Captain America And The American Journey 1940 2022

Captain America made his debut in 1940, just two years behind the first comic book superheroes and five years before the United States' emergence as the world's primary superpower at the end of World War II. His journey has been intertwined with America's progress throughout the decades. Known as the "Sentinel of Liberty," he has frequently provided socio-political commentary on current events as well as inspiration and warnings concerning the future. This work explores the interconnected histories of the United States and Captain America, decade-by-decade, from the character's origins to Chris Evans' portrayal of him in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It examines how Captain America's story provides a guide through America's tenure as a global superpower, holds a mirror up to American society, and acts as a constant reminder of what America can and should be.

Captain America made his debut in 1940, just two years behind the first comic book superheroes and five years before the United States' emergence as the world's primary superpower at the end of World War II. His journey has been intertwined with America's progress throughout the decades. Known as the "Sentinel of Liberty," he has frequently provided socio-political commentary on current events as well as inspiration and warnings concerning the future. This work explores the interconnected histories of the United States and Captain America, decade-by-decade, from the character's origins to Chris Evans' portrayal of him in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It examines how Captain America's story provides a guide through America's tenure as a global superpower, holds a mirror up to American society, and acts as a constant reminder of what America can and should be.

For more than 60 years, Captain America was one of Marvel Comics' flagship characters, representing truth, strength, liberty, and justice. The assassination of his alter ego, Steve Rogers, rocked the comic world, leaving numerous questions about his life and death. This book discusses topics including the representation of Nazi Germany in Captain America Comics from the 1940s to the 1960s; the creation of Captain America in light of the Jewish American experience; the relationship between Captain America and UK Marvel's Captain Britain; the groundbreaking partnership between Captain America and African American superhero the Falcon; and the attempts made to kill the character before his "real" death.

Based upon government experiments in the 1930s that left many African-American soldiers infected with syphilis, the author presents the story of one soldier, Isaiah Bradley, who survived and was called out for a dangerous mission as a substitute for Captain America.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Uncovered at last: The 1940s daily newspaper comic strip starring Captain America that you never knew about! Travel with us through the mists of time to the tumultuous days of World War II, when skinny Steve Rogers was transformed into the star-spangled, shield-slinging Super-Soldier! And what is a classic Cap adventure without the two-fi sted might of his wise-cracking, jaw-jacking sidekick Bucky? Plus: Rampaging robots! Secret underground cities! Dangerous dames and femme fatales! No-good Nazis that deserve a sock to the kisser! All brought to you by acclaimed writer/artist Karl Kesel! Buy U.S. war bonds...and this! COLLECTING: Captain America 1940s Daily Strip #1-3

Since 1940, Captain America has battled his enemies in the name of American values, and as those values have changed over time, so has Captain America’s character. Because the comic book world fosters a close fan–creator dialogue, creators must consider their ever-changing readership. Comic book artists must carefully balance storyline continuity with cultural relevance. Captain America’s seventy-year existence spans from World War II through the Cold War to the American War on Terror; beginning as a soldier unopposed to offensive attacks against foreign threats, he later becomes known as a defender whose only weapon is his iconic shield. In this way, Captain America reflects America’s need to renegotiate its social contract and reinvent its national myths and cultural identity, all the while telling stories proclaiming an eternal and unchanging spirit of America. In Captain America, Masculinity, and Violence, Stevens reveals how the comic book hero has evolved to maintain relevance to America’s fluctuating ideas of masculinity, patriotism, and violence. Stevens outlines the history of Captain America’s adventures and places the unfolding storyline in dialogue with the comic book industry as well as America’s varying political culture. Stevens shows that Captain America represents the ultimate American story: permanent enough to survive for nearly seventy years with a history fluid enough to be constantly reinterpreted to meet the needs of an ever-changing culture.

An engaging insider’s celebration of Captain America’s seminal comic book stories over the comic book’s 80 year run, including all things Cap: his character’s origin; various significant storylines over the decades; and his importance as a cultural icon in today’s wildly popular superhero climate. Captain America explores the phenomenon of one of Marvel Comics’s most popular superheroes with the 30 most significant and influential Captain America stories and includes relevant spinoffs and ancillary comic book events. Framed by longtime comic book industry insider Rich Johnson, the story is told using countless comic book images, film stills, and story-boards: how Steve Rogers origin story as Cap began as a WWII hero and where his story took him further into the twentieth century and beyond; costume and character story changes over the decades; the influence of Captain America on all other comic book characters since Cap’s inception; and how Captain America is even powerful and relevant in today’s comic book (and superhero film) culture. The book contains more than 200 Captain America illustrations, including covers, interior comic art, and sketch treat-ments, beginning with his inception in the early 1940s to present-day treatments of the character. Captain America will appeal to the fans looking for a great place to start learning about Cap, to megafans, and to Marvel collectors alike.

From 1985 to 1995, Mark Gruenwald was the head writer for Captain America. During this decade, Gruenwald wrote some of the most essential stories in Captain America's history and guided the comic through an eventful period of both world history and comic book history. This book dissects the influence of the world at large on Gruenwald's stories and the subsequent influence of Gruenwald's work on the world of comics. The book's ten chapters discuss a wide range of topics including the generational tensions inherent in a comic about a G.I. Generation hero, written by a baby boomer, for an audience of Gen Xers; the enduring threat of the Red Skull and the never-ending aura of World War II; the rising popularity of vigilante characters during the '90s; and how Captain America fits into the war on drugs and its "just say no" mentality. Set against the declining American patriotism of the 1980s and 1990s, this book places special emphasis on the symbolism of the most American of superheroes.