Captain Action: The Original Super-Hero Action Figure [Paperback]

Michael Eury (Author), Murphy Anderson (Author), Gil Kane (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 16, 2002

Captain Action was introduced in 1966 in the wake of the Batman TV show craze, and quickly received his own DC comic book. Able to assume the identities of 13 famous super-heroes, his initial career was short-lived, but continuing interest in the hero led to a recent return to toy-store shelves.

Lavishly illustrated with over 200 toy photos, this new trade paperback by author Michael Eury chronicles the history of this quick-changing champion, including photos of virtually every Captain Action product ever released, spotlights on his allies Action Boy and the Super Queens and his arch enemy Dr. Evil, an examination of his comic-book appearances, and "Action facts" that even the most-diehard Captain Action fan won't know! It features a foreword, new cover, and unseen package illos by Murphy Anderson, plus historical anecdotes by the late Gil Kane, Jim Shooter, Stan Weston (co-creator of GI Joe, Captain Action, and Mego's World's Greatest Super-Heroes), and Larry Reiner and Larry O'Daly, formerly of Ideal Toys, plus never-before-published Captain Action artwork by Gil Kane, Joe Staton, Carmine Infantino, Jerry Ordway, and Murphy Anderson.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

MICHAEL EURY has worn as many professional hats as Captain Action has masks, having worked as a comic book editor and author, public-relations spokesperson, singing-telegrams messenger, teacher, comedy actor, TV cameraman, band director, and jazz trombonist. Captain Action: The Original Super-Hero Action Figure is the first book he has written, although he's edited a few and read even more.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: TwoMorrows Publishing (December 16, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893905179
• ISBN-13: 978-1893905177
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,707,129 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CAPTAIN ACTION IS THE BEST HOBBY BOOK EVER!!!, September 8, 2003

By 

B. h Grey "Chari Krishnan" ([e-mail]) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Captain Action: The Original Super-Hero Action Figure (Paperback)

CAPTAIN ACTION IS THE BEST HOBBY BOOK EVER!!! Captain Action:The Original Super-Hero Action Figure by Michael Eury is a beautiful book about Captain Action, the action figure of the 1960s that could be transformed into a variety of superhero characters through the unique use of available costumes, like Superman, Spiderman, The Green Hornet, Flash Gordon, The Phantom, and the Lone Ranger. From spectacular front cover to spectacular back cover it's one of the best written, best photographed, and best researched books I've ever seen, and that doesn't just mean for hobby books, but of all the books I've ever read!

Michael Eury does it all with this book--he talks about his own experiences as a child when from the time he got his first Captain Action figure--with two left hands!--and then he goes through all sorts of details about the creation of Captain Action in the 1960s, the accessories, the stories behind the characters used for his costumes--like Superman, Batman, Flash Gordon, and all the rest, and the failed line of Super Queens, female action figures designed as a companion line for Captain Action--and well, there's really nothing like this I've ever seen before:a book where the writer covers everything!

But Michael Eury keeps right on going, to the Captain Action comic book of the 1960s, and into the future with the resurrection of a smaller Captain Action in the 1990s, to the customized versions of Captain Action suits by fans to create new characters never used by the manufacturers, like Green Lantern and Dr. Doom.

If there's a flaw in the book, it's that Eury doesn't do enough analysis about why Captain Action failed, not once, but twice, probably due to poor design the first time--despite all the great costumes and marketing, CAPTAIN ACTION HIMSELF NEVER LOOKED LIKE A SUPERHERO!!!--and probably because he was smaller and weaker looking when he was reproduced in the 1990s!!!

But even so, MICHAEL EURY'S CAPTAIN ACTION IS THE BEST HOBBY BOOK EVER!!!

Chari Krishnan RESEARCHKING

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just a GI Joe knockoff, February 11, 2003

By 

John Michlig (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Captain Action: The Original Super-Hero Action Figure (Paperback)

Captain Action represented an enigma to me, as I have vague memories of Batman and Superman costumes in boxes high on store shelves but never knew what they were all about. It was only much later (as an adult) that I learned the odd - but irresistable - concept behind this strange plastic hero.

Michael Eury presents the story of Captain Action in an impeccably researched, illustration-packed book that presents the information collectors want ("silver shirt variations," etc.) without crowding out the intriguing tale detailing the toy's journey from toy shelves to comic pages (a short 5-issue run with art by Wally Wood and Gil Kane), then on to oblivion and back.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for fans of pop culture.

- JOHN MICHLIG, author of IT CAME FROM BOB'S BASEMENT, GI JOE: THE COMPLETE STORY OF AMERICA'S FAVORITE MAN OF ACTION, and creator of THE GI JOE MASTERPIECE EDITION