G.I. Combat #1 (Quality Comics, October 1952) launched what would become one of the longest-running American war-comics anthologies. This debut issue — published at the height of the Korean War — collects several self-contained battlefield stories steeped in the era's Cold War, anti-Communist mood, before the title's later, more famous shift toward World War II. Standout tales include "Trumpet of Death," about New Orleans jazzman Fordie, who seizes an enemy signalman's horn and rallies his outfit to victory with one final blast, and the story of "Lefty" Caruthers, a washed-up minor-league pitcher who discovers his throwing arm is deadlier with hand grenades. The issue features a Reed Crandall and Chuck Cuidera cover with interior art by Crandall, Cuidera, Charles Nicholas, and Pete Morisi, scripted by Robert Bernstein and edited by Alfred Grenet.

Published by Everett M. "Busy" Arnold's Quality Comics, G.I. Combat rode the postwar surge of war titles spurred by the Korean conflict. Quality issued the first 43 numbers before DC Comics absorbed the title in 1957 (continuing from #44), eventually carrying it to issue #288 in 1987 and introducing signature features like The Haunted Tank (#87) — none of which appear in this Quality-era first issue.

Today the issue is a notable Golden Age war key: a scarce debut (rated "scarce" on the Photo-Journal scarcity index) prized for its Crandall artwork and its snapshot of early-1950s combat storytelling. As a Quality-era book generally treated as public domain in the United States, G.I. Combat #1 is accessible to researchers as a clear example of how comics processed the Korean War in real time.