Essential Captain America, Vol. 1 (Marvel Essentials) [Paperback]

Stan Lee (Author), Jack Kirby (Illustrator)

Book Description

Grade Level: P and up

Eager to serve his country during World War Two, Steve Rogers was transformed into a physically perfect man by the government's Super Soldier Program. Armed with an indestructible shield and the physical prowess of an Olympic athlete, Rogers fought valiantly to uphold the ideals and principles of democracy until frozen in a block of ice where he was preserved for decades. Discovered by the Avengers and revived, Steve Rogers is a man out of time, who remains vigilant in his battle to protect the innocent and uphold the American ideals of truth, justice and honor. In this fully updated re-issue of Essential Captain America Volume 1, Marvel's Sentinel of Liberty renews his mission and fights the good fight, facing off against Baron Zemo, the Red Skull, Power Man, the Swordsman, Batroc the Leaper and the Super-Adaptoid! Collecting Tales of Suspense #59-99 and Captain America #100-102.

Product Details

• Paperback: 520 pages
• Publisher: Marvel (January 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785130063
• ISBN-13: 978-0785130062
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 1.5 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #408,322 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stan Lee is a man who needs no introduction. Nevertheless: Having begun his career with wartime Timely Comics and staying the course throughout the Atlas era, Stan the Man made comic-book history with Fantastic Four #1, harbinger of a bold new perspective in story writing that endures to this day. With some of the industry's greatest artists, he introduced hero after hero in Incredible Hulk, Amazing Spider-Man, X-Men and more -- forming a shared universe for rival publishers to measure themselves against. After an almost literal lifetime of writing and editing, Lee entered new entertainment fields and earned Marvel one opportunity after another. He remains one of Marvel's best-known public representatives.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great selection of Captain America stories!, August 13, 2003

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Essential Captain America, Vol. 1 (Marvel Essentials) (v. 1) (Paperback)

So, do you want to see the Silver Age Captain America, that all-American, red-white-and-blue defender of justice? If so, then this book is for you! This book is a black-and-white reproduction of the Captain America stories from the comic books Tales of Suspense #59-99 and Captain America #100-102 (1964-68). As an added bonus, the final story of this book is a Golden Age blast from the past, Captain America and the Terror That Was Devil's Island, from Captain America #10, which pits Cap and Bucky against an evil Vichy-appointed warden of Devil's Island (1941!).

This is a great selection of Captain America stories! In this book you see Cap, Bucky, the Avengers, Nick Fury and others take on a host of bad-guys including the Nazis, the Viet Cong, Batroc the Leaper, Baron Zemo, and (of course) the infamous Red Skull. The action is great, and the stories are riveting!

Now, this book is just shy of being excellent, as these beautiful comics have all been reproduced in black-and-while. But, that said, it is a great book for anyone who loves Captain America, and the price is very reasonable. My son (now a Captain America fan!) and I both highly recommend this book to you.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Essential Cap stories, August 31, 2000

By 

Tom Bastian (Cloud City, Bespin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Essential Captain America, Vol. 1 (Marvel Essentials) (v. 1) (Paperback)

This book covers one of the most interesting periods in Cap`s career. He`s on his own from the Avengers, as far as his own series, and the focus is all Cap! This book really gives you the essential early history of one of Marvel`s eternal heroes. The fact that it even flashes back to Cap`s origin and covers a smattering of WW II stories is key. You get to see both era`s of Cap, and it really shows how little he`s changed. I`ve always been a fan of Cap`s early days and love Tales of Suspense and anything to do with vintage Cap. Seeing Bucky is a bonus too! And of course, this book contains essential Red Skull stories too! (His War years and how he survived to the modern era, as well as his wildest world conquering schemes ever! ) This book has it all. These issues are a must read for any Cap fan. I also recommend The Classic Years Vol.1. Both give you the history of Cap in it`s original format. My only complaint is that some of the pages were copied from finished artwork, rather than the original uncoloured plates. This creates a inconsistency in the flow of certain stories, but at least every panel and page is there. So I can`t complain too loudly. It`s still a treasure!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pre-Captain America Cap, March 12, 2002

By 

Eric R. Shelton (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Essential Captain America, Vol. 1 (Marvel Essentials) (v. 1) (Paperback)

Alright, let's clear the air as far as reviews go. Yes, this is a black and white book (ALL Marvel's "Essential" books are), and the print is only a little better than newspaper print, but it still won't smear easily and it's cheap. ...

I do have to knock off one star for the lack of color, but it's still a solid 4 star book for the sheer amount of material presented at such a low cost.

The collected stories are reprints of "Tales of Suspense", the book that featured Cap before he got his own title, from issue #59 (his first appearance in the series) to issue #99. At issue #100 the book was re-titled "Captain America", and issues 100, 101, and 102 are included as well.

Essential Captain America Vol. 2 picks up at issue #103 and runs up to issue #126. But before you criticize 40+ issues in volume 1 vs. 20+ issues in volume 2 , realize that "Tales of Suspense" was a book split between Cap and Iron Man. There may be half the issues in volume 2, but they're twice as long. It all balances out, really.

Just be careful what you expect vs. which volume you order since the same reviews post for both volumes.

The only problem (aside from the black and white that people love to moan about) is some of the writing doesn't hold up so well by today's standards. (Insert "Golly!" here. Or mention somebody in "deadly danger".) Although as long as you take into account the time period this was written in, it's just fine.

Including Avengers issue #4 would have been nice too, since it's Cap's first (true) appearance since WWII, but I guess there's always volumes of Essential Avengers... All things considered, if you want a full run of Cap's coninuity, this is the most financially responsible decision you can make.