Throughout 1941, Jack Kirby continued to challenge and experiment with conventional comic book layouts. In Captain America #9 (September 1941), we see Cap and Bucky aggressively bursting out of funky-shaped panels, curved or jagged borders, characters with body parts hanging over the rims, etc. We get to see lots of the two-page spreads too!
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A new Marvel Comics villain debuts in Captain America #5 (May 1941): The Ringmaster! The Silver Age version of this character was a bit more well-known, but both were co-created by Jack Kirby. Both Ringmaster characters were tall, lean, wore a top hat, had a long face and a mustache. This version was a Nazi […]
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Speaking of super patriotic heroes, Action Comics #34 (December 1940) saw Tex Thompson transition into a superhero role by dying his hair black, donning a domino mask and red cape, brandishing a whip, and calling himself Mister America. This is the first time a regular adventure strip morphed into a superhero strip (I don’t really […]
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Joe Simon and Jack Kirby have their first hit with Captain America #1 (December 1940). Captain America is the first character to star in his own comic book, not as a try-out feature in another book, and comes complete with a fully-fleshed out (and interesting) origin, a sidekick and an iconic villain (the Red Skull) […]
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Finishing off the list of obscure superheroes that debuted in April 1940 is the Blue Bolt, starring in Blue Bolt #1 (Novelty Comics). This lightning-shooting character was created by Joe Simon who drafted his buddy Jack Kirby to work on it with him in the second issue (May 1940). Simon & Kirby would, of course, […]
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The Shield was the first over-the-top-patriotic superhero, arriving at least a year before Captain America. Debuting in Pep Comics #1 (November 1939), he was a G-Man who designed his own costume that gave him a dizzying array of powers: bulletproof, flameproof, super speed, super strong, he could scale walls and he had radio gadgets to […]
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