{"id":3070,"date":"2009-02-16T06:00:29","date_gmt":"2009-02-16T06:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=3070"},"modified":"2009-02-16T22:26:59","modified_gmt":"2009-02-16T22:26:59","slug":"essential-captain-america-volume-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2009\/02\/16\/essential-captain-america-volume-2\/","title":{"rendered":"ESSENTIAL CAPTAIN AMERICA VOLUME 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Stan Lee<\/strong>, Jack Kirby<\/strong>, Jim Steranko<\/strong>, Gene Colan<\/strong> & various (Marvel)
\nISBN13: 978-1-9041-5949-0<\/p>\n

Marvel’s inexorable rise to dominance of the American comicbook industry really took hold in 1968 when a number of their characters finally got their own titles. Prior to that and due to a highly restrictive distribution deal the company was tied to a limit of 16 publications per month. To circumvent this limitation, Marvel developed “split-books” with two series per publication, such as Tales of Suspense<\/strong> where original star Iron Man was joined by Captain America with #59 (cover-dated November 1964). When the division came Iron Man started afresh with a First Issue, but Cap retained the numbering of the original title; thus he premiered in number #100.<\/p>\n

This second Essential black and white compilation of those early classics begins from Captain America<\/strong> #103 with Stan Lee scripting and original co-creator Jack Kirby (the other being Joe Simon) still firing on all-action cylinders, ably assisted by inker Syd Shores, a superb draughtsman in his own right and another golden-ager who had worked on the original Star-Spangled Avenger.<\/p>\n

‘The Weakest Link!’<\/em> sees a budding romance with S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent 13 (finally revealed after two years as Sharon Carter) interrupted by the nefarious Red Skull. The \u00c3\u00bcber-fascist’s scheme of nuclear blackmail extended to a second issue, wherein his band of war-criminal assassins, The Exiles, tested Cap nigh to destruction on the hidden isle where he became ‘Slave of the Skull!’<\/em><\/p>\n

That issue and the following super-villain team-up wherein the Living Laser and the Swordsman joined with another old Cap foe to attack. ‘In the Name of Batroc!’<\/em> featured the loose flowing inking of Dan Adkins whilst Frank Giacoia embellished the spies-and-evil-doppelgangers romp ‘Cap goes Wild!’<\/em> in issue #106, before Shores returned in #107 for the sinister ‘If the Past Be Not Dead…’<\/em> an action-packed psycho-thriller that introduced the malevolent, mind-bending psychiatrist Doctor Faustus.<\/p>\n

The Star-Spangled Avenger was rescuing Agent 13 again in the breakneck thriller ‘The Snares of the Trapster!’<\/em> before Captain America #109 (January 1970) redefined his origin with ‘The Hero That Was!’<\/em>, a spectacular end to Kirby’s run on the Sentinel of Liberty – at least for the moment.<\/p>\n

Comics phenomenon and one-man sensation Jim Steranko took over the art chores with #110, for a brief stint that was everybody’s favourite Cap epic for decades. After a swift and brutal skirmish with the Incredible Hulk, Rick Jones became his new sidekick in ‘No Longer Alone!’<\/em>, just in time for the pair to tackle the iconic Madame Hydra and her obedient hordes in #111’s ‘Tomorrow You Live, Tonight I Die!’<\/em>, both inked by Joe Sinnott in an landmark tale that galvanised a generation of would-be comics artists.<\/p>\n

Seemingly killed at the issue’s close, the next month saw a bombastic account of Captain America’s career by fill-in superstars Kirby and George Tuska, before Lee, Steranko and Tom Palmer concluded the Hydra epic with ‘The Strange Death of Captain America’<\/em> in #113.<\/p>\n

A period of artistic instability then kicked off with John Romita the Elder illustrating a tense spy-caper. ‘The Man Behind the Mask!<\/em>‘ in Captain America<\/strong> #114 was merely the prologue to an extended war against the Red Skull. Issue #115, ‘Now Begins the Nightmare!’,<\/em> drawn by John Buscema and inked by his brother Sal, saw the villain use the reality-warping Cosmic Cube to switch bodies with the Star-Spangled Avenger, whilst ‘Far Worse than Death!’<\/em> followed his frantic attempts to escape his own friends and allies. This issue saw the start of Gene Colan’s impressive run on the character, accompanied by the smooth inks of Joe Sinnott.<\/p>\n

The third instalment returned him the Isle – and clutches – of the Exiles in a tale that introduced Marvel’s second black superhero. ‘The Coming of … the Falcon!’<\/em> was a terse, taut build-up to issue #118 where the neophyte hero took centre-stage in ‘The Falcon Fights On!’<\/em> and all the ducks fell into place for a spectacular finale in ‘Now Falls the Skull!’<\/em> in Captain America<\/strong> #119.<\/p>\n

As 1970 dawned the company imposed a moratorium on continued stories for most of their titles, and Cap hopped on the disaffected youth\/teen revolt bandwagon at this juncture for a series of slight but highly readable puff-pieces that promised nothing but delivered much. Kicking off was ‘Crack-up on Campus!’<\/em> in #120, an odd m\u00c3\u00a9lange of student radicalism and espionage that saw itinerant Steve Rogers become a Physical Education teacher to foil a scheme by the sinister Modok and his AIM cohorts.<\/p>\n

A demented bio-chemist rediscovered the Super Soldier serum that had originally created Captain America in ‘The Coming of the Man-Brute!’ <\/em>and Spider-Man’s old sparring partner mugged the wrong guy in #122’s ‘The Sting of the Scorpion!’<\/em> Issue #123 tapped into the “battle of the sexes” zeitgeist with ‘Suprema, The Deadliest of the Species!’<\/em> and AIM returned with their latest hi-tech weapon in ‘<\/em>Mission<\/em>: Stop the Cyborg!’<\/em> before Captain America<\/strong> #125 dipped into more headline fare when the hero was ‘Captured… in <\/em>Viet Nam<\/em>!’<\/em> although the mystery villain was anything but political…<\/p>\n

Frank Giacoia returned to ink the last yarn in this fabulously economical monochrome compilation as did the Sentinel of Liberty’s erstwhile associate and partner. Issue #126’s ‘The Fate of… the Falcon!’<\/em> tapped into the blossoming “blacksploitation” trend to tell an entertaining (sadly not always intentionally) tale of gangsters and radicals in funky old Harlem that still has a kick to it. Just play the theme from Shaft<\/strong> whilst reading it…<\/p>\n

Any retrospective or historical re-reading is going to turn up a few cringe-worthy moments, but these tales of matchless courage and indomitable heroism are fast-paced, action-packed and illustrated by some of the greatest artists and storytellers American comics has ever produced. As Captain America struggled for a place in the new ever-changing USA the graphic magic never wavered, never faltered. This is visual dynamite and should not be slighted or missed.<\/p>\n