82 CAPTAIN AMERICA
being interviewed about his disappearance which, when juxtaposed with his trademark
scratchy pen-and-ink drawings, seem all the more startling. He also intersperses a comic
book strip called the “Honeybee” that further questions the role of the author in this text.
Th is book marks one of his fi rst forays into using color after being primarily a black-and-
white artist (although he did use color for his fi nal Bacchus story with Dark Horse Comics
in 1995). He would continue to experiment with form and color in his next two graphic
novels, both published by First Second: Th e Black Diamond Detective Agency (2007) and
Th e Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard (co-written with Dan Best, 2008).
Th ough primarily an independent writer and artist, Campbell did some work for
DC by writing a story arc for Hellblazer (issues #85–88) and drew a one-shot Batman:
Th e Order of the Beasts in 2004.
Wendy Goldberg
CAPTAIN AMERICA. Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby in early 1941, Captain
America was a superhuman embodiment of American strength and valor who carried the
banner of American patriotism in World War II. Indeed, though he has enjoyed a long
career in the comics, the character remains most important as a propagandistic vehicle
of patriotism in the 1940s. Captain America #1 featured Cap punching out Hitler, and
continual story lines featured Cap and his teenaged side kick James Buchanan “Bucky”
Barnes beating on Nazis, Japanese soldiers and spies, or common criminals. However,
Captain America continued to appear long after the war, eventually becoming one of the
longest lasting and most prominent characters in the stable of Marvel Comics.
Th e story of Captain America is one of the success of science. Steve Rogers begins
as a sickly orphan who, after seeing a newsreel of the horrors committed by the Nazis
in Europe, wanted to join the U.S. army. After he is rejected at an induction center for
health reasons, he is approached by an Army offi cer who asks if Steve still wants to serve
his country. He agrees and the next day is brought to a secret lab, where Dr. Reinstein
(later changed to Dr. Erskine) injects him with a super soldier serum. Th is serum causes
Steve’s body to become the epitome of physical strength and agility. Before the serum
can be used on other subjects, the Nazis succeed in killing Dr. Erskine. Th us Rogers,
who becomes Captain America, is the only product of the super-soldier project. One
night following his patrols, Cap/Steve is discovered by Bucky Barnes, the camp mascot,
and the two enter to an agreement to fi ght all who oppose democracy.
While Simon and Kirby were the creators of Captain America, their direct role in
the comic was limited. Th ey only executed the fi rst 10 issues and then were replaced
by others, including Stan Lee, who wrote some of the story lines. Cap’s foes were often
genetically enhanced or manipulated. Perhaps the most fearsome (and popular) foe was
the Red Skull. Originally the Red Skull was an industrialist named Maxon, but later
the story was changed so that the Skull was a Nazi who rose like Hitler.
Cap did not use fi rearms, nor would he necessarily kill an opponent. Th is was not the
case with Bucky, who at one point shoots a fl eeing Japanese soldier in the back with a
rifl e. Th e idea of fi ghting with honor was one that Captain America would push. It was
