Golden Age Captain America reading?

[Mephisto]

I have most of the Captain America silver age stories in Masterworks form. I want to read at least the first few GA stories. Are issue 5-12 worth reading in the Omnibus or should I just go with the Masterworks when a cheap copy comes up or goes into a new printing?

[Cat-Man_America]

I have most of the Captain America silver age stories in Masterworks form. I want to read at least the first few GA stories. Are issue 5-12 worth reading in the Omnibus or should I just go with the Masterworks when a cheap copy comes up or goes into a new printing?

 

Well, I think so, but I'm also a tad biased. ...

[Mephisto]

Are they pure camp or do they have some dark elements?

[Cat-Man_America]

Are they pure camp or do they have some dark elements?

 

Some have very dark elements. The biggest problem some folks have getting into GA is the frequently simplistic storylines. The fact that most GA stories aren't much longer than 10 to 12 pages each doesn't allow for great depth. The strong point in GA art is the lack of censorship during the war and pre/post-war years leading up to the CCA. Timely art can be quite graphic (violent) and heavy on action.

 

In general, GA comic artists were overworked & underpaid, but most Timely artists were above average in ability (my opinion). Early Caps (1-10) have mostly S&K art. After their departure, other artists took up the slack (Al Avison, Syd Shores, et.al.) and tried to emulate the style that made Cap a huge success. The stories are edgy and nightmarish, not horror per se, but capture the feeling of the time quite well.

 

I would go with the Omnibus over the Masterworks because the recreated art seems to be rendered better. None of the Timely art I've seen reproduced to date in the Masterworks books is up to the original comics (colors are frequently too garish on slick stock, subtle ink detail is often lost), but it does capture some of the feel. DC did much better with their Archives before cost saving measures produced a nosedive in quality six or seven years ago.

 

As for camp, that was atypical for Timely characters. There were kid sidekicks with occasional forced comedy elements in the storylines, but Timely's kid characters were usually given stature as fighting alongside the hero (Bucky with Cap and Toro with the Human Torch). Other publishers of the era had campier stories and secondary characters, IMO. DC sidekicks were more likely to be used as comedy relief (aside from Robin). Doibe Dickles in Green Lantern comes to mind and there are others.

 

My (long winded)

[shadroch]

There are Fantasy masterpieces that reprint many of the GA Cap stories. You can find VG copies of these books for a couple of bucks at most.

[BitterOldMan]

Are they pure camp or do they have some dark elements?

 

Some have very dark elements. The biggest problem some folks have getting into GA is the frequently simplistic storylines. The fact that most GA stories aren't much longer than 10 to 12 pages each doesn't allow for great depth. The strong point in GA art is the lack of censorship during the war and pre/post-war years leading up to the CCA. Timely art can be quite graphic (violent) and heavy on action.

 

In general, GA comic artists were overworked & underpaid, but most Timely artists were above average in ability (my opinion). Early Caps (1-10) have mostly S&K art. After their departure, other artists took up the slack (Al Avison, Syd Shores, et.al.) and tried to emulate the style that made Cap a huge success. The stories are edgy and nightmarish, not horror per se, but capture the feeling of the time quite well.

 

I would go with the Omnibus over the Masterworks because the recreated art seems to be rendered better. None of the Timely art I've seen reproduced to date in the Masterworks books is up to the original comics (colors are frequently too garish on slick stock, subtle ink detail is often lost), but it does capture some of the feel. DC did much better with their Archives before cost saving measures produced a nosedive in quality six or seven years ago.

 

As for camp, that was atypical for Timely characters. There were kid sidekicks with occasional forced comedy elements in the storylines, but Timely's kid characters were usually given stature as fighting alongside the hero (Bucky with Cap and Toro with the Human Torch). Other publishers of the era had campier stories and secondary characters, IMO. DC sidekicks were more likely to be used as comedy relief (aside from Robin). Doibe Dickles in Green Lantern comes to mind and there are others.

 

My (long winded)

 

There's a Cap tpb covering the Ron Lim streets of poison storyline- it has a Kirby interview from I think Marvel Age 95. Only skimmed through it in the store- but I think Kirby might have said Simon stopped writing after #2, then was editor, then didnt read any Cap stories for 50 years. Does that sound true? Ive got to pick up that interview and read it thoroughly. I dont remember Kirby mentioning anything about Simon's art after #2

 

Once again, pardon my ignorance- there is a GA Cap omnibus covering 1-78? I have most every issue as scans on the computer so never looked into what paper formats there are. Up until maybe a decade ago they never seemed to reprint anything straight through outside of 1-10

 

Captain America The Classic Years #1 HC contains only Cap stories 1-5

Captain America The Classic Years #2 HC contains only Cap stories 6-10

Captain America The Classic Years Slipcase HC contains only Cap stories 1-10

Marvel Masterworks Golden Age Captain America Comics #1 contains Cap 1-4

Marvel Masterworks Golden Age Captain America Comics #2 contains Cap 5-8

Marvel Masterworks Golden Age Captain America Comics #3 contains Cap 9-12

Marvel Masterworks Golden Age Captain America Comics #4 contains Cap 13-16

Marvel Masterworks Golden Age Captain America Comics #5 contains Cap 17-20

Marvel Masterworks Golden Age Captain America Comics #6 contains Cap 21-24

Golden Age Captain America Omnibus #1 contains Cap 1-12

 

 

 

[Ken Aldred]

Simon & Kirby’s Golden Age Red Skull always looked a lot creepier to me than the Silver Age version.

 

I would avoid the ‘Captain America : The Classic Years’ HC slipcase set because the art reproduction is very poor.

[BitterOldMan]

Alter Ego fanzine had a article about comic book censorship and displayed splash pages from an original forties Captain America Comics story compared to the reprint in the sixties Fantasy Masterpieces. The Red Skull was more cadaverous in the original forties comics compared to the redrawn sixties Fantasy Masterpieces reprint.

[Ken Aldred]

Cadaverous - that's a much better description than my use of 'creepy'.

[BitterOldMan]

Cadaverous - that's a much better description than my use of 'creepy'.

 

I was thinking of Charles Dickens' Uriah Heep from "David Copperfield."

 

 

[Ken Aldred]

Quite a difference there. I wasn't aware that the Fantasy Masterpiece versions had been toned down to that degree.

[Cat-Man_America]

Quite a difference there. I wasn't aware that the Fantasy Masterpiece versions had been toned down to that degree.

 

Yep, even to the point of removing the bound woman in need of rescue and table she was on.

 

While I much prefer slightly muted colors which are truer to the original comics, the desecration of S&K's art to meet the ridiculous 60's CCA standards for reprinting Cap is appalling.

 

Unfortunately, neither sample does justice to the art as originally published, but at least the Masterworks recreations do a fair job of replicating Kirby's style.

[Mephisto]

Was the classic Captain America 74 reprinted anywhere I did find scans of the story online.

[BitterOldMan]

Was the classic Captain America 74 reprinted anywhere I did find scans of the story online.

 

Using the grand comics database as reference, Cap 74 has never been reprinted. There is a Canadian version of the comic book. The non-Cap text story was used again in 1950.

[BitterOldMan]

Brains working a little slow this morning.

 

Just remembered that Captain America Comics 1-60 were available on micro-fiche from MicroColor International. I remember seeing the ad in Comic Book Marketplace. The late Gary Arlington, owner of the SF Comic Book Company, showed me a set years ago.

 

http://www.microcolour.com/mci01.htm

 

The microfiche were not cheap and you needed a microfiche reader. The quality was not great.

[Scrooge]

Are they pure camp or do they have some dark elements?

 

Some have very dark elements. The biggest problem some folks have getting into GA is the frequently simplistic storylines. The fact that most GA stories aren't much longer than 10 to 12 pages each doesn't allow for great depth. The strong point in GA art is the lack of censorship during the war and pre/post-war years leading up to the CCA. Timely art can be quite graphic (violent) and heavy on action.

 

In general, GA comic artists were overworked & underpaid, but most Timely artists were above average in ability (my opinion). Early Caps (1-10) have mostly S&K art. After their departure, other artists took up the slack (Al Avison, Syd Shores, et.al.) and tried to emulate the style that made Cap a huge success. The stories are edgy and nightmarish, not horror per se, but capture the feeling of the time quite well.

 

I would go with the Omnibus over the Masterworks because the recreated art seems to be rendered better. None of the Timely art I've seen reproduced to date in the Masterworks books is up to the original comics (colors are frequently too garish on slick stock, subtle ink detail is often lost), but it does capture some of the feel. DC did much better with their Archives before cost saving measures produced a nosedive in quality six or seven years ago.

 

As for camp, that was atypical for Timely characters. There were kid sidekicks with occasional forced comedy elements in the storylines, but Timely's kid characters were usually given stature as fighting alongside the hero (Bucky with Cap and Toro with the Human Torch). Other publishers of the era had campier stories and secondary characters, IMO. DC sidekicks were more likely to be used as comedy relief (aside from Robin). Doibe Dickles in Green Lantern comes to mind and there are others.

 

My (long winded)

 

(thumbs u

 

What the man said. This is a very accurate summary of what you'll find. The Cap stories tend to make more sense than the Human Torch ever did so even within the Timely GA, Cap's stories are better than those of the other heroes FWIW.

[vaillant]

Are they pure camp or do they have some dark elements?

I thught the "campy" adjective in english applied mostly to the 1950s (and afterwards)… Am I wrong?

 

Oh well, the Village People were probably "campy"…

[vaillant]

What the man said. This is a very accurate summary of what you'll find. The Cap stories tend to make more sense than the Human Torch ever did so even within the Timely GA, Cap's stories are better than those of the other heroes FWIW.

Really? I was attracted to the Torch, but given how expensive are the Timelys (I don’t like to read reprints) I have never read an issue. How were the other characters, like the Destroyer or Miss America? I’d be really interested to read reviews by those who "know better", much like tabcom did in his excellent GA Flash thread. (thumbs u

[kazoo]

My regarding Timelys:

 

I love love love 'em, but honestly they are not even close to being the best reads of the Golden Age era - there's a lot better reads, on average, in books by DC, Quality, even some smaller publishers like Holyoke. That being said...

 

I'm a huge Kirby fan and do love the Simon & Kirby covers and the look of their art. It may be blasphemy to some, but I don't find their GA material to be very readable. I much prefer the Al Avison era of Captain America, issue #19 is a nice example of a blah cover but great art/stories inside (at least by Timely's standards). Cap #13-39 or so are my faves. I also like the non-S&K Boy Commandos stories better, so whadda I know?

 

The Everett Subby stories are also pretty good (I don't care for how later artists drew him with the big triangle head), and the Destroyer stories (many by Stan Lee) are also among the best of Timely.

[Mephisto]

Cadaverous - that's a much better description than my use of 'creepy'.

 

I was thinking of Charles Dickens' Uriah Heep from "David Copperfield."

 

 

 

This is why I avoid Marvel Tales for Spidey reprints when possible. Too many edits. Aunt May was not watching Dukes of Hazard at the time of ASM Annual 1 as she claimed when it was reprinted in the 80s.