Essential Captain America, Vol. 1
Posted in Comics Marvel on 15. Apr, 2010
$10.79
Product Description
Eager to serve his country during World War Two, Steve Rogers was transformed into a physically perfect man by the government's Super Soldier Program. Armed with an indestructible shield and the physical prowess of an Olympic athlete, Rogers fought valiantly to uphold the ideals and principles of democracy until frozen in a block of ice where he was preserved for decades. Discovered by the Avengers and revived, Steve Rogers is a man out of time, who remains vigilant in his battle to protect the innocent and uphold the American ideals of truth, justice and honor. In this fully updated re-issue of Essential Captain America Volume 1, Marvel's Sentinel of Liberty renews his mission and fights the good fight, facing off against Baron Zemo, the Red Skull, Power Man, the Swordsman, Batroc the Leaper and the Super-Adaptoid! Collecting Tales of Suspense #59-99 and Captain America #100-102.
Essential Captain America, Vol. 1
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So, do you want to see the Silver Age Captain America, that all-American, red-white-and-blue defender of justice? If so, then this book is for you! This book is a black-and-white reproduction of the Captain America stories from the comic books Tales of Suspense #59-99 and Captain America #100-102 (1964-68). As an added bonus, the final story of this book is a Golden Age blast from the past, Captain America and the Terror That Was Devil’s Island, from Captain America #10, which pits Cap and Bucky against an evil Vichy-appointed warden of Devil’s Island (1941!).
This is a great selection of Captain America stories! In this book you see Cap, Bucky, the Avengers, Nick Fury and others take on a host of bad-guys including the Nazis, the Viet Cong, Batroc the Leaper, Baron Zemo, and (of course) the infamous Red Skull. The action is great, and the stories are riveting!
Now, this book is just shy of being excellent, as these beautiful comics have all been reproduced in black-and-while. But, that said, it is a great book for anyone who loves Captain America, and the price is very reasonable. My son (now a Captain America fan!) and I both highly recommend this book to you.
Rating: 4 / 5
This book covers one of the most interesting periods in Cap`s career. He`s on his own from the Avengers, as far as his own series, and the focus is all Cap! This book really gives you the essential early history of one of Marvel`s eternal heroes. The fact that it even flashes back to Cap`s origin and covers a smattering of WW II stories is key. You get to see both era`s of Cap, and it really shows how little he`s changed. I`ve always been a fan of Cap`s early days and love Tales of Suspense and anything to do with vintage Cap. Seeing Bucky is a bonus too! And of course, this book contains essential Red Skull stories too! (His War years and how he survived to the modern era, as well as his wildest world conquering schemes ever! ) This book has it all. These issues are a must read for any Cap fan. I also recommend The Classic Years Vol.1. Both give you the history of Cap in it`s original format. My only complaint is that some of the pages were copied from finished artwork, rather than the original uncoloured plates. This creates a inconsistency in the flow of certain stories, but at least every panel and page is there. So I can`t complain too loudly. It`s still a treasure!
Rating: 4 / 5
Alright, let’s clear the air as far as reviews go. Yes, this is a black and white book (ALL Marvel’s “Essential” books are), and the print is only a little better than newspaper print, but it still won’t smear easily and it’s cheap. …
I do have to knock off one star for the lack of color, but it’s still a solid 4 star book for the sheer amount of material presented at such a low cost.
The collected stories are reprints of “Tales of Suspense”, the book that featured Cap before he got his own title, from issue #59 (his first appearance in the series) to issue #99. At issue #100 the book was re-titled “Captain America”, and issues 100, 101, and 102 are included as well.
Essential Captain America Vol. 2 picks up at issue #103 and runs up to issue #126. But before you criticize 40+ issues in volume 1 vs. 20+ issues in volume 2 , realize that “Tales of Suspense” was a book split between Cap and Iron Man. There may be half the issues in volume 2, but they’re twice as long. It all balances out, really.
Just be careful what you expect vs. which volume you order since the same reviews post for both volumes.
The only problem (aside from the black and white that people love to moan about) is some of the writing doesn’t hold up so well by today’s standards. (Insert “Golly!” here. Or mention somebody in “deadly danger”.) Although as long as you take into account the time period this was written in, it’s just fine.
Including Avengers issue #4 would have been nice too, since it’s Cap’s first (true) appearance since WWII, but I guess there’s always volumes of Essential Avengers… All things considered, if you want a full run of Cap’s coninuity, this is the most financially responsible decision you can make.
Rating: 4 / 5
Good vs. Evil. Good old fashioned comic book drama doesn’t get any better than this. Captain America certainly knows how to do it. Here is a hero that stands for everything that is good. What is his job? To defend; to fight the bad guys; to rid the world of evil. And that he does!
In the very first issue in this collection, he fights off some seemingly indestructable gangsters who want to break into the headquaters of the Avengers. This is the beauty of Stan Lee and Marvel: the creation of interesting villains; ones who you might see in the real world. These are not simply aliens or creatures; these are real world thugs. You gotta love characters that say things like “We’ll attack that costumed clown like a team…Just like the Avengers themselves!” This is the way dialogue should be.
The “Essential” collection itself is very good, except for the absence of color. However, if you’re here for the drama, then you’ll give it a pass. Also, Jack Kirby is the king, so you can see beyond the absence. Yes, we’re all waiting for the return of the paperback editions of Masterworks, but until then, “Essentials” will have to do. No matter, even in black and white, Captain America is a very colorful character!
Rating: 4 / 5
is there some legal reason why Marvel doesn’t put out collections of their Golden Age Heroes like Captain America, the Human Torch, etc? Just curious. I’d love to see those. Well this Essential volume collects Caps Earliest Silver Age Adventures from Tales of Suspense #55 – 99 and Captain America 100 – 102 once the title was changed.
While we were now in the mid-1960′s, many of these stories were still fought against Nazi enemies like the Red Skull, Baron Zemo, and the Sleepers. The stories are all Stan Lee. Jack Kirby does the art on the early issues but later we have art by George Tuska (ugghhh) and John Romita (yay!).
Tales of Suspense 78 introduced Nick Fury as a pal of Cap’s. #’s 82 – 84 introduced the android menace of the Super Adaptoid who could mimick the powers and abilities of any hero. # 93 and 94 featured the first appearance of the AIM created cyborg called MODOK. Truly one of the more bizarre villians of the 1960′s. Leading into the title Change to Captain America issues 101 & 102 again feature the Red Skull and his evil Sleeper Robots.
One may say this collection is a bit too heavy with the Red Skull as he appears in 16 of the stories. I’d say that’s true but what are you going to do? That was Cap’s arch-nemesis at the time. If you’re going to reprint the stories chronologically, you have to take the good with the bad. Not that it’s bad, but one wishes that Jack and Stan had been perhaps a bit more creative with one of their oldest characters.
Nothing in the Essential Captain America is ground-breaking. It’s good silver age fun though.
Rating: 4 / 5