CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #1 MARCH 1941 CGC 5.5 FINE- (FIRST CAPTAIN AMERICA/BUCKY/RED SKULL).
Item Description
Timely. One of the key Golden Age comic books as issue features the origin and first appearance of Captain America, Bucky Barnes and their nemesis, The Red Skull. Classic World War II cover featuring Cap punching Hitler (with inset Bucky portrait). Joe Simon and Jack Kirby stories. Additional story by Ed Herron. Jack Kirby cover. Joe Simon, Jack Kirby and Al Liederman art. Cream to off-white pages.
Spinning out of the adventure and pulp heroes of yesteryear, the comic book superhero genre saw its genesis during the time period referred to as the Golden Age of Comics. The era saw many heroes introduced and publishers also saw many flounder. But some triumphed. One such hero was Captain America. While not the first patriotic hero (that honor falls to MLJ Magazine's The Shield), Cap was by far the most successful, with a story that continues to this day.
Cap's debut came at a time of great uncertainty, and with Hitler's plans of domination already well underway in Europe, the United States was insulated by distance, separated from the strife of war by the mighty Atlantic. But the writing was on the wall. Cover-dated March 1941 and on sale December 20, 1940 (nearly a full year before the United States would enter the war), Captain America was clearly intended as a statement, as depicted by punching Adolf Hitler squarely in the face. At the time, the United States practiced a non-interventionist policy, but this clearly did not sit well with comic creators Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, both sons of Jewish immigrants. "We both read the newspapers," Simon said. "We knew what was going on over in Europe. World events gave us the perfect comic-book villain, Adolf Hitler, with his ranting, goose-stepping and ridiculous moustache. So we decided to create the perfect hero who would be his foil. I did that first sketch of Captain America, and Jack and I did the entire first issue before showing it to Martin Goodman at Timely Comics. He loved it immediately."
The patriotic good vs. evil stories told within the pages of Captain America Comics appealed to American audiences, young and old. In fact, one of the main audiences for these comic adventures were American troops. Seeing a hero clad in the American flag winning battles against real life villains buoyed spirits both at home and on the battlefield, resulting in circulation figures of nearly one million copies of Captain America Comics per month.
This popularity continues unabated to this day, with Captain America's debut remaining one of the most sought- after comic books from the Golden Age. Despite a robust publishing number, many copies were recycled during World War II paper drives, resulting in limited quantities today. As expected, this limited availability has resulted in some impressive prices being realized at auction. Just this June, a CGC-graded 5.0 Universal Grade copy sold for $180,000 at auction. The CGC 5.5 copy being offered here retains strong eye appeal. That, combined with the historical significance of this iconic Captain America comic, make it an absolute must-have for any serious comic collection, and a golden opportunity to obtain what is sure to become the centerpiece of any comic collection.
