Our Fighting Forces #165

Our Fighting Forces #165, released in late 1976, serves as a pivotal moment in the history of DC Comics' war anthology series. This issue is most significant for being the first to feature Jack Kirby's radical reimagining of the Losers, a team of soldiers composed of Gunner, Sarge, Pooch, and Johnny Cloud. Moving away from the grounded, gritty realism typical of the genre at the time, Kirby injected his signature cosmic energy, kinetic layouts, and larger-than-life narrative stakes into a World War II setting, effectively revitalizing the title for a new generation of readers.

Jack Kirby both wrote and illustrated this issue, bringing his immense creative vision to a series that had previously struggled with waning sales. His tenure on the book is widely regarded by comic scholars as a bold experiment that contrasted starkly with the traditional war comics of the era. While some long-time fans of the more subdued military stories were initially surprised by the shift in tone and aesthetic, Kirby's work on the title has since been canonized as a masterclass in dynamic storytelling, securing its place as a sought-after piece of Bronze Age history.