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Start of Green Beret strip
Blackthorne reprint introduction page 1
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Artwork Details
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DescriptionAugust 5, 1966. Credits Robin Moore, ghosted Jerry Capp (brother Al Capp (Li'l Abner))The Comics Journal #172, Nov. 1994 (Gary) GROTH: You also did a stint on the newspaper strip Green Berets. You drew it for about two years. You mentioned that you basically had a difference of opinion with the writer in terms of how the strip ought to be presented... KUBERT: The person with whom I was working was Jerry Capp. He was and perhaps still is the writer for a number of syndicated strips. The contact actually was through Neal Adams. Jerry had called Neal. I had not met Neal at that time, but he had seen my work and when Jerry Capp told Neal he was looking for somebody to draw this Green Berets strip, Neal suggested that Jerry contact me. Robin Moore, the author, had written the book, Tales of the Green Beret. He also wrote The French Connection, both very successful. They had contacted Neal Adams, who was already involved in a syndicated strip, and Neal suggested I might be the right guy to do The Green Berets. Neal had seen the war stuff I had done. Jerry Capp subsequently contacted me, asked if I’d be interested in doing the strip. I met with Jerry and Robin. Our understanding was I would have some say about the editorial aspects. It wasn’t to be just a matter of hiring an artist. We’d put the strip together, and actually sold it to two different syndicates at the same time. I had made some changes in the scripts and the understanding was that I would have some say about the editorial direction the strip would be taking. But what happened was that the strip took off. The News Syndicate did a hell of a promotion on it, and it looked like it was on its way. It’s amazing how success breeds problems, isn’t it? Problems come up only if you are successful. Failure dies a peaceful death. Jerry started writing what I considered “message” stuff: more propaganda and flag-waving than entertaining. I felt that the book material should be used as a springboard to get into syndication. I hoped it would become another Terry and the Pirates. I felt that Jerry was unhappy about his earlier decisions, the things we had talked about originally. The strip to me had become a flag-waving propaganda effort. Not that I had violent feelings against the Vietnam War. I just felt that a comic strip was not the place for that kind of material. Finally, it got to a point where I was extremely uncomfortable. And Jerry was extremely unhappy. Incidentally, I want to point out that Jerry Capp is a hell of a nice guy. He really is. And I enjoyed working with him up to that point. But it became intolerable for both of us. Finally I said, “It’s crazy to keep knocking our brains out against each other. I quit.” GROTH: Did the strip continue without you? KUBERT: Yes. For about three or four months. There were several other artists who worked on it after I left, but it just fell flat. GROTH: The strip took place in the Vietnam War. Didn’t it come out during the war, when we were actually engaged in Vietnam? KUBERT: Yes, I believe so. GROTH: But you weren’t opposed to the Vietnam War. KUBERT: No, not really. I was one of those who accepted a lot of the information we got, all the things we were told. I guess I just didn’t know enough about what was going on at the time. My objection to doing this strip was not because it was about Vietnam. The strip was becoming too much of a political diatribe. It should have been an adventure romance story. Focused on people, characterization. That’s where I felt the strip should go. GROTH: Have you since reassessed your position on Vietnam? KUBERT: Yeah. Like most people, I think we discovered later that a lot of guys lost their lives under conditions that if the full truth be told were less than justified. ... GROTH: I read once that there was a photograph of you shaking hands with John Wayne on the set of The Green Berets and I inferred from that that you must be some sort of rabid, flag-waving right-winger, but I guess that isn’t quite true. KUBERT: [Laughs.] I’ve always admired John Wayne for the parts he’s played in the movies. His politics I knew nothing about and neither did I care. I loved him in his Westerns and the movies he played. How many times have we suddenly found that those people we admired have feet of clay? Or find out they are some of the most stupid people in the world? I wonder what sort of political beliefs Michelangelo had. But I know what his art meant to me. The first time I went to a convention in Italy, in Lucca, I had been invited to give a talk and slide show about my work. Part of the slides I showed were of the Green Beret stuff I had done [laughs]. This is in Italy, heavily Communist at that time, and as I’m talking, I hear whistling coming from the audience...I figured they were enjoying what they were looking at! [Laughs.] I just ignored the whistles and just blithely went on, not knowing, of course, that these whistles were boos and catcalls! Social/Sharing |
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Comments on this Artwork
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Marcus Wai 
Member Since 2005
1 - Posted on 12/26/2025
The lesson I got from it was that Joe Kubert knew that leaning heavy one way would suck the life out of any creativity from the strip and he wouldn't be really doing his job anymore if he was just a propaganda mouthpiece. Hey, seen any 60 Minutes segments lately?
Peter Roe
Member Since 2009
1 - Posted on 12/26/2025
Marcus Wai wrote:
The lesson I got from it was that Joe Kubert knew that leaning heavy one way would suck the life out of any creativity from the strip and he wouldn't be really doing his job anymore if he was just a propaganda mouthpiece. Hey, seen any 60 Minutes segments lately?
Hahaha! Thanks, Marcus!
Ruben DaCollector
Member Since 2008
1 - Posted on 12/26/2025
Kubert art is amazing and his work on this strip was no exception. I love that it features one of the things the Americans had to fear most, the snipers hidden in the jungle!
Peter Roe
Member Since 2009
1 - Posted on 12/26/2025
Ruben DaCollector wrote:
Kubert art is amazing and his work on this strip was no exception. I love that it features one of the things the Americans had to fear most, the snipers hidden in the jungle!
The jpeg unfortunately doesn't show his whiteout removing grass in the third panel to create a blank, white space that heightens the starkness and menace of the sniper in shadow. He also removed ground features such as grass and boulders in his art edits in my Dan Spiegle pages.
Marcus Wai
Member Since 2005
1 - Posted on 12/26/2025
Ruben DaCollector wrote:
Kubert art is amazing and his work on this strip was no exception. I love that it features one of the things the Americans had to fear most, the snipers hidden in the jungle!
Ruben DaSniper
Miki Annamanthadoo
Member Since 2003
Posted on 12/26/2025
Great example of the strip!
I notice the strip is by Moore and Kubert. I guess Jerry Capp was the uncredited ghost writer of te strip.
Peter Roe
Member Since 2009
Posted on 12/26/2025
Miki Annamanthadoo wrote:
Great example of the strip!
I notice the strip is by Moore and Kubert. I guess Jerry Capp was the uncredited ghost writer of te strip.
From Don Markstein's Toonopedia: "The scripting was credited to Robin Moore himself, but was actually ghosted by Jerry Capp, brother of Al Capp (Li'le Abner)." Updating the description!
Kavi H
Member Since 2018
1 - Posted on 12/26/2025
Great Joe Kubert art on this daily, and very interesting interview context you shared! congrats on the daily! I love the silhouetted shadow sniper shot in panel 3, I did notice the white out there but the final look of the panel is excellent.
Lee Harmon
Member Since 2020
1 - Posted on 12/26/2025
A superior example of Kubert's work on this strip. Your description is packed full of interesting details I was unfamiliar with Peter. Nicely done!
Mark Levy
Member Since 2004
1 - Posted on 12/29/2025
Really interesting note on that cool third panel with the intentional white-out!
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