This issue continues the storyline begun in issues #115-116, in which the Red Skull uses the Cosmic Cube to switch appearances with Captain America, ruining Cap's sterling good name and leaving the real Cap to face his friends and foes in the guise of his worst enemy. At the end of the last issue, the... Continue Reading →
As you undoubtedly remember from the last post, the Red Skull interrupted Captain America's melancholy over his identity and purpose in the world to remind him what was really important: his arch enemy holding the Cosmic Cube! (Again.) This begins a five-issue storyline that will test Cap's resolve and sanity, and also introduce a major... Continue Reading →
In the aftermath of Captain America's faked death and his subsequent return—sans his Steve Rogers identity—in the last issue, the Sentinel of Liberty finds adjusting to life somewhat difficult. And that's only until things get really wild on the final page! As the issue opens, Steve "Don't Call Me Steve Rogers" Rogers is wandering the... Continue Reading →
In this post we cover the last two of Jim Steranko's three issues of Captain America, in which he crafted the first significant "Death of Captain America" story (even if it was very quickly resolved) and, in the process, restored Cap's secret identity (which Sternako thought diminished his value and stature as "the quintessential symbol... Continue Reading →
Here we start to discuss the legendary Jim Steranko's all-too-short run on Captain America, including plotting, pencils, and colors on issues #110, 111, and 113 (with Jack Kirby doing his last work on the book for almost a decade with issue #112). In his short time on the book, Steranko put his distinct and unforgettable... Continue Reading →
In this issue we get an updated telling of Captain America's origin, first told in his very first comic, Captain America Comics #1, and retold more recently in Tales of Suspense #63. (See this blog post by Marvel Comics editor Tom Brevoort comparing the three versions.) This time around, we get several new details that... Continue Reading →
These four issues are rather uneventful in terms of Captain America's ethics, so I'll discuss them as a batch. They do, however, include Batroc the Leaper, the introduction of Dr. Faustus, and Paste-Pot Pete the Trapster, so there will be some cool villains to see (as well as the Trapster). Issue #105 opens, like Tales... Continue Reading →
These two issues of Captain America continue the storyline with the Red Skull that began in issues #101 and 102, now that the villain knows about Captain America's love for Sharon Carter. More important, Cap finally learns Sharon's name (as does the reader)! Maybe now he can stop calling her "girl" and "lady" (not that... Continue Reading →
As is appropriate for the first full story in Captain America's new title (which in issue #100 wrapped up a storyline from Tales of Suspense #97-99, as detailed in the last post), we see the return of Cap's archfoe, the Red Skull. How about this great Kirby splash page to open issue #101? Here we... Continue Reading →
With this post we reach the end of Captain America's run in Tales of Suspense and the beginning of his first self-titled book (continuing the previous title's numbering while co-star Iron Man gets his own #1). And this four-part story features the first appearance of Black Panther outside the Fantastic Four book, and leads directly... Continue Reading →
THE VIRTUES OF CAPTAIN AMERICA 