie Novak; Kelly is of Irish heritage, while Novak is a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

immigrant. Combat Kelly stories were drawn by artists including Dave Berg,''Combat Kelly'' (Marvel, Atlas [Sphere Publications
/nowiki> imprint, 1951 Series)">/nowiki>Sphere Publications">''Combat Kelly'' (Marvel, Atlas [Sphere Publications
/nowiki> imprint, 1951 Series)at the Grand Comics Database Joe Maneely, and Gene Colan, with at least one cover drawn by Russ Heath.

Michael Kelly

Corporal Michael Lee Kelly starred as the leader of group of military convicts paroled for special missions in a nine-issue series cover-billed as '' Combat Kelly and the Deadly Dozen'' (June 1972 - Oct. 1973). The series name and premise are similar to those of the 1960s film ''

The Dirty Dozen ''The Dirty Dozen'' is a 1967 war film directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Lee Marvin, with an ensemble supporting cast including Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Richard Jaeckel, George Kennedy, Ralph Meeker, ...

''. With issue #5 (Feb. 1973), the cover title changed slightly to ''Combat Kelly and his Deadly Dozen''. In issue #3, Kelly is described as a

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

boxer who in 1940 killed a man in the ring. He was convicted and sentenced for

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

, and was later paroled. In the final issue, almost the entire cast is murdered by Nazis.

References

{{reflist

Sources

*Christiansen, Jeff
The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe: "Deadly Dozen"
Characters created by Dick Ayers Characters created by Gary Friedrich Comics characters introduced in 1951 Comics characters introduced in 1972 Fictional boxers Fictional characters from New York City Fictional Korean War veterans Fictional World War II veterans Fictional corporals War comics published by Marvel Comics Atlas Comics characters Atlas Comics titles Marvel Comics male characters Marvel Comics military personnel