Journey Planet 76 - The American War in Vietnam

Aug 20, 2026

Journey Planet 76 collects essays, fiction analysis, and cultural commentary on the American presence in Vietnam, addressing memory, media, and competing labels for the conflict. Editors and contributors draw on both fandom perspectives and firsthand knowledge to examine how war stories circulate through comics, film, advertising, and popular franchises. The issue frames its scope as not a comprehensive chronicle, but as interconnected reactions to complex histories, including the emotional weight of names for the war and their implications for belief and identity.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryComic

FormatPDF

Pages104

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Editors’ Note

Naming the issue and competing terms

Writing about war and the issue’s scope

Table of Contents Themes

The Jolly Green Jungle

Tales From the Jolly Green Jungle

Vietnam through fiction and commentary

How Vietnam Touched My Life

A Vietnam Imagined

War and women in Vietnam

War horrors and moral cliches

Capacity, comfort, and symbolism

Comics, media, and cultural influence

Journey Planet 76-November 2023 The American War in Vietnam Editors Allison Hartman Adams, James Bacon, Chris Garcia Table of Contents Pg. 3-Editors’ Note Pg. 4-The Jolly Green Jungle Introduction by Chris Garcia Pg. 5-Tales From the Jolly Green Jungle by Joe Haldeman Pg. 11-How Vietnam Touched My Life by Sara Felix Pg. 12-A Vietnam Imagined by Errick Nunnally Pg. 13- ”The Smile of Victory":The Women of the American War in Vietnam by Allison Hartman Adams Pg. 17-The Horrors of War and Other Morbid Cliches by David Thayer Pg. 19-No Capacity for More by Brenda Noiseux Pg. 20-Snoopy:A Metaphor, Mascot, or Comfort Puppy by James Bacon Pg. 25-Apocalypse:The Eyes of Doom by Jim O’Brien Pg. 27-TruyệnTranh: Piracy, Crowdfunding, and the Growth of Vietnamese Comics by Allison Hartman Adams Pg. 29-Hunter S.Thompson:Too Much Tension and Too Little News, by James Bacon Pg. 32-Lê Minh Khuê’s Postwar Fiction by Allison Hartman Adams Pg. 34-The Forever War and Coming Home by Chuck Serface Pg. 36-Little Saigon: How the Vietnam War transformed San Jose Cuisine by Chris Garcia Pg. 38-The Kubert Connection by James Bacon Pg. 41-To a Brighter Future by Brenda Noiseux Pg. 42-Star Wars: Is It an Allegory for the Vietnam War? by James Bacon Pg. 46- (Re)discovered loss by Brend Noiseux Pg. 47-What the War Left Behind by David Ferguson Pg. 49-A Not So Private Little War: Star Trek’s Muddled Vietnam War Protest Episode by Ryan Britt Pg. 51- I love the smell of burning ﬂesh in the morning. It tastes like cooked breakfast’:Teddy Bears’ Picnic and Britain’s Vietnam War by Jim O’Brien Pg. 52- It’s Not a War Story: Filmmaking and rebirth in modern Vietnam by Allison Hartman Adams Pg. 55-Advertising for Vietnam by James Bacon Pg. 57-Martha Rosler – Bringing the War Home by Chris Garcia Pg. 58-The American War in Vietnam in Marvel Comics During the Vietnam War up to 1975 by James Bacon Pg. 63-DươngThu Hương’s A Novel Without A Name byAllison Hartman Adams Pg. 65-Box me up and ship me home:Tim O’Brien’s Vietnam by Jim O’Brien Pg. 67-DC Comics and the American War in Vietnam by James Bacon Pg. 74-The Vietnam Veterans Memorial by Chris Garcia Pg. 76-Comics of the Vietnamese Diaspora by Allison Hartman Adams Pg. 78-Curse You Red Baron! by Dick Eney Pg. 87-Vietnam Comics Recommendations by James Bacon Pg. 88-Introduction to Vietnam by Julian Bond and T.G. Lewis by James Bacon Pg. 89- Vietnam by Julian Bond and T.G. Lewis (illustrator) Pg. 94-War Fiction,A True Story by David Thayer Pg. 96-Garth Ennis talks about Vietnam with James Bacon Pg. 98-Gordon, Haldeman, Band and the Robot Jox by Peppard Saltine Pg. 100-My Cousin Jimmy by Guy H. Lillian III Pg. 101-In the End by Allison Hartman Adams Pg. 101-A Brief Note from Chris Pg. 102-Enditorial by James Bacon Pg. 103-JP 72: Operation Motorman Letters of Comment Art Credits COVER BY JOE HALDEMAN (originally appeared as an interior illustration in ODD \#20) Col Art-24 James Bacon-74, 75, 76 Keith Burns ([https://www.keithburns.co.uk/about](https://www.keithburns.co.uk/about)) -Back Cover (top) Sara Felix ([https://www.sarafelix.com/wp/](https://www.sarafelix.com/wp/)) -Back Cover (bottom) Arnie Fenner-51 David Ferguson-47, 48 Chris Garcia-57, Juan Gimenez-25, 26 Joe Haldeman-Cover, 5, 6, 7 Võ Hùng Kiệt-27 Joe Kubert.-38, 39, 40 TG Lewis-89-93 Huy Oánh-14 Guillermo Ortego (wi[llortego.com](llortego.com)) -96 Nguyễn Thanh Phong and Khánh Dương-28 Marcia Rosler-Pg. 57 Bill Rotsler-10 Charles Schultz-21, 22 Rick Swan-23 Neal Ulevich-30 Editors’Note “Writing about war...Those words do not simply mean a matter of literature, do they?...There is one’s own ﬂesh and blood.The living and the dead.There are one's memories, one's fellow ﬁghters, one’s comrades.There is one’s personal life and the life of the nation.” –Novelist Nguyễn Minh Châu Writing about war shouldn’t be easy. This issue of JP is no exc

FAQs

Why does the issue emphasize different names for the Vietnam conflict?

The editors discuss how Vietnamese, American, and historical labels carry different beliefs and implications, reflecting the conflict’s complexity and the emotional weight of naming it.

What kind of coverage does Journey Planet 76 provide?

The issue shares reactions, memories, and interpretations rather than a comprehensive chronicle, connecting the war to the media and stories people love.

How do contributors approach the realities of the conflict?

Some contributors are fans of contemporary and recent works, while others were actually in Vietnam and provide insight into the oft-mythologized historical period.

Aug 20, 2026

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