bucky barnes – Coke & Comics

PRELUDE: Captain America Comics #3

The Return of the Red Skull

Featuring: Captain America
Release: March 17, 1941
Cover: May 1941
10 cents
By: Joe Simon and Jack Kirby
17 pages

Previous		Next
Captain America Comics #1, Story D	Prelude	Young Allies #1
Sgt. Fury #16	Reading order	Tales of Suspense #65

We’ve visited Captain America Comics #3 before. We read the text story, notable for being the first story written by a young Stan Lee.

The issue also contains three other Captain America adventures, a Tuk story, and a Hurricane story.

There’s a cool feature called “Amazing Spy Adventures” which tells a loosely accurate historical story from ancient Greece, about a secret message tattooed onto a bald head, then hidden as the hair grew. Perhaps the world’s first example of steganography. You can read more about the story here.

What interests us today though is the second appearance of the Red Skull. I’m just as confused as you are, because I also remember him dying in his first appearance. Let’s read on. Maybe they’ll explain.

Ah, so it seems that the Red Skull–unmasked as George Maxon– was immune to his own poison. That makes sense. And Captain America and Bucky did just run off leaving the body in the previous story. But then we clearly saw FBI agents at the scene standing over the body. Now, the Red Skull stands up in an empty room and runs off. Hard to reconcile these things.

PRELUDE: Captain America Comics #1, Story D

Captain America and the Riddle of the Red Skull

Featuring: Captain America
Release: December 20, 1940
Cover: March 1941
10 cents
By: Joe Simon and Jack Kirby
14 pages

Previous		Next
	Prelude	Captain America Comics #3
Sgt. Fury #16	Reading order	Tales of Suspense #65

When Captain America returned to the present in Avengers #4, we preceded that with a large read-through of a swath of his history from 1941-54. But we intentionally left out some pretty key issues. In particular, we neglected his battles against his nemesis, the Red Skull.

The last two issues of Tales of Suspense have both retold stories from Captain America Comics #1. This next one will do the same, retelling the first battle of Captain America and the Red Skull. We will then see some previously untold encounters between Captain America and the Red Skull in World War II. Eventually, the Red Skull will return in the present day to menace Captain America again.

In anticipation of all this, now seems like a good time to read through the early history of the Red Skull, starting with his introduction here in Captain America Comics #1.

Tales of Suspense #63, Story B

The Origin of Captain America!

Featuring: Captain America
Release: December 10, 1964
Cover: March 1965
12 cents
Writer: Stan Lee
Illustrator: Jack Kirby
Inked by: Frank Ray
Lettered by: Art Simek
10 pages

Previous	#309	Next
Tales of Suspense #63	Reading order	Avengers #13
Tales of Suspense #63	Tales of Suspense	Tales of Suspense #64

Rather than trying to tell a new Captain America story, this comic will retell the origin of Captain America. Subsequent adventures will recap his earliest issues and others will be new stories set in World War II.

I can only guess what’s going on here. One, you can imagine Kirby would like a bit of a break from drawing 5 stories a month, and it may be easier on him to retell old tales. Or, perhaps he is looking back on those tales now that he has grown as an artist and is looking to revisit them and tell them better.

I also suspect that Stan is starting to notice how much his readers care about the intercontinuity of the titles, something he probably doesn’t want to think about at all. Telling Captain America stories set in the past saves him the trouble of worrying that they line up with current Avengers comics.

I tend to find the best thing to do with these retellings is just go in depth and try to spot any differences from previous tellings, particularly the original story in Captain America Comics #1 (1941).

PRELUDE: Captain America #78, Story D

The Hour of Doom

Featuring: Captain America
Release: May 19, 1954
Cover: September 1954
10 cents
By: John Romita
6 pages

We bring Captain America’s very short 1950s revival to a close with the final story of the final issue. We read the first story of this issue, where Captain America fought Electro. We skipped the terrible racist second story and we skipped a Human Torch story and a prose story.

This might be the best Captain America story of the era, but it’s a low bar to clear.

The story concerns Chuck Blayne, a television pundit who has become very influential amongst children. Captain America does not like what he has to say, even comparing his words to Hitler’s.

Blayne’s plans seems subtle and insidious, to influence the hearts and minds of America’s youth. Then he goes and plants a bomb at the UN. So much for subtlety.

PRELUDE: Captain America #78

His Touch is Death!

Featuring: Captain America
Release: May 19, 1954
Cover: September 1954
10 cents
By: John Romita
6 pages

Well, that didn’t last long. After getting his old series back with issue 76, it’s cancelled with issue 78. Something about “Captain America… Commie Smasher!” didn’t resonate with audiences the way anti-Nazi propaganda had a decade earlier.

Captain America fights Electro. Not to be confused with the Spider-Man villain who will be introduced a decade later. Or the robotic superhero introduced 15 years earlier. (Of course, the only reason we are reading this story is to cover our bases and meet all the Electros.)

The opening splash has a lot of detail. The sign in the background was at first confusing, but makes sense within the story. That appears to be a fireman checking out the battle.

PRELUDE: Captain America #76

The Betrayers

Featuring: Captain America
Release: January 18, 1954
Cover: May 1954
10 cents
6 pages

Credits aren’t evident. My copy of the Marvel Masterworks claims John Romita is the artist, but I don’t think that’s correct. The GCD offers a different interpretation, citing the same Marvel Masterworks volume I am looking at. Perhaps they have a newer edition. I am anyways assured the GCD credits are correct by no less an expert than Michael Vassallo, and that this story is the work of Bill Benulis and Jack Abel, not John Romita. It is possible Romita touched up some of the faces.

It’s 1954. The publisher once known as Timely is now known as Atlas. It will eventually be best known as Marvel.

We last checked in with Captain America in 1948, when an injured Bucky was replaced as Cap’s partner by Betsy Ross, the Golden Girl. Let’s briefly review his publishing history in the interim.

Bucky recovered in issue 71 for a couple more adventures. Captain America Comics continued until issue 73, published in 1949. Golden Girl remained his occasional partner until the end.

With issue 74, the series changed its name to Captain America’s Weird Tales. We saw one final battle between Captain America and Red Skull along with a handful of horror short stories. This was the end of Marvel’s time publishing superhero comics. For the next several years, they would focus on romance, humor, horror, crime, and western tales. The final Sub-Mariner story had been published 4 months earlier, with the final Human Torch and Blonde Phantom stories 3 months before that.

Captain America’s Weird Tales #75 (1949) did not feature Captain America at all. His name adorned the comic’s cover, but he was nowhere to be found amongst the horror stories within. With that, the series ended. A somewhat ignoble end to the comic career of America’s favorite superhero.

Jump forward to August 1953. Young Men #24 gave us the return of Captain America, Human Torch, and Sub-Mariner. We already reviewed that issue’s Sub-Mariner story. In that issue, we learned Steve Rogers had retired from being Captain America, but was still teaching at the Lee School, except it now seems to be a college. Bucky was now a college student, though he didn’t look any older. The Red Skull’s return convinces Captain America and Bucky to come out of retirement.

I plan to do a survey of Red Skull’s history separately, so am purposely not covering that story in any more detail now.

We turn now to Captain America #76. The numbering picks up where Captain America’s Weird Tales left off, but Captain America reclaims the book’s interior.

For 3 issues.

PRELUDE: Captain America Comics #66

Golden Girl!

Featuring: Captain America
Release: March 1, 1948
Cover: April 1948
10 cents
12 pages

I don’t see any credits in the issue, so I’ll refer you to the GCD for their take on attribution.

Captain America and Bucky are tracking a villain named Lavender and catch up to her during an ambergris heist.

I did not know anything about ambergris before reading this comic. Apparently, it is fecal matter occasionally released by sperm whales who have digested squid. It was used for centuries to make perfume and is extremely valuable. It has been illegal to buy or sell in America for about 50 years now, but apparently was not illegal in 1948. Hence, Lavender plans to steal some.

PRELUDE: Captain America Comics #59

The Private Life of Captain America!

Featuring: Captain America
Release: August 15, 1946
Cover: November 1946
10 cents
16 pages

The table of contents for the entire issue credits: Syd Shores as art associate, Stan Lee as editorial and art director, and Al Sulman as editor. Syd Shores also seems to have drawn this story.

It is clear that Syd Shores is no Jack Kirby. Kirby’s direct involvement with drawing the character only lasted about a year. He was then overseeing the creation of the stories by other creators before being drafted into the US Army. It would be more than 20 years before he returned to Captain America. Shady royalties practices on the part of publisher Martin Goodman may have helped keep him away from the company.

It is 1946. World War II is over. What does Captain America do now? Steve Rogers could hang up the stripes for good, but he chooses not to. He and Bucky continue their partnership as crimefighters.

The first page is strangely expressionist. It doesn’t directly relate to the story, but is meant to represent the uncertain future ahead of Cap.

PRELUDE: USA Comics #6

The Ghost’s Gaze of Death

Featuring: Captain America
Release: October 28, 1942
Cover: December 1942
10 cents
15 pages

I don’t see any credits. Except for the publisher and “editorial and art director”. The GCD credits the art to Al Avison and Syd Shores.

We continue our survey of early Captain America comics in preparation for Avengers #4. We started out with some significant milestones and will mostly focus on significant milestones. But I wanted to get a sense of who Captain America was in a run-of-the-mill story, not in any way a milestone. This story fit the bill for its insignificance.

It was chosen specifically because there is a connection to Medusa, which will also tie into Avengers #4.

PRELUDE: Captain America Comics #3, Text Story

Captain America Foils the Traitor’s Revenge

Featuring: Captain America
Release: March 17, 1941
Cover: May 1941
10 cents
By: Stan Lee
2 pages

Marvel comics up through the 1960s have often included short prose stories. We haven’t covered any yet in detail, as none have been sufficiently relevant. In the 1960s, they have been short one-off tales of science fiction or fantasy.

The first two Captain America comics also each featured a text story we did not cover. We have not even covered all the Captain America comic stories from those first two issues. We are just doing a brief scan of Captain America’s history prior to his return in 1964.

Why cover this particular text piece? The author is notable.