In Marvel Mystery Comics #32 (April 1942), the Red Skull unmasks Captain America and discovers his secret identity as Steve Rogers. I believe this is the first time a villain learns the secret identity of a costumed hero and survives.
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U.S. comic books keep up their strong support for World War II throughout 1942. In March 1942, almost every comic book had their heroes fighting the Japanese or the Germans. In the March 1942 issue of Marvel Mystery Comics (#31), the Human Torch gives it to the Japanese.
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Jack Kirby and Joe Simon jumped the Timely/Marvel Comics ship at the end of 1941 and landed at National/DC Comics just as the U.S. was entering World War II. in Star Spangled Comics #7 (February 1942), they debuted a Captain America-resembling hero named The Guardian who took a bunch of orphaned newsboys under his wing […]
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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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In Mystic Comics #6 (July 1941), Timely introduces a new costumed hero, The Destroyer, who focused on sabotaging Nazis during World War II. What’s unique about the Destroyer is that he was created by Stan Lee. Stan Lee started his career writing filler stories for Captain America and The Vision, but this is his most […]
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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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The Golden Age Angel meets a new nemesis, a spy dressed in a tight-fitting black cat costume, known as The Cat’s Paw in Marvel Mystery Comics #18 (February 1941). The Cat’s Paw looks almost identical to the modern day Catwoman minus her whip.
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In Marvel Mystery Comics #17 (January 1941), the Human Torch and Namor appear together again, but this time as allies fighting the Nazis. The two still spar a bit with each other before they learn to cooperate. I had no idea this hallmark of Marvel Comics existed from the Golden Age!
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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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Is that an anti-aircraft gun or are you just happy to see me? The Sub-Mariner gets suggestive on the cover of Marvel Mystery Comics #14 (October 1940)! By this point in American comics, I’m definitely noticing a trend of showing superheroes battling Nazis or thinly-veiled Nazi-like forces. Superman, Sub-Mariner and Captain Marvel / Shazam all […]
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