View source for The War that Time Forgot

{{Short description|Comic book}}
{{Infobox comic book title<!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics-->
| image = The War that Time Forgot.jpg
| caption = ''Showcase Presents The War that Time Forgot'' by [[Ross Andru]] and [[Mike Esposito (comics)|Mike Esposito]] with [[Joe Kubert]].
| character_name = 
| publisher = [[DC Comics]]
| startmo = April/May
| startyr = 1960
| creators = [[Robert Kanigher]]<br />[[Ross Andru]]                         
}}
'''''The War that Time Forgot''''' is a [[comic book]] feature published by [[DC Comics]] beginning in 1960 in the title ''[[Star Spangled War Stories]]'', created by [[Robert Kanigher]], [[Ross Andru]] and [[Mike Esposito (comics)|Mike Esposito]]. It ran for eight years, ended in 1968, and returned as a limited series in 2008.

Featuring a combination of [[science fantasy]] and [[World War II]] comic motifs, the stories featured a group of American soldiers, stranded on an uncharted island during the [[Pacific War]] which they discover is populated by [[dinosaur]]s. This location was later named '''Dinosaur Island'''.

==Publication history==
''The War that Time Forgot'' was created by writer/editor [[Robert Kanigher]] and artists [[Ross Andru]]<ref>{{cite book|last=McAvennie|first= Michael|editor-last = Dolan|editor-first = Hannah|chapter= 1960s|title = DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle|publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]] |year=2010 |isbn= 978-0-7566-6742-9 |page= 100 |quote = What was most memorable about the initial installment of "The War that Time Forgot" by writer/editor Robert Kanigher and artist Ross Andru was that it was the first cross-genre story to blend war comics with science-fiction."}}</ref> and [[Mike Esposito (comics)|Mike Esposito]] in ''Star Spangled War Stories'' #90 (May 1960). They continued to compose most of the stories during the comic's run. During its time, it was the main feature of the title.

The title and some of the premises might have been influenced by Edgar Rice Burroughs's ''[[The Land That Time Forgot (novel)|The Land That Time Forgot]]'', in which soldiers and sailors of [[World War I]] are stranded on a dinosaur-haunted land near [[Antarctica]].{{fact|date=December 2024}}

The protagonists of the early adventures were not usually recurring, but a few of them appeared more than once. Among them are two soldiers named Larry and Charlie (''Star Spangled War Stories'' #90, 92), the airborne brothers Henry, Steve and Tommy Frank a.k.a. "The Flying Boots" (''Star Spangled War Stories'' #99–100, 104–105), early prototypes of the [[G.I. Robot]] (''Star Spangled War Stories'' #101–103, 125) members of the original [[Suicide Squad (comics)|Suicide Squad]] (''Star Spangled War Stories'' #110–111, 116–121, 125, 127–128), sailors PT and Prof (''Star Spangled War Stories'' #110–111) and the flying ace called "The Brother with No Wings" (''Star Spangled War Stories'' #129, 131). 
 
The series ran in ''Star Spangled War Stories'' from issues #90–137 (although issues #91, 93 and 126 did not feature ''The War That Time Forgot'' stories). The final story was in the Feb.–March 1968 issue of ''Star Spangled War Stories''; afterwards, the [[Enemy Ace]], a German [[World War I]] pilot, became the focus of the book and the dinosaur storyline was retired. In 1973, some of these stories were reprinted in ''Four Star Battle Tales'' #3 and ''G.I. War Tales'' #1 and 2.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sacks |first1=Jason |last2=Dallas |first2=Keith |title=American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1970s |date=2014 |publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |isbn=978-1605490564 |page=114}}</ref> ''The War That Time Forgot'' re-appeared in the October 1976 issue (#195) of ''[[G.I. Combat]]'', featuring the [[Haunted Tank]].

In the 1980s, DC briefly revisited ''The War that Time Forgot'' in a run as one of the features in ''[[Weird War Tales]]'' (#100). During the series run in ''Weird War Tales'', Dinosaur Island was visited by the [[Creature Commandos]] and the [[G.I. Robot]]. This was the World War II version of the Commandos.

Dinosaur Island was also featured in [[Tim Truman]]'s 1998 four-issue miniseries, ''Guns of the Dragon''. The 1920s set miniseries provided a sort of origin story for the island.

In [[Darwyn Cooke]]'s 2003 alternate-universe mini-series ''[[DC: The New Frontier]]'', Dinosaur Island was revisited yet again as part of its opening prelude. Here, it is visited by the military team known as ''[[The Losers (comics)|The Losers]]''.

In May [[2008 in comics|2008]], [[Bruce Jones (comics)|Bruce Jones]] launched ''The War that Time Forgot'' as a 12-issue [[Limited series (comics)|limited series]], featuring [[Enemy Ace]], Firehair, and [[Tomahawk (comics)|Tomahawk]] on one side and the Golden Gladiator, [[Viking Prince]], and [[G.I. Robot]] on the other.

==Collections==
A DC ''[[Showcase Presents]]'' black and white trade paperback collection, '''''The War that Time Forgot''''', was published in 2007. It reprints the stories that originally appeared between 1960 and 1966.<ref>{{comicbookdb|type=issue|id=92641|title=''Showcase Presents The War That Time Forgot''}}</ref>

The 2008 series was collected in two volumes:
* '''''The War That Time Forgot Vol. 1''''' (collects ''The War That Time Forgot'' #1-6)
* '''''The War That Time Forgot Vol. 2''''' (collects ''The War That Time Forgot'' #7-12)

==In other media==
===Television===
* Dinosaur Island appears in ''[[Batman: The Brave and the Bold]]''. This version is located in the Caribbean.
* A variation of Dinosaur Island appears in the ''[[Justice League Action]]'' episode "Booster's Gold". This version is an island located in the [[Bermuda Triangle]] that Booster Gold built a theme park on. [[Green Arrow]] inspires him to erase the park from existence via time travel.
* Dinosaur Island appears in ''DC Showcase: The Losers'' In the animated short, set during WW2, The Losers, a team of misfits consisting of US Navy PT Boat Captain Bill Storm, US Army Air Force Captain Johnny Cloud, US Marines Gunner, Sarge, Henry "Mile a Minute" Jones with their war dog Pooch. They were on a mission with Nationalist Chinese Army Intelligence Special Agent Fan Long

===Film===
'''The Centre''', a character inspired by Dinosaur Island, appears in ''[[Justice League: The New Frontier]]'', voiced by [[Keith David]].<ref name="btva">{{cite web |title=The Centre Voice - ''Justice League: The New Frontier'' (Movie) |url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/movies/Justice-League-The-New-Frontier/The-Centre/ |access-date=March 28, 2024 |publisher=Behind The Voice Actors}} A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.</ref> It is a monstrous creature born from the Earth that has the appearance of a floating island, possesses psychic abilities, and can transform its body to extrude tentacles and spawn dinosaur minions. Having observed the evolution of Earth, it came to view humanity as a threat and settled in the [[Pacific]], gaining a reputation as an omnipresent spirit with no beginning or end. Eventually, the Justice League work together to trap the Centre and hurl it into space, where its body implodes.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=113 Review of ''The War that Time Forgot'' #1], [[Comic Book Resources]]
* [http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/121052948444677.htm Sunday Slugfest: ''The War that Time Forgot'' #1], [[Comics Bulletin]]
* {{comicbookdb|type=title|id=18411|title=''The War That Time Forgot'' (2008)}}

{{DC Comics War Titles|state=collapsed}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:War That Time Forgot, The}}
[[Category:1960 in comics]]
[[Category:2008 comics debuts]]
[[Category:Comics by Robert Kanigher]]
[[Category:DC Comics set during World War II]]
[[Category:Defunct American comics]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs in comic books]]
[[Category:Fantasy comics]]