A humorous, cartography-centred look at the course of World War II, as devised by cartoon artist Angus McLeod. Thanks to Luka Rejec and Chris Medcraft for finding it here on the website Deviant Art and sending it in.
March 7, 2009
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Wow, pretty awesome
The only thing that bugs me is that all the borders are modern…
Comment by Toni — March 7, 2009 @ 11:23 pm
Countries used to have different boundaries before the war. Superficial, inaccurate, the type of thing a teenager would draw out of bordom during lessons, based on a summary of the war from wikipedia.
Comment by Marcin Oseka — March 7, 2009 @ 11:45 pm
@Marcin Oseka: Agreed. Spain smiling peacefully under Franco?
Comment by J — March 8, 2009 @ 12:12 am
Um, why is Czechoslovakia not mentioned at all? The Sudeten crisis predated the invasion of Poland (which should’ve been depicted as a joint German-Soviet invasion).
Comment by scootage81 — March 8, 2009 @ 12:29 am
Historical inaccuracies are excusable. Fighting maps are cool.
Comment by Roberto Bonvallet — March 8, 2009 @ 12:38 am
Hetalia, that’s what cool
Comment by maks — March 8, 2009 @ 12:49 am
@Marcin Oseka
Being a history junkie, the wrong boundaries kind of spoiled the comic for me
Comment by peter luca — March 8, 2009 @ 12:52 am
Best cartoon
Comment by Timo Kvamme — March 8, 2009 @ 12:54 am
The borders aren’t correct.
Comment by Scipio — March 8, 2009 @ 1:06 am
To all those saying “the wrong borders spoiled it for me…” – c’mon. It’s a bloody carton. It’s fantastic – great job. And the fact that it didn’t properly depict borders (or gasp! scale!) – loosen up!
You are probably the people at the back of a sci-fi or action movie saying “you know they couldn’t really do that in real life…”
Enjoy it for what it is – fighting maps on a cartoon.
I want to see more!
Comment by Adam — March 8, 2009 @ 1:38 am
indeed, it’s not a history lesson, it’s an amusement.
Comment by Lakeman — March 8, 2009 @ 3:00 am
Border accuracy means little to me, and I’m a history fanatic. I know what kind of people would be bothered by something like that.
Favorite Panel: USSR dwarfing Germany saying in fake Cyrillic “WE HAD A TRUCE!!?”
Comment by Michael Hancock — March 8, 2009 @ 3:22 am
“The only thing that bugs me is that all the borders are modern…”
The only thing that bothers me is that countries cant talk
that’s what you sound like to me.
Comment by . — March 8, 2009 @ 3:33 am
“I know what kind of people would be bothered by something like that.”
Assholes?
“Wow, this Picasso guy really sucked. Look how distorted everything is. How lame.”
Comment by dziban303 — March 8, 2009 @ 3:42 am
I think America’s faces are my favourite.
Comment by T.J. — March 8, 2009 @ 6:04 am
Cheer up, pedants: the division of Ireland was a heartening attention to detail.
Comment by mollymooly — March 8, 2009 @ 6:24 am
the maps are wrong: what about the german annexation of czechoslovakia & sudetenland (not included in larger germany), and there’s no cyrillic character with the ‘E’ written mirror-image.
Comment by zhc — March 8, 2009 @ 6:37 am
I’m reminded of:
Comment by Stormy Dragon — March 8, 2009 @ 7:06 am
[...] World War II: If Maps Could Fight « Strange Maps [...]
Pingback by links for 2009-03-08 | The Computer Vet Weblog — March 8, 2009 @ 8:00 am
One can’t expect people on this site not to make comments about the historically incorrect borders. Nor can one expect them to fail to mention that the picture WWII presented is a very US centred-one that does not really bear out the fact that the main front of the war was the Russian-German one. There, having fulfilled expectations I can go back to whatever it was I was doing.
Comment by Konrad Talmont-Kaminski — March 8, 2009 @ 9:24 am
I love this blog and I really loved this entry.
My favourite panel here was also Germany being dwarfed by the USSR.
Comment by Mikey — March 8, 2009 @ 9:25 am
Konrad, you can say that the major front was the Russian-German front in terms of lives lost, but that’s not true when you’re talking about importance as it pertains to it’s influence on the outcome of the war.
America FTW.
Comment by Amerika — March 8, 2009 @ 9:40 am
Loved it. Border accuracy, bias and detail aside, this amused me to no end. The expressions! Amazing. Keep it it, strangemaps.
Comment by Holly — March 8, 2009 @ 10:59 am
Finland lazily holding off a flailing, growling Russia with one hand is brilliant :D But “WE HAD A TRUCE” is great as well :)
Comment by Espy — March 8, 2009 @ 11:55 am
On the guys website he does address border inaccuracies and the fact he missed large parts of the war out. He did it just to amuse friends and it wasn’t meant to be anything serious…
Anyway I loved it. Especially Japan after being nuked ^^
Comment by Colonelgoth — March 8, 2009 @ 12:33 pm
If we’re making lists of inaccuracies: Canada did not yet have Newfoundland and Labrador, which was a separate dominion that had raised its own army to fight in World War I (it was decimated and bankrupted the government).
Comment by Matt — March 8, 2009 @ 12:45 pm
My favourite was WILL YOU SURRENDER.
P.S.: What about Yugoslavia?
Comment by croationalist — March 8, 2009 @ 1:20 pm
well, at least the Baltics weren’t showed as part of the USSR
And I really liked that Finland panel:D
Comment by h2ppyme — March 8, 2009 @ 2:05 pm
Great cartoon! It seems to show a rather US-centric view of the war, but then read the “Germany Surenders” newspaper:
“Americans kicked German ass again with a little help from Russia, Great Britain and all- how cool is that?”
I suspect it’s not meant to be entirely serious…
Oh and what’s the small, rectangular country between South Africa and Canada? Maybe Liberia?
Comment by PB — March 8, 2009 @ 2:31 pm
This reminds me of something I used to draw, just for myself when I was about 13 or so, called “Comedy Countries”. Pretty much like what you saw there, some of the jokes would be geography-related, some of the jokes could have been presented just as well if the anthropomorphic countries were replaced with people, but being drawn by someone who was a fan of cartography, and would go on to perform standup comedy in 5-10 years, the strip was pretty much inevitable.
(Unfortunately, due to the fact that my humour or art wasn’t nearly as good as this example shown on the blog, I got rid of all surviving copies of the strip (I made several dozen strips), so none have existed for over 20 years now …)
Comment by David Kendall — March 8, 2009 @ 4:36 pm
Well how’s that! Only yesterday someone on IRC linked that cartoon, and now I find it here!
Comment by Watson Waterstone — March 8, 2009 @ 5:03 pm
Sorry, it just comes off as shoddy to me because it uses the postwar borders for Germany, Poland and Italy. Thumbs down.
Comment by Lazar — March 8, 2009 @ 6:23 pm
Amerika, I beg to differ. More importantly, so do the historians. The US did play a highly significant role, but in terms of sheer military effort, its contribution is significantly smaller than that of the USSR. And it isn’t like I enjoy saying this – I’m Polish, so that military power was used to beat up on my neighbourhood.
Comment by Konrad Talmont-Kaminski — March 8, 2009 @ 8:06 pm
“I suspect it’s not meant to be entirely serious…”
No shit, sherlock.
And all those people whining endlessly about border accuracy, please stop. This is a pretty awesome and hilarious pencil comic, not a history textbook.
Comment by argh — March 8, 2009 @ 8:15 pm
[...] Could Fight « from Strange Maps March 8, 2009 Posted by peaceclog in Rant. trackback The funniest thing I’ve seen in a while – there’s a comic strip featured on Strangmaps, one of my favorite blogs. It’s [...]
Pingback by If Maps Could Fight « from Strange Maps « Peaceclog — March 8, 2009 @ 8:48 pm
@ argh: Representing 1930s Poland as a country that included Pomerania, Silesia and southern East Prussia, and 1930s Germany as a country that ended at the Oder-Neisse Line, is as stupid as using the modern Russian flag to represent the USSR or vice versa, or the PRC flag to represent Nationalist China. Within 3 seconds of looking at the comic I realized that the person who made it was clueless about historical geography and that I couldn’t enjoy it at all. It’s hard for me to appreciate the humor when the whole thing just cries out “STUPID!” at me in almost every frame.
Comment by Lazar — March 8, 2009 @ 9:11 pm
Which is the colony between South Africa and Canada? Or isn’t this country a colony?
Comment by Scipio — March 8, 2009 @ 9:32 pm
Oh, some people! I feel for you, I really do. But relaxing a bit would do you a world of good.
Of course it’s inaccurate. It’s an amusing little pencil comic, not a historical atlas!
Comment by Luka — March 8, 2009 @ 9:33 pm
I do wonder if some of these pedants can find joy in much of anything at all. This is clearly intended to be humorous (I certainly find it so), and if you want to draw something funny, you have to have fun drawing it. Getting out historical atlases, reading up on comparative contributions by countries in the war, and learning Cyrillic would have a way of sucking the fun out of drawing this (and I’m a Politics and Russian major). Just relax and realize that sometimes, things are done for the sake of humor, precise accuracy secondary, and by refusing to let your mistake-searching eye down for a second, you show yourselves to be a sort of condescending, socially uneducated person for which I have little use or regard.
Comment by Greg — March 8, 2009 @ 11:05 pm
Now THIS is a strange map!
Comment by lichanos — March 8, 2009 @ 11:25 pm
@Greg: I’m not a pedant, I’m not “socially uneducated”, and I enjoy many, many things. Do you want me to make baseless and sweeping generalizations about you based on your posts?
What I’m saying is that to someone with a working knowledge of history, this thing is just stupid on its face. I’m not “mistake-searching” – truly, honestly, I’m not – the mistakes jumped out at me because they were so freaking obvious. It’s equivalent to having a WW2 cartoon where they use F-16s instead of P-51s. Germany and Poland look completely different on a map now than they did back then.
I’m fine with the idea of talking countries, and I’m fine with the idea of using stylized maps – I have no problem whatsoever with how he drew Spain or Switzerland or Sweden or Turkey or the US or Britain. But what I’m saying is that we should expect some basic, fundamental level of accuracy here. It would be as if he had Truman as the President of the US at the start of the war, or Lenin as the leader of the USSR.
Comment by Lazar — March 9, 2009 @ 2:36 am
Very amusing, and I can easily live with the different borders since I would have a hard time recognizing some countries with their interwar borders.
Comment by Lurker — March 9, 2009 @ 2:51 am
And God! I can’t stand how the countries refer to themselves as “he!” I mean, Christ, doesn’t he even know that countries refer to themselves in the feminine form?!? What an ignorant rube! (All you border people just need to chill…for a majority of readers this cartoon wouldn’t have made sense because they wouldn’t have been able to recognize the European countries at all. Yes, horrible things happened to many peoples and countries during the interwar years and WWII, but this is a cartoon, not a freaking peer-reviewed article.)
Comment by Ragna — March 9, 2009 @ 3:21 am
@Ragna: Poland is identified by name, and Germany is identified pretty easily by context; no other countries would look substantially different.
Comment by Lazar — March 9, 2009 @ 3:51 am
Americans made up a little less than half the Allied troops invading Italy — the majority were British and Commonwealth.
Canada largely liberated Holland.
But I love the Commonwealth gearing up for action. (You really ought to have India in there though.)
I believe the rectangular-looking country between Canada and South Africa is Nepal — something like 250,000 Gurkhas served in the British Army in WWII.
Comment by johnny0 — March 9, 2009 @ 5:42 am
Just a word of explanation for the “wrong borders” crowd. For the people from our neck of the woods (roughly, Central Europe and eastwards) the shapeshifting of countries was maybe _the_ most significant result of WW2, apart from the death of insane amounts of people and destruction of infrastructure. So any narration that doesn’t take this into account feels to us maybe somewhat similar to this:
http://pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF209-Now_Showing.jpg
And not just out of love for nitpicking or because of not getting laid in a long time, it’s just the way we’ve been conditioned by school, our respective collective mythologies etc.
Comment by zer00 — March 9, 2009 @ 10:32 am
Further on the same topic: I would say that the shape of pre-1939 Poland, with ample appendages to the East, is firmly imprinted in the minds of Polish general public. I guess this is also true for Germans and Germany. Maps with roughly one-third of present day Poland painted in a different colour and labeled “under Polish administration” were standard well into the 1970s, I think.
Here’s a thought for a strange maps investigation, maybe it’s been done, I don’t know: do a review of maps that are the most stubborn in ignoring reality “on the ground”. One obvious example I can think of are practically all maps published or approved to sell in the Middle East, where the distinctive wedge-shaped area between Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and the Mediterranean is sometimes labeled “Al-Filistin” and pretty often not labeled at all, as if some kind of no man’s land. Interesting.
Comment by zer00 — March 9, 2009 @ 10:48 am
One last thought, sorry for flooding, I hope it’s not entirely crapflooding :)
The Germany in the cartoon has the shape of Austria attached (as if post-1938 and pre-1945), but all the now-Polish or Russian parts are shaved off (as if post-1945). So a country of this particular shape did not really exist, ever. Just an argument in favour of presenting both Germany and Poland in their shapes from 1939. As somebody remarked earlier, both are easy recognisable from the context. And there would be an added benefit: if someone was keen enough to notice: “WTF? Why the strange shapes? I’ve seen different in the world atlas!”, they would have an opportunity to find out: “Ahh, shapeshifting countries. Now I know!”
Comment by zer00 — March 9, 2009 @ 10:57 am
From the Artist:
“About the WW2 comic
Thanks for the nice comments, guys, much appreciated!
And for the ones saying that it’s not funny, inaccurate, offensive, looks like crap, needs panels and others, keep that in mind: I could not guess it would get this popular in any way. I drew this by boredom, wanting to make my friends IRL and some of my watchers laugh. It worked pretty well, by the way. I know it is ugly, confusing because there are no panels, and I apologize for that. If I knew that THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of people would read it, I would have worked on it harder.
I know I did not include everything, but if every single little detail was there, the comic would be even longer and less funny than it already is. Also, at the time I did not know everything I know about World War 2 today.
So, yeah, thanks everyone for your comments, positive and negative.
And geez some of you are taking this shit so seriously.”
Comment by Colonelgoth — March 9, 2009 @ 11:46 am
The omission of most of the European war is annoying (esp. Czechoslovakia), the borders are grinding on my nerves, and the use of “fag” in a sense other than refering to a cigarette utterly kills what could have been a great cartoon.
And what the hell is up with you, this is a strange maps blog, what, we’re not supposed to comment on the borders? This isn’t deviantart, the borders are all that matters to us. Or should matter to us…. shifty eyes….
Comment by Bob — March 9, 2009 @ 1:06 pm
So, why hasn’t anyone picked on Fritz’s map? It’s completely out of whack and must be driving some of you crazy with its erroneous depiction of borders and proportion.
Comment by ragna — March 9, 2009 @ 1:31 pm
Hilarius stuff, but I hate faux Cyrillic.
Comment by Lone Wolf — March 9, 2009 @ 2:00 pm
Hilarious!
i think my favorite panel is when Finland is holding the USSR back w/o really trying, or maybe that moment of realization right after the US and USSR look at each other realizing they won. priceless moment.
to the nay-sayers: seriously? aren’t there more important things to over-analyze and suck the joy out of?
Comment by nickbilz — March 9, 2009 @ 2:52 pm
As a scholar myself, I agree with all other scholars commenting here: Modern borders were a nut-buster. But there were many other mistakes.
When the bomb was coming, a *real* Japanese cannot open his eyes like that, another fatal mistake.
America’s eyes shift from Ohio to Oregon to Nebraska, utterly unrealistic since we all know eyes cannot roam over a face.
The faux Cyrillic (I could say “fake Cyrillic” but that wouldn’t be scholarly enough) is full of non-existing letters, it killed the humor right there.
And the Soviet army didn’t fight the war with sickles and hammers, historical inaccuracy.
Too many mistakes in this cartoon, yet I thank its author: it allowed me another chance to criticize someone and burst out some intellectual feats that help me hide my insecurities.
Now I should go back to my mistake-hunting life. So many blogs, so little time!
Comment by Sophismata — March 9, 2009 @ 4:33 pm
@Lazar-
I’ve got a degree in history and I found this exceptionally funny, and actually with some interesting historical details that many general public don’t realize; the inclusion of the smaller countries in the fight such as Australia/South Africa/Canada/I believe that’s supposed to be Nepal (they did join the Allies around the fall of Poland) or the joke about Finland blocking the USSR’s invasion were just a couple of mentions. I think the modern borders is a bit odd, but hey, he said he drew it as a joke, and he probably had modern maps for a reference or just traced out of a book. I’d say that was obvious since the countries are obviously inked over instead of the general pencil drawings.
Why should the fact that he’s using modern borders be such a sticking point for a cartoon? Should he have stuck India and the extant islands for the UK since they were still part of the British Empire? Maybe French Guyana and New Caledonia in France’s face?
The point I’m trying to make is that he’s making a historical joke. It doesn’t need to be perfect to still be funny, does it? That’s like someone making a parody of Star Trek and a Trekkie yelling about how the Enterprise was using Next Generation stuff when the joke is obviously about TOS. (Oh wait, I can see that happening… *eye roll*)
So to sum up: lighten up. It’s not like he was glossing over everything just to get to the US. Hell, he even made the same joke/implication that the US didn’t give a crap until Japan kicked him in the Hawai’ians.
Comment by Jow — March 9, 2009 @ 9:57 pm
Borders nothing… “fag” ruined this for me.
It also displays an overly patriotic American attitude which gets on my nerves, even though I’m American and like this country overall.
And I can’t think about Hiroshima and Nagasaki without thinking of the photos of naked children running down the streets with their skin falling off their bodies. So I have a hard time saying “cool” no matter how detailed the mushroom cloud was drawn.
Comment by Corby — March 9, 2009 @ 10:23 pm
Friggin HILARIOUS! Good show!
Comment by Garrett — March 9, 2009 @ 11:09 pm
@Corby
I believe the overly patriotic attitude was intentional, Corby, poking fun at how most Americans view WWII from the US’s perspective.
I do agree with the problem with the epithet that Germany uses with Italy, it’s a distraction from the overall presentation. However, if you take it from the entire work, the language mostly being used by Germany, which is generally modern teenage “netspeak”, it’s use is congruent. Not that it’s excusable, but congruent.
Comment by Jow — March 9, 2009 @ 11:18 pm
That strip was hilarious! The only problem with it was that the picture file was too big. If it were broken up into several smaller files, it wouldn’t put as much of a strain on slower computers.
Comment by Lucario — March 9, 2009 @ 11:36 pm
The neutral countries smiling and waving did it for me. Yemen and Paraguay look so happy.
Comment by Jim K — March 10, 2009 @ 5:13 am
Oh no, did you have to point out Yemen to me too? ;) Everybody knows that modern Yemen was two different countries back then, Yemen proper (aka North Yemen) and the Aden Protectorate (aka South Yemen).
Comment by Lazar — March 10, 2009 @ 5:57 am
For the anti-American crowd:
If not for billions of dollars in massive aid to other countries, the nazis would have won the war:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lend-Lease
Perhaps these countries need to pay the USA back (in 2009 dollars, adjusted for inflation.) Hey Britain, would you like to go first?
Comment by Bourgoises Pig — March 10, 2009 @ 1:49 pm
Great post! Loved it :)
Comment by Daryl — March 10, 2009 @ 1:54 pm
@Bourgoises Pig: Actually Britain HAS paid that back. The last payment was in December 2006.
You’re welcome.
Next time you might want to get involved when millions of innocents are getting killed rather than waiting for Americans to die. Just some PR advice. ;-P
Comment by nemo — March 10, 2009 @ 3:31 pm
Ahaahahahahahahaah! Big fun!
anyone who has bones to pick – eat me!
Comment by Art — March 10, 2009 @ 3:45 pm
Yea it’s funny but Poland was winning the war until CPPP forces which where going to help Poles attacked them…
Comment by Pawelotti — March 10, 2009 @ 7:55 pm
Thanks for this post!
I really enjoyed it.
Thanks also to “sophismata”s contribution in the comments.
Accuracy is not that important in comics. That is not what they are made for, in my opinion.
And, maps never seem to flawless. Especially those which are not supposed to be seen as maps.
But maybe that is not the most important issue here:
Maybe more people should try to use this technique (comics and stuff) to educate, or at least to provoke a dispute. It seems to work very well, as noticed here.
So,keep it up !
Comment by joertsch — March 10, 2009 @ 10:35 pm
If this reveals anything, it’s that a lot of people here have no sense of humor.
Comment by zephyr — March 10, 2009 @ 11:55 pm
TOTALLY PWNT!
Comment by meren — March 11, 2009 @ 12:20 am
@nemo (post #64)
How did Britain pay back the USA? If so, then most people do not know about this. Do you have a source?
Oh, I forgot, the Brits need to pay the USA for WWI as well. :-)
What am I saying? There is no animosity among the best of allies! The Brits love the Americans! American culture has won the hearts and minds of all British people! Friends forever!
Regarding “getting involved,” I have always wondered why none of the Western countries have ever invaded countries such as Sudan (guilty of genocide).
Comment by Bourgoises Pig — March 11, 2009 @ 12:54 am
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6215847.stm
=]
Also the ratings for what the British think of our USAmerican allies has been the lowest since pretty much the 1812 war, although It’s gone back up thanks to Mr Obama.
And because like you say American culture has won the hearts and minds of British politicians ;]
Comment by Colonelgoth — March 11, 2009 @ 3:26 am
My opinion: badly drawn, wrong borders, mistakes in story and as funny as a dead gold-fisch
Comment by Marc — March 11, 2009 @ 12:30 pm
Correct, Britain did pay back lend-lease. They kept paying until 2006.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lend-Lease#Repayment
Comment by merr — March 11, 2009 @ 1:41 pm
Hahaha… The UK treasury minister is named “Ed Balls”. Great stuff.
All fo you talkking about historical accuracy… What a bunch of pendantic morons.
Enjoyed the comic, even though it will not help me pass my history finals. I know the difference between entertainment and academia.
Comment by LostInDaJungle — March 11, 2009 @ 4:32 pm
Wrong Borders, Wrong Borders..
Oh come on folks, thats just a premature comic from a kid,…
Comment by PDA1986 — March 11, 2009 @ 5:55 pm
[...] Maps: World War II: If Maps Could Fight. A cute cartoon that summarizes the events of WWII. The characters are fairly accurate little maps [...]
Pingback by JohnFrat.us » Today’s Report - March 11th — March 11, 2009 @ 6:02 pm
Britain did pay the US back it’s WWII debt. It didn’t pay back it’s WWI debt. Since it wasn’t a student loan debt though, it’s statute of limitation expired a long long time ago. Someone will undoubtedly point out that it was kind of sleazy for the US to charge for helping, but remember WWI was really a European war and WWII could have been contained if France and Britain had stood up to Hitler a little earlier. (Of course without the staggering losses against Germany the Soviets might have invaded eastern Europe.)
And to the Soviet apologists, at least France and Britain didn’t invade Poland.
As for the cartoon, it’s funny. It’s a cartoon. If you don’t like the borders, draw your own cartoon. I just wish he’d left out the slur. It makes a cartoon that could have been passed around a classroom, with the explanation that it wasn’t totally accurate, and makes it to something else.
Comment by Nacoran — March 11, 2009 @ 6:47 pm
[...] World War II: If Maps Could Fight @ Strange Maps World War Two: Simple Version @ devianArt Leave a Reply [...]
Pingback by That’s a Great Painting » Blog Archive » La 2ª guerra mundial en comic — March 11, 2009 @ 6:55 pm
77 Nacorah: ” I just wish he’d left out the slur”
As I was reading what I thought was a funny comic, I knew people would get their panties in knots over a few words as they usually, unecessarily do in the process of giving them their actual offensive power, but you referenced just one. What camp are you worried that this strip would offend, the “fag was made into offensive slang for a homosexual and I’m going to keep it that way in not letting its power diminish by being used otherwise,” maybe its “Jap isn’t allowed to just be short for Japanese, because its something much, much worse because it can be,” or possibly the “Kraut can piss people off because it hasn’t been used as a term of endearment in the past, so I find it unacceptable” group?
Comment by BAT — March 11, 2009 @ 8:11 pm
this
was
epic
Comment by TamRock — March 12, 2009 @ 4:01 am
The Philippines looked liked a lizard thrown out of Japan’s bucket.
Comment by Duboi — March 12, 2009 @ 4:13 am
Cool! I laughed my ass off. The person who did draw this really has a sense of humor!
Though I will add that the story depicted here reflects the standard simplistic view by a Western European. It centers on activities of Germany while leaving activities of USSR out of sight.
While Germany was wreaking havoc in the West of Europe, USSR in 1939 – 1940 was equally invading, conquering and tearing apart its neighbors in the East: Poland (attacked it 2 weeks after Nazis and in cooperation with them), Finland, Romania, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia.
Comment by onx — March 12, 2009 @ 12:52 pm
@merr (post #76)
Only 1/2 billion dollars? Britain got a deal. The USA expects eternal gratitude and respect for helping its friend!
Look at the banks that have financed Hitler, and you will notice that many of these were American! Without American (and possibly British) finance, Hitler would have never been able to rise to power and re-militarize Germany. For fun, google “Hitler” and “finance.” Fascinating!
@Nacoran (post #77)
The Soviet Union never paid reparations for gulag (concentration camps) and for the relentless persecution of Christians. According to Solzhenitsyn, most of the prisoners were Christian. Italy also never paid a penny for the crimes of Mussolini.
It would be interesting to see a similar comic drawn from a Polish perspective……
Comment by Bourgoises Pig — March 12, 2009 @ 1:41 pm
It’s too bad that he didn’t say anything about Yugoslavia. That was a very interesting part of the war and could be used for another cartoon.
Comment by croationalist — March 12, 2009 @ 3:25 pm
I just missed brazil! I know brazil had a small part on WWII, but even paraguay is remembered, why the guy had forgotten brazil. Remenber Monte Castelo!
Comment by Rafael França — March 12, 2009 @ 3:29 pm
This was fantastic! I especially liked the Philippines and Finland, as well as the take on the U.S.’s hero complex.
To all of you haters … I’m going to show this strip to my 12-year-old son when I get home. It’s a great way to educate him about what happened. Hope you all can sleep tonight, knowing that!
Comment by Vails — March 12, 2009 @ 5:02 pm
This picture is totally not funny because Soviet Union is without Sannikocv island. Seriously
Comment by L — March 12, 2009 @ 9:30 pm
This is a website about maps, this comic was posted specifically because it contained maps in it. Why then, is there such an overly defensive reaction to people pointing out that the maps themselves aren’t accurate?
Comment by idantlol — March 13, 2009 @ 12:19 am
@idantlol (post #88)
To use a 1960 map of Germany to illustrate WWII would be the equivalent of drawing a map of England without Scotland and still calling it the UK. Pre-WWII German territory was actually 1/3 larger than portrayed in the comic. This was not a minor drawing mistake.
The comic *is* still funny, though.
Comment by Bourgoises Pig — March 13, 2009 @ 2:31 am
79, Wrooooong.
I’m glad you decided to, instead of taking a comment that points out that language use can reflect oppression, chose to be a dick about it. I mean, I guess you are right, if (white) people just stop caring about how offensive the n-word is, it’ll totally pass as bad word and have other meanings. That is exactly the case.
HOWEVER!!!
While I think this comic is funny for the most part, I don’t think it really lives up to the standards of this website. I’m NOT talking about accurate borders, rather, it’s too unpolished, and reflects a tradition of (inherently political) comics that personify countries, one which could be better represented.
Despite this post’s pop-appeal, it doesn’t have the sort of scrutiny to detail or general goodness that all of the other posts on this website otherwise show. That’s probably why you get so many comments. Sad day, but lesson learned?
Comment by cookie — March 13, 2009 @ 9:26 am
You all could have pointed out the historical accuracies without being such dicks about it, seriously. Some of us could learn something new about the war in a more friendly atmosphere, instead of the incessant “our country suffered more than yours AND THATS FINAL”.
Also, I’m surprised nobody mentioned Ethiopia. Just because, y’know. :)
Comment by wds — March 13, 2009 @ 10:41 am
Wasn’t Ethiopia conquered by Italy before WWII?
Comment by croationalist — March 13, 2009 @ 2:13 pm
I agree with #91 and would like to add -
How many of you look at the Sunday comics with disgust? I can almost hear you now:
“That Garfield sucks – EVERYONE knows that cats can’t talk”
“Why does Charlie Brown NEVER grow older – boy THAT comic is TOTALLY unrealistic”
“Why doesn’t Dilbert have eyeballs? EVERYONE knows that NO ONE could do a computer job without EYEBALLS – JEEZ – how INACCURATE”
What a bunch of weenies…
Comment by Art — March 13, 2009 @ 2:15 pm
USA got involved in WW2 because
a) Japan attacked USA
b) Germany declared war on USA
Why should UK pay for that?
Comment by Ole — March 13, 2009 @ 2:28 pm
This looks suspiciously like Don Hertzfeldt’s work (of “Reject” fame).
Comment by Squalish — March 13, 2009 @ 2:48 pm
make that “Rejected”
Comment by Squalish — March 13, 2009 @ 2:48 pm
A good, funny cartoon.
I was actually baffled to learn the author is american, because of the US patriotic streak displayed here and there, and because there was not the usual US French-bashing (the surrendering monkeys routine – a typical bully’s attitude I hate).
OK, there was German bashing France, but it’s accurate, the Krauts really caught us with our pant down in 1939, I have to admit we did not do well…
I liked the “here is a flag” – “Er, thanks I guess” when USA liberated France, with UK being elbowed to the back scene. From my French ego’s point of view, a very good summary of France’s feeling towards its liberator (OK, thanks for coming, but why do you insist on me taking you flag – I feel like I just exchanged one invader for another).
About the “fag” – I remember faintly from my history lessons and from Chaplin’s movie that Hitler was not thinking much of Mussolini, and was very angry when the later was defeated by the Allies. So, “fag” may be shocking, but for a comic, I feel it’s a good description of Germany’s feelings at that point…
So yes, this guy definitively has a good sense of humor. Thanks for this Bande dessinée.
Comment by Seb30 — March 13, 2009 @ 4:15 pm
@#97 Seb30:
I am always amused when someone generalizes about one party’s (“I was actually baffled to learn that the author is American”) generalizations about another party (“…the usual US French-bashing…”). We do have a wide spectrum of opinion, here, and all points of view get an airing.
Also, I was “baffled” by your equating Nazi occupation with US/British/Commonwealth liberation (“…just exchanged one invader for another.”)
Wow. If you’re at all concerned with US-French relations, take a look at the mote in your eye.
Comment by Valaris — March 13, 2009 @ 8:35 pm
As regards incorrect borders, Finland’s are also post-war.
However, I thought the cartoon was well done, and funny (warts and all).
Comment by Valaris — March 13, 2009 @ 8:41 pm
The last iranian Shah’s father, ruling a poor country sized between Russian ( later soviet ) and British Empires, saw Germany as an alternative to counterback these heavy, oil-smelling, neighboors. But like others, he became quite fascinated by the new German ideology, and decided to turn his country’s name from Persia to Iran, litteraly ” Land of the Aryans”. So, to avoid a stronger alliance, the British replaced him by his young son and occupied the land. Before Yalta,Staline,Churchill and Roosevelt met in Teheran in 1944.
Iran never fought along with Germany…
All this to say I like this arty funny work: it could rise interest for History and Geography among the youngest audiences.It could be used by teachers: all the things said here about accurancy or unaccurancy of some details : a good start for personnal or group research, developping critical sense.
Comment by lp — March 13, 2009 @ 9:52 pm
For some commentary on colonialism, check out the fighting shadow map sequence at http://www.flickr.com/photos/7653848@N03/524895956/in/set-72157600289562829/.
Comment by Morgan — March 13, 2009 @ 10:29 pm
Very US-centric, ignoring/whitewashing/spinning a shitload of important stuff. Well done.
Comment by banana — March 14, 2009 @ 1:56 am
[...] This is pretty good. [...]
Pingback by Past & Present » Fun with Foreign Relations — March 14, 2009 @ 2:57 pm
Those who decry purists as pendants miss the point:
IF the borders and history were more accurate, the JOKES would be funnier.
Comment by Mike — March 14, 2009 @ 11:46 pm
@Lazar:
Yes, yes you are a pedant. As are all your sad little pedantic friends.
Ah, I remember the time I walked out of “Ratatouille” in a mouth-foaming rage because it starred a talking rat! How inaccurate!
Comment by Vidor — March 15, 2009 @ 3:31 am
Vidor, you don’t have a damn clue who my friends are.
Comment by Lazar — March 15, 2009 @ 4:40 am
And since some people seem to have trouble understanding what I’m saying, let me repeat: “I’m fine with the idea of talking countries, and I’m fine with the idea of using stylized maps – I have no problem whatsoever with how he drew Spain or Switzerland or Sweden or Turkey or the US or Britain.” Drawing Germany or Poland with Cold War-era boundaries is as stupid as drawing the UK without Scotland, or the US without the southern states.
Comment by Lazar — March 15, 2009 @ 4:42 am
One last point, Vidor, a better analogy would be if Ratatouille had said that Paris was a city in Spain, or that the talking rats had eight legs and copper-based blood. Let me make it definitively clear that I am not talking about artistic or creative freedom, I’m talking about basic standards of common sense.
Comment by Lazar — March 15, 2009 @ 4:49 am
“I’m talking about basic standards of common sense.”
It’s a cartoon, you pedant.
I remember when I was a little kid, throwing my chocolate milk at Looney Tunes animation in righteous anger at all the times they’d show Wile E. Coyote run off a cliff and not start falling until he looked down and saw the ground. How inaccurate!
Comment by Vidor — March 15, 2009 @ 6:58 am
And another thing–maps don’t talk! Maps don’t have eyes! How inaccurate!
Comment by Vidor — March 15, 2009 @ 7:00 am
Vidor, stop ignoring what I’m saying and repeating the same irrelevant, simplistic argument. Things like personified countries and talking maps are artistic license, and that’s fine, commendable even. But do you think it would be a valid criticism if this cartoon had shown the US with all the states of the Confederacy missing? Just tell me yes or no.
Comment by Lazar — March 15, 2009 @ 8:40 am
Again, for examples, Ratatouille had talking rats, but Paris was still in France, and food was still prepared in kitchens. Wall-E had cute anthropomorphic robots, but the Earth still orbited the sun. Looney Tunes’ Roadrunner sketches had silly cartoon physics, but the US was still a country in North America, and not a country in Asia. There’s inaccuracy for art’s sake, which is the essence of a good cartoon, and then there’s inaccuracy for ignorance’s sake.
Comment by Lazar — March 15, 2009 @ 8:51 am
Ever read “Garfield”? Cats can’t walk on two legs. What is that? How inaccurate!
Comment by Vidor — March 16, 2009 @ 1:15 am
“How inaccurate!” “How inaccurate!” “How inaccurate!” Wow, Vidor, you truly are a master of subtlety and sarcasm! I congratulate you for repeating the same oversimplistic, third-grade level argument that had been used by a dozen people before you, while completely failing to address a single word that I had said.
Comment by Lazar — March 16, 2009 @ 4:20 am
I notice, too, that you’re incapable of even answering a yes or no question.
Comment by Lazar — March 16, 2009 @ 4:28 am
#111 Lazar
That’s probably not an equal argument. Germany is drawn as it currently appears, as is the US and Britain. If the confederate states were missing, it wouldn’t reflect the US as it is now. The same would go for the UK minus Scotland. The missing chunk of Germany reflects the nation then. At no point did the US ever look like it does now, minus the south east part of the current country. Yes it would be inaccurate too, but not really for the same reason.
Comment by BAT — March 16, 2009 @ 1:21 pm
Sorry, I don’t like the way I worded that.
My point is that how the US, Britain and Germany look in the comic are at one point or another in history accurate (and yes I’m talking about border-wise). The current United States boundaries, minus the Confederate states would never have been historically accurate.
Comment by BAT — March 16, 2009 @ 1:29 pm
Geo_Me2day의 생각…
366 – World War II: If Maps Could Fight « Strange Maps ; 이야 말로 지도 전쟁! 2차 세계 대전 당사국을 지도로 의인화하여 스토리를 전개하는 내용. 마지막 버섯구름 인상적이에요~…
Trackback by geolink's me2DAY — March 16, 2009 @ 4:20 pm
@BAT: It would be accurate on a de facto basis if it was depicting the US in, say, 1862. My point is that the Germany and Poland that he’s depicting are countries from the wrong era. Whether the wrong borders are from 2000 or 1860, they’re still wrong. It would be as if there was a WW2 cartoon where Barack Obama took the place of Franklin Roosevelt and Vladimir Putin took the place of Josef Stalin.
Comment by Lazar — March 16, 2009 @ 7:03 pm
Lazar: Honestly, if you don’t have a degree in history, are you even going to realize that Germany’s borders are from 2009 instead of from 1939 or whatever?
I mean, Christ, this kid’s an American trying to draw talking countries. I think it’s safe to say that most Americans who don’t have said degree wouldn’t be able to tell the minute differences between weather Germany had this part of land or that part of land in 1939. Just like I wouldn’t expect most Germans without history degrees to know, say, that Virginia and West Virginia were the same state before the Civil War. Or the US borders during the Spanish American war.
I mean, yeah, in one sense it’s “annoying” because of that but I think it’s generally easier for everyone to tell which countries are which by using current borders.
Comment by Jack H. — March 16, 2009 @ 8:13 pm
Lazar:
1. The US was never without the Southern States
2. No one is answering your arguments because they are without merit
Comment by Art — March 16, 2009 @ 8:37 pm
@Jack H: I’ll admit it, I’m a cartophile (is it such a surprise to find that cartophiles visit this blog?), so it’s really obvious to me. Of course, 99% of people aren’t.
@Art: 1. Look at any map of the US Civil War; it will delineate between the Union states and the Confederate states. Obviously we didn’t recognize the South, just as India and Pakistan don’t recognize each other’s claims over Kashmir, but the Confederacy indisputably existed as a de facto government. And for God’s sake, it was only one example, totally peripheral to the point I was making. Let’s say that he used Napoleonic borders for France, or that he showed Italy under its 1870-1918 borders. The point I was making was that the borders he was using were from the wrong era, THAT’S IT.
2. Just as with Vidor, not a single piece of argumentation to back up your point. Really, I could have a more productive exchange with a sack of potatoes than with some of you people.
Comment by Lazar — March 17, 2009 @ 1:14 am
The part where Japan says “shit”, the facial expression looks very similar to the bit character “Eggplant Mike” from http://www.spamusement.com, IMO anyway…
Comment by Kangaroo — March 17, 2009 @ 11:20 am
The people pointing out that this is a cartoon, and therefore just for fun, so others should stop fussing about the borders depicted being post WWII, only show their ignorance and lack of knowledge of history through their argumentation.
The 1939 borders of Europe were very relevant for why and how the war started and developed. The large German population in Sudetenland, the centuries old German-Polish conflicts over land they both settled and claimed, irredentist claims by both Italy and other powers, the need for Stalin for buffer countries between the USSR and the West… all significant factors that are lost through inaccuracy in the comic. There’s a difference between taking artistic liberties like making countries talk and an ignorance of facts.
Only ignorants would call the call for accuracy pedantic.
Comment by olar — March 17, 2009 @ 1:47 pm
Lazar –
The sack of potatoes would win
Comment by Art — March 17, 2009 @ 3:24 pm
@Sub30
France exchanged one invader for another? Intriguing. Which foreign language and culture dominates in France: British language and culture, or American language and culture?
Comment by Bourgoises Pig — March 17, 2009 @ 3:27 pm
Speaking for myself – I love Strange Maps specifically and I love maps in general. And I love highly detailed and accurate maps, too.
I also love to laugh. Surely given the hundreds of excellent, accurate maps we have seen here there is room for some silliness, too. Isn’t there?
Comment by Art — March 17, 2009 @ 3:54 pm
You know what else was historically inaccurate? Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Very poor portrayal of King Arthur and his knights. And way too many offensive words. Not funny.
Comment by dave in Rocha — March 17, 2009 @ 4:07 pm
@Art: I agree, the sack of potatoes would be a far more challenging debate opponent than you.
@Dave in Rocha: Oh, stop, my sides are splitting! That’s the same sarcastic, unoriginal joke that countless other commenters have mindlessly repeated over and over again here. It was funny the fifteenth time.
Comment by Lazar — March 17, 2009 @ 5:30 pm
Konrad: It may be a popular opinion among some historians, especially those who, in typical ultra-liberal fashion, glorify non-western nations. You can argue all you wish, without any ability to prove its validity, the notion that the USSR could have won the war without the help of the Allies. However, the key factors that turned the tides of the war (in addition to the ability of the USSR to hold out longer than the Nazis expected) were the armaments provided by the US of A to the USSR under the lend-lease agreement, as well as the success of the western front. Before the US entered the war, 84% of the German forces were located on the eastern front. By the end of the war 60% of them were on the western front along with 55% of Nazi aircraft in order to stop the more powerful western allies. And in terms of the sheer number of supplies: 49% of all aircraft, tanks, etc. (excluding ships) involved in the war belonged to the US (this includes German and Italian vehicles/aircraft).
Comment by Amerika — March 19, 2009 @ 8:32 am
Don’t be lame people, it’s a comic! Enjoy the clever humor! Map boundries… phfft. Don’t have a critical spirit. The comic is very well done.
Comment by Seth in Oregon — March 19, 2009 @ 4:49 pm
[...] World War II: If Maps Could Fight The Austrian codpiece in the second frame was what hooked me. [...]
Pingback by World War II: If Maps Could Fight « RobotSkirts — March 19, 2009 @ 9:18 pm
[...] clipped from strangemaps.wordpress.com [...]
Pingback by Web Clippings » Blog Archive » COMIC: When maps declare war — March 20, 2009 @ 12:46 am
[...] World War II: If Maps Could Fight | Strange Maps: A cartoon and cartographic interpretation of World War II by artist Angus McLeod. [...]
Pingback by Stilgherrian · Links for 16 March 2009 through 22 March 2009 — March 21, 2009 @ 10:56 pm
This is hilarious! Yes, it’s got a few inaccuracies regarding the map boundaries but come on, people, it’s just meant to be fun.
Comment by Bob — March 22, 2009 @ 10:35 pm
DID YOU HAVE TO USE THE WORD “FAG” IN THIS? WHY DIDN’T YOU HAVE GERMANY CALLING PEOPLE “NIGGER” OR SOMETHING? OH, BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE INTOLERANT AND IGNORANT? THEN WHY USE A HOMOPHOBIC TERM? REALLY SHOWS YOUR MATURITY LEVEL, AND RUINS WHAT WAS A VERY FUNNY COMIC.
Comment by Sheldon — March 25, 2009 @ 4:53 pm
I thought that “fag” was British for a cigarette. Italy is shaped like a cigarette in the cartoon.
Does anyone object to a cigarette being called a “fag.” If so, then what is the likelihood of this term being banned from the British-English language.
Comment by Bourgoises Pig — March 25, 2009 @ 5:29 pm
“DID YOU HAVE TO USE THE WORD “FAG” IN THIS? WHY DIDN’T YOU HAVE GERMANY CALLING PEOPLE “NIGGER” OR SOMETHING? OH, BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE INTOLERANT AND IGNORANT? THEN WHY USE A HOMOPHOBIC TERM? REALLY SHOWS YOUR MATURITY LEVEL, AND RUINS WHAT WAS A VERY FUNNY COMIC”
goodness! it was a joke dude… lighten up! plus as Bourgoises Pig stated it is british for cigarette and italy was shaped like a cigarette. FUNNY. i loved it! who cares about border lines or what-the-hell. i personally laughed so hard i was worried i was about to pass out… well maybe not that hard but you get the picture! ;D
Comment by A-u-d-r-e — March 26, 2009 @ 1:36 am
@64 Nemo – thanks for the update – kind of easy to not realize the debt was paid off when it hadn’t been for most of our lives and to be honest, it needn’t have been. It wasn’t make or break for the US depending on receipt of those payments. Britain paid it out of honor – good for Britain.
@ 77 nacoran “it was kind of sleazy for the US to charge for helping” – check your facts. See this article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4757181.stm which I found via a link in the article cited by Colonelgoth in #71.
The gist of it is:
[begin quotation of article]
“In a nutshell, everything we got from America in World War II was free,” says economic historian Professor Mark Harrison, of Warwick University. “The loan was really to help Britain through the consequences of post-war adjustment, rather than the war itself. This position was different from World War I, where money was lent for the war effort itself.”
[and]
The post-war loan was part-driven by the Americans’ termination of the scheme. Under the programme, the US had effectively donated equipment for the war effort, but anything left over in Britain at the end of hostilities and still needed would have to be paid for. But the price would please a bargain hunter – the US only wanted one-tenth of the production cost of the equipment and would lend the money to pay for it.
[end quotation of article]
As for precise borders in a cartoon – don’t care. If you do, good for you but don’t expect everyone to share your view.
Angus, all in all, nice work. Amusing cartoon That said, there’s a fine line to walk with comedy. It is important to weigh the use of potentially inflammatory language vs. the relevance to the bit. Use of derogatory slurs, even in double entendre can kill the comedy.
Este Mundis Veri Abundis
Comment by Navin R Johnson — March 27, 2009 @ 5:30 am
When Russia speaks the letters are all wrong. What you used as an A is actually a D and H is an N, W is a SH sound.
Comment by Starrii — March 27, 2009 @ 9:13 am
I lol’d
Comment by Chris — March 27, 2009 @ 8:44 pm
[...] World War II: If Maps Could Fight | Strange Maps: A cartoon and cartographic interpretation of World War II by artist Angus McLeod. [...]
Pingback by Stilgherrian · Links for 19 March 2009 through 28 March 2009 — March 27, 2009 @ 11:21 pm
i can’t believe my country appeared there! (Paraguay)
Comment by gabriel — March 31, 2009 @ 2:43 am
I don’t really care that the borders are weird, just because I think one fram is undeniably awesome and/or cute: Finland looking annoyed holding off the USSR with one hand.
Comment by makka — April 2, 2009 @ 2:39 pm
[...] von Euch vor ein paar Wochen dem Link zu Strange Maps gefolgt ist, hat sehr wahrscheinlich auch die Fighting Maps gesehen. An die musste ich denken, als ich dieses Video von Jack Douglass gesehen [...]
Pingback by Das digitale Durcheinander · Quatschende Kontinente — April 2, 2009 @ 9:13 pm
I see a lot of people have trouble telling “realism” and “taste” apart. But of course.
The comic was funny, and I wasn’t very bothered by the wrong borders even if Germany’s was the most obvious of all. But people calling other “pendants” (whatever that means) should seriously visit some other site eh? :)
Also this needs more Greece.
Comment by Dimitris Hall — April 7, 2009 @ 5:56 pm
Hey! I just found out that the Cheshire Cat, the Dormouse, the Mad Hatter, Humpty Dumpty, Tweedledum and Tweedldee … hey, all that stuff is FAKE! That Dodgson guy MADE IT ALL UP!! And you really can’t step through a mirror (I’ve got the bandages to prove it now).
I am so ANGRY! First, the utter indignity of a cartoon about countries fighting each other with inaccurately drawn borders … and now THIS! My feelings are hurt. My dreams are shattered.
I’d better go find my ring of power and fix all this nonsense for once and all.
Comment by Dr. Benway — April 7, 2009 @ 11:45 pm
what do u mean all the borders are modern?
modern in what sense? anybody living in his or her time would call it modern..
this is awesome, LOL
Comment by punch bags — April 18, 2009 @ 5:03 am
[...] I feel that, as a blogger, it’s my duty to stay connected, as it were. To boldly go and seek out new forms of independent online journalism. But I really like it when things come this easily. Stumbled across Strange Maps, another WordPress-powered blog all about, well, maps of strange things, as well as pictures of strange maps, such as this artist’s representation of what World War II would have looked like if the maps were the ones fighting. [...]
Pingback by half baked scheme - Prolonged exposure to this blog may cause... — April 28, 2009 @ 5:07 am
so cool!
Comment by thehamish — May 5, 2009 @ 3:48 pm
[...] extent of my knowledge of German history = bad stuff happened. (I am being a little [...]
Pingback by actionathena.com » Archive » I Never Really Got Into Le Tigre — May 11, 2009 @ 8:05 pm
[...] StrangeMaps (13.576) – taking a humerous approach to map depictions – recommended: WW II – if maps could fight [...]
Pingback by WhatsYourPlace » Blog Archive » 30 Top Mapping Blogs — May 17, 2009 @ 5:59 pm
The thing to note is that this cartoon was drawn by someone with a good knowledge of the events of WWII, but didn’t have a clear and in depth knowledge of the geographical differences of the time. This does not alter the comedic factor.
Personally I’m overjoyed that an American is actually picking fun at the over-patriotic response by most citizens, knows enough about WWII to include details such as the Continuation War, and the Iranian involvemant, and is actually aware that the nation of Paraguay even exists (I reckon a large number of them don’t).
Comment by Alex — May 20, 2009 @ 6:29 pm
))) it’s very funny…10 millions Germans, more than 20 millions Soviets and millions of others was victims in that war. it’s mere trifle for real good comics…
Comment by nuclear balalaйka — May 26, 2009 @ 9:19 am
[...] LOL. This gave me a needed laugh this [...]
Pingback by rochesterturning.com » Blog Archive » Humor Break: Pants-Peeing Funny Cartoon Map Summing Up WWII — June 9, 2009 @ 5:29 pm
I dont know why everyone was saying it was innacurate. He at least got CCCP (USSR) right. I could see the little bit of Ukraine.
Comment by Cam — June 15, 2009 @ 8:17 am
And stop saying it is innacurate. Its a fucking cartoon.
Comment by Cam — June 15, 2009 @ 8:24 am
The post-WWII borders spoilt it for me. Nice idea McLeod, but please do some basic research first.
Comment by Kjetil — June 16, 2009 @ 11:43 am
By reading the comments, I can see that WWII is not over yet.
Comment by Sam, Wisconosin — June 27, 2009 @ 11:52 pm
ZOMG WWII FTW!
Comment by Maziecat — June 30, 2009 @ 12:59 am
WHO CARES IF HE’S NOT FRIGGIN’ ACCURATE?!?
WHO CARES ABOUT THE BORDER OF A COUNTRY THE SIZE OF MY FIST?!?
WHO CARES?!?
plz tell me so I may jam my virtual wet finger into your EAR!
Comment by Maziecat — June 30, 2009 @ 1:00 am
Freaking awesome dude, some inaccuracies, but hell, it’s a cartoon, well done!!!
Comment by Ricky — July 3, 2009 @ 8:03 am
Loved this! It was all the various facial expressions that made it for me… a very clever little cartoonist with a great dry sense of humour.
Of course, I noticed the anachronistic post-WWII maps immediately. But hey – it’s a comic strip, these characters are meant to be immediately recognisable national stereotypes, and I don’t think most people of my generation (certainly not in North America) would find the pre-war outlines of Germany or (especially) Poland to be very recognisable. Funny how nobody has jumped on ‘pwned’ as equally anachronistic for the 1940’s…
And I thought the ‘fag’ comment was perfectly appropriate… isn’t that the sort of repressed macho bigotry you’d expect from a character like “Nazi Germany”?? I laughed my butt off (and I am a fag, so there).
Comment by JayTO — July 3, 2009 @ 10:39 pm
hahaha this is soo awesome.. great job on America.. that map with the legs really does bring out America’s personality in a funny way!
great artistic work!
Comment by punch bags — July 13, 2009 @ 3:22 am
let’s say it’s the modern countries playing (more or less accurately) their historical roles :P
it is hilarous nonetheless
Comment by coch — July 20, 2009 @ 4:45 pm
This one is funny but gives a deep message. Good share. exbi chao
Comment by savitababhi — July 25, 2009 @ 1:23 pm
MAAAAAAAAAN! Where’s Brazil???
Comment by Igor — July 26, 2009 @ 1:58 pm
OTOH, we should probably be more forgiving towards those who pointed out the incorrect borders, because the ability to comment was created so that people could speak their mind about the material. We shouldn’t beat up on them for that. It just means they’re observant!
Comment by Maziecat — August 11, 2009 @ 11:38 pm
Also, I find the chairs ad in the paper to be quite amusing.
Comment by Maziecat — August 11, 2009 @ 11:39 pm
[...] With that, from one of my favorite blogs: If Maps Could Fight [...]
Pingback by The Vaunted First Post « Cousin Dampier's Blog — September 2, 2009 @ 9:47 pm
The fact that maps havent got faces or cannot speak spoilt it for me! :(
Seriously stop whining about the borders the comic is great
Comment by Topsi — September 8, 2009 @ 8:42 pm
Great??? It’s AWESOME!!! and for all the whiners, it must be pretty sad to hasn’t achieve anything in life except a very tight and trolling ass… what a marvelous comic!!!
Comment by willyastopwhinning — September 11, 2009 @ 7:18 pm
weigh watchers…
Your topic FatBloggers.net ” Blog Archive ” Weigh-in: Week 81 was interesting when I found it on Tuesday searching for weigh watchers…
Trackback by weigh watchers — September 15, 2009 @ 9:21 pm
Preety pro – U.S.
Of course it´s a comic but the real war was because of growing economies and the hunger of more and more resourses, it wasn´t a kids play.
Comment by Robert — October 7, 2009 @ 10:52 am
It is no posibble to notice that
URSS lost 27.000.000 people and
China 15.000.000.
Strange, isn´t it?
Let´s READ about it, not just believing in a funny comic!
Comment by READ! — October 7, 2009 @ 4:13 pm
I really love the backwards writing from Russia, the whole thing is really entertaining, lmfao ;)
Comment by nikki — October 9, 2009 @ 7:29 pm
Fantastic, mon ami.
Nice job by a talented person with a nice sense of humor.
Comment by pastmist — October 28, 2009 @ 7:21 pm
Very entertaining, clever and a quick, short intro to what happened in WWII. And if it was absolutely accurate no one would take the time to read it because it would be too long and, well, boring. I mean, who wants the back story on the rise of the Nazi Party, or about Manchuria or Mers-el-Kebir?
The border thing… well, if it was drawn with the old borders no one (unless you’re anal) could immediately identify the countries unless they had the words written over their ‘chests’.
Face it, it’s not that important in this case – it’s just a clever cartoon…
I’m very happy there was no drawing of France surrendering, because it actually wasn’t that linear, as those who’ve studied their history will know. It gets tiresome to hear that same idiot joke over and over again. (I’m nor French BTW; we were in the last panel, neutral, while providing an escape route for those who wanted to get the hell out of Europe).
But I am glad the Nazis got their but kicked and left Germany alone so the country could be cool again.
Comment by Palmieres — November 10, 2009 @ 1:05 pm
#29, #37 – I’m guessing that the country/colony in between South Africa and Canada is Algeria (then part of France). I’m not sure if Algeria then contained its current Saharan territory.
Comment by John — November 13, 2009 @ 9:23 pm