War Is Hell was a horror/war comic book series from Marvel Comics in 1973–1975. For its first six issues, it featured reprints of old war comics, followed by two issues of reprints of Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos. Beginning in issue #9, the series featured new material; the star of the series became Death, who forced a dishonorable Polish-American man named John Kowalski, killed in the invasion of Poland, to die countless deaths from other lives. A War Is Hell limited series featuring Phantom Eagle appeared in 2008. John Kowalski During the series, Kowalski inhabited different bodies of those about to die, not necessarily of the same side or sex, during World War II, including both the European and Pacific theatres, and needed to change things for the better before he was killed. Death would summon him from the nether regions each story, and Kowalski wondered how many times he would have to do so as penance. The series was created by writers Tony Isabella, Roy Thomas, and Chris Claremont with an uncredited assist from Steve Gerber on issue #9 (acknowledged in the letter column of issue #12), and artists Dick Ayers and Frank Springer. The series was canceled with issue #15, and Claremont's intentions for Kowalski were revealed when he wrote volume 2 of Man-Thing and incorporated the character into its final two issues (#s 10 & 11). By this point (the early 1980s), Kowalski had become an aspect of Death. He made Barbie Bannister (a recently orphaned by murder rich girl introduced by Claremont in Man-Thing vol. 2 #5) another aspect of Death as they battled Sheriff John Daltry, who was possessed by the sword of Captain Fate. He caused the deaths of Doctor Strange, Man-Thing, Jennifer Kale, and Chris Claremont himself, although these deaths were undone by the end of the story, in order to battle Thog the Nether-Spawn, who was using Fate and Daltry as his pawns in another gambit to take over Earth-616. Kowalski later appeared with Scarlet Witch in a story by Dennis Mallonee (writer) and John Ridgway (artist) in Solo Avengers #5. Bibliography War Is Hell #9 — "War Is Hell!" Isabella, Thomas, Claremont, [Gerber], Ayers, Springer (19 pp) War Is Hell #10 — "The Corridor" Isabella, Claremont, Ayers, Springer (18 pp) War Is Hell #11 — "Winter Kill" Claremont, Perlin, Trapani (18 pp) War Is Hell #12 — "My Love Must