Action Heroes: The Creation of Captain America

    (Rosen, 2007)
™ and © Rosen

Captain America has always been one of my favorite characters. Perhaps it’s the funky costume, his larger-than-life missions and adventures, or his supporting cast of Bucky, Sharon, Nick Fury, The Falcon, and The Red Skull.
With its Action Heroes line of books, Rosen has tackled the creation of Marvel’s most popular characters. Thomas Forget has written an interesting history of Steve Rogers and his life from 1941 to the present.
Forget covers the history of Timely and Marvel, the life of Jacob Kurtzberg (Jack Kirby) and Joe Simon as freelancers and staff members, and an overview of the six decades of Cap’s comic-book life. The Nazi-bashing hero, the Cold War soldier, the “born into the wrong decade” Avenger, the disenchanted 1970s and the Jack Kirby era, and the present incarnation of Cap are discussed. Forget weaves the themes and major storylines into his discussion and manages to tip his hat to the major writers and artists of the decades.
Is this a “must-have”? I love the rare photos and it’s good but falls short due to length. But we can always buy the comics, right?
–Tim Lasiuta
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