“And Babies?”: The Representation of Mỹ Lai in Vietnam War Comics

The My Lai Massacre holds a special place in the history of the Vietnam War.But the events of that day have never been made coherent, with a stable place within the American popular consciousness.This paper considers the ways in which this event-and its myriad understandings and misunderstandings-is represented in popular culture in general, and in comics in particular.I perform close analyses of two comics.In "Headcount" (Our Army at War #233 [1971]), My Lai is reimagined as Alimy, a fictional French town during the Second World War, and the massacre plays out against a different backdrop.In "Burn" (The 'Nam #75 [1992]), two Americans discuss the recent trial of Lt. Calley.My close analysis focuses on two questions: How is the My Lai Massacre used in comics?And to what end?