Comic Books 101

by Chris Ryall

  The breakout star of Watchmen is Rorschach, Moore and Gibbons's borderline-unbalanced vigilante, hanging on to his sanity and his stark, black-and-white worldview by a tenuous thread. Some of Moore's best work in Watchmen is in Rorschach's first-person narration, which mixes the irrational rantings of a paranoid sociopath with moments of genuine poetry:

  “Some of us have always lived on edge, Daniel. It is possible to survive there if you observe rules: just hang on by fingernails… and never look down.”

  Moore has lamented that the popularity of Watchmen and Rorschach in particular helped lead comics to their “grim-and-gritty” ultra-violent and aggressive period in the 1990s. While it was never Moore's intent for Rorschach to be perceived as a hero or role model, it's hard for the reader not to empathize with such a fully rounded character.

  Watchmen was a sensation upon its publication, first as a twelve-issue miniseries, then as a collected graphic novel. It has received numerous acclaimed awards and made TIME magazine's 2005 list of “100 best English language novels,” the only comic book to be so honored.

  Some people call it the best graphic novel ever produced. We'd be hard-pressed to disagree.

  PART 1V

  MAKE MINE MARVEL

  Wherein the costumed heroes of the 1940s thaw out in the 1960s, and a predictable industry changes for the better; atomic bomb scares and irradiated spiders and fantastic foursomes abound within; team books are altered, and the early magic of the Bullpen delivers time after time.

  1 Sub-Mariner

  Under pressureHe's a water-breathing strongman from the ocean's depths, he's the rightful king of Atlantis, and he often teams up with some of Earth's most powerful superheroes. And he's not Aquaman.

  DC's Aquaman may get more publicity, but the original, accept-no-substitutes undersea hero is Marvel Comics's Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner, who appeared a full two years before Aquaman, way back in 1939. But not only did Namor come first, he's also a far more interesting character than Aquaman, mostly because he can be such an insufferable jerk. Truly comics' first real anti-hero.

  The Sub-Mariner's initial appearance was in Timely's first comic book, Marvel Comics #1 (October 1939). Although the story had seen print earlier in a black-and-white movie-theater giveaway entitled Motion Pictures Funnies Weekly #1, Marvel Comics #1 was Namor's first nationwide exposure.

  The debut story, entitled simply “The Sub-Mariner,” was written and drawn by Bill Everett, and, compared to other crude, simplistic strips of the time, was a lavishly illustrated wonder. Everett had a fully rendered, almost cinematic style that blew away most of his contemporaries. Small details such as the indication of visual distortion with light, gray-toned lines or the ever-shifting hairstyle of Namor served as a constant reminder that the scenes were underwater.

  The story opens with the curious account of a deep-sea salvage diver, who is convinced that someone or something has beaten his team to a shipwreck. Divers are sent underwater to investigate and they encounter a man swimming at crushing depths without pressure suit or oxygen helmet. The swimmer mistakes the heavy-suited divers for some sort of mechanicals and cuts their oxygen lines to the surface.

  The swimmer retrieves the bodies of the murdered divers and takes them to an undersea grotto. He enters a royal chamber to show off his prize, the pressure-suited corpses, and boasts of his destruction of a surface-dweller's ship. Only after removing the helmets does he realize that the divers are in fact real men. We meet the swimmer's mother, Fen, who explains to her son, Namor, how he came to be.

  Decades earlier, Fen, the Atlantean princess, had been sent to the surface as a spy to investigate the inadvertent bombing of Atlantis by a scientific vessel, the Oracle, captained by Commander Leonard McKenzie. Fen stowed away aboard the ship, and soon she and McKenzie fell in love and were married; all the while Fen continued to report back to the Atlanteans in secret. Despite her warnings, the Atlanteans marshaled for a counter attack, but were all but destroyed by another bombardment from above, leaving only a few remaining. A pregnant Fen returned to Atlantis, and with the birth of Namor came the Atlanteans' last chance for revenge, since his human-Atlantean heritage means he is the only one who can live both on the land and in the water, as well as fly through the air, thanks to wings sprouting from his ankles, an accident of birth (making the Sub-Mariner Marvel's first mutant by about twenty-five years). His history now revealed, Namor takes off for the surface, set on avenging the injustices done to his people.

  This was a series ahead of its time, both in the subtleties of the storyline and the slickness of the illustrations; it doesn't feel like it was created in 1939. Here we have a situation where the protagonist is clearly in the right, yet his sworn enemy is America. This kind of duality in sympathy was uncommon in popular art of the time. Everett's moody style also feels far more adult and realistic than many other strips of the day, though he was not afraid to venture into the cartoony with fishlike appearances of the male Atlanteans. As for Princess Fen, she's just human enough to remain attractive, while retaining the distinctive upswept eyebrows, large fish eyes and blue skin characteristic of male Atlanteans.

  The series was renamed Marvel Mystery Comics as of issue #2, and the next few issues feature Namor going on a tour of destruction above in the surface world, focusing on New York City. He even betrays a bit of affection for a human woman, New York policewoman Betty Dean. The peak of Namor's uncontested rampage comes in Marvel Mystery Comics #7 (May 1970), in which Namor plans to destroy the entire North American continent, using New York as his base of operations. Namor begins his campaign at the Statue of Liberty, not only attacking a guard upon his arrival, but also flying up to the torch and throwing tourists out the window.

  It wouldn't be long before World War II would put an end to the antagonism between Sub-Mariner and the city of New York. After all, if there's one thing Namor hates more than surface-dwellers, it's Nazi surface-dwellers. Soon Namor was all over Timely's covers fighting Nazi troops alongside other Timely stars, Captain America and the Human Torch.

  Namor chucks tourists out of the Statue of Liberty during his rampage across North America. Apparently, no one ever told Captain America about the incident.

  MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS #7 © 1940 MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT, INC. PUBLISHED BY TIMELY COMICS. ART BY BILL EVERETT.

  The end of the war took quite a toll on the popularity of Timely's heroes, much more than their DC rivals. Unlike Superman and Batman, who just kind of dabbled in Nazi-hunting, Timely's heroes were so identified with the war effort that their adventures in peacetime seemed somewhat pointless. By 1949, Sub-Mariner and the Torch had vanished from the pages of Marvel Mystery, which had changed focus and become Marvel Tales, a horror anthology.

  With the return of superheroes to Marvel in 1961, Marvel editor Stan Lee found himself with an unexpected success on his hands in the burgeoning hit series Fantastic Four. Lee delved full-force into nostalgia with issue #4 (May 1962), reviving Namor as an antagonist for his new super-team, as well as the romantic rival of Reed Richards for Sue Storm's affections. After being awakened from a decades-long bout of amnesia by Sue's brother, Johnny Storm, Namor is immediately smitten with Sue and offers to spare the human race if she'll become his bride. Say what you will about Namor, at least he's not afraid of commitment.

  Lee knew immediately that he had a good thing with Namor, as well as a rare storytelling commodity: a sympathetic antagonist. Instead of pushing to get him his own book, Namor was apparently given the position of “unofficial instigator of the Marvel Universe.” Lee would simply move Namor from series to series in misguided altercations with various Marvel heroes.

  Sub-Mariner has had several attempts at solo series over the years since his Silver Age revival, usually with limited success. A 1968 series lasted a respectable seventy-two issues, during which Namor's well-known and rather unfashionable body suit was introduced, complete with big ol' disco-style underarm wings.

  Namor spent much of the 1970s as a
member of the Defenders, Marvel's second-string “non-team” that united misfit and less popular characters in a loose affiliation, usually to face mystic or otherdimensional foes. In the mid-1980s, Namor even joined the Avengers, the gold standard for superhero teams in the Marvel Universe. These days, Namor has returned to his traditional role as monarch of Atlantis and wildcard in any sort of superhero struggle. It can be hard to tell whose side he's on, though the answer is obvious: the same he's always been on — his own.

  2 Captain America

  Everybody's all-AmericanBy 1941, public opinion on whether or not the U.S. should get involved in the fighting in Europe was extremely mixed. One place that wasn't quite so conflicted was the comic books, particularly those published by Timely. Having already had a taste of success with Carl Burgos's Human Torch feature and Bill Everett's Sub-Mariner character, Timely opted to go for broke with its newest creation. Capitalizing on the nationalistic mood of a country on the brink of war, the company's publisher, Martin Goodman, enlisted the creative team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby to create a patriotic hero, one that the company, and ideally readers everywhere, could rally around.

  Simon and Kirby more than came through when they delivered Captain America. Goodman must have been impressed, because Captain America was the first Timely character to make his debut in his very own magazine, Captain America Comics (March 1940).

  SUPER SOLDIER

  The tale opens with the destruction of an American munitions factory by Nazi agents working undercover in the United States. This and other acts of sabotage have prompted President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to order a new project to halt this wave of destruction, and he sends several military leaders to oversee the culmination of the plan.

  Entering the lab is a frail, skinny young man, who “volunteered for army service, and was refused because of his unfit condition.” A scientist, Professor Reinstein, injects him with a mysterious seething liquid and within moments the young volunteer, Steve Rogers, is transformed into a perfect specimen of humanity, and as Professor Reinstein boasts: “The first of a corps of super-agents whose mental and physical ability will make them a terror to spies and saboteurs.”

  Professor Reinstein's triumph is short-lived, however. Just as the scientist dubs Rogers “Captain America” (“because, like you – America shall gain the strength and the will to safeguard our shores!”), one of the military observers reveals himself as a traitor and pulls out a pistol, murdering Professor Reinstein and destroying the only remaining supply of the Super-Soldier Serum. The furious Rogers leaps in and mops the floor with the Nazi agent, who in an effort to escape stumbles into some high-voltage equipment and is electrocuted. Unfortunately, the Nazi's mission is a success — the serum and its creator are both destroyed. Despite the hopes of Professor Reinstein, there would only be one Captain America.

  In this iconic World War II comic book cover, Captain America makes his debut in rare form, socking Der Führer in the jaw.

  CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #1: © 1941 MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT, INC. USED WITH PERMISSION. PUBLISHED BY TIMELY COMICS. ART BY JOE SIMON AND JACK KIRBY.

  RED, WHITE AND BLUE

  Given a red, white and blue uniform and shield by the government (and, one hopes, some training), Rogers is soon making headlines foiling spies and saboteurs in the U.S. as Captain America. Stationed at Camp Lehigh as Private Steve Rogers, Cap befriends the camp's young mascot, Bucky Barnes, who excitedly follows Cap's exploits. One night, as Bucky visits Steve in his quarters, he stumbles upon Rogers changing out of his Captain America uniform. Rogers decides to train Bucky as his partner, complete with his own mask and uniform.

  Whether it was intentional or not, the Captain America costume, designed by Joe Simon, made the perfect statement about America's role in the upcoming war, or at least how most Americans preferred to think it. Aside from the obvious notion of a man wrapped in the flag, note that Captain America has no offensive weapons: no gun nor sword. Instead, Captain America has a shield, which is purely a defensive weapon. The shield is unbreakable, representing the strength of America's intentions to protect the people of Europe from fascism. Even when Cap throws the shield offensively, the analogy holds: Cap is extending the strength and protection of the United States to defend the weak and helpless.

  Simon and Kirby only produced the first ten issues of Captain America Comics, in which Cap and Bucky face all manner of spies, saboteurs and Nazi monsters. In fact, Cap's No. 1 nemesis, the Red Skull, also makes his debut in the first issue. Though the original 1940s villain is unmasked in his first appearance, the character has much more of an impact on Cap's revival in the 1960s.

  Cap's original 1940s adventures were action-packed if not particularly exciting. By 1949, with post-World War II patriotism ebbing, Cap's sales began to drop, leading to the comic's cancellation. Cap and Bucky saw a brief revival in 1953 fighting Communists, but the return was short-lived.

  A MAN OUT OF TIME

  By 1964, the Marvel Age of Comics was kicking into gear, and Marvel editor Stan Lee was looking for a way to punch up his newest superhero team book, The Avengers. Having already revived Timely's other Golden Age success, the Sub-Mariner, in the pages of Fantastic Four, it was time for lightning to strike twice, which it did, in The Avengers #4, “Captain America Joins… the Avengers!”

  The story opens with a bitter, disgruntled Sub-Mariner nursing his wounds from the previous issue's battle with the Hulk and the Avengers (namely Iron Man, Thor, Giant-Man and the Wasp). The Sub-Mariner encounters a band of Eskimos worshipping a mysterious figure frozen in a block of ice. The belligerent Sub-Mariner busts up the party, rousting the Eskimos and hurling the chunk of ice far out to sea. The floating chunk hits the gulf stream, where the warmer waters begin to melt away the ice, revealing a human figure. The figure is spotted by the undersea craft and Giant-Man reaches his oversized mitt through the hatch to pull the now-defrosted figure inside. The Avengers recognize his costume beneath the tattered shreds of his army fatigues as none other than Captain America.

  After a brief skirmish with the Avengers to establish his bona fides (always a good idea inside a cramped submarine), Cap tells the tragic story of what became of his final mission. While operating in Europe during World War II, Cap and Bucky were assigned to guard a new explosive-filled drone aircraft. The pilotless plane took off, and Cap and Bucky leapt after it in pursuit, but Cap couldn't hang on, and before Bucky could reach the fuse, the plane exploded, and a horrified Cap dropped into the frigid ocean below. Frozen in an ice flow, Cap has remained in suspended animation for decades until his discovery by the Avengers. (It is later revealed that the Super-Soldier Serum kept his blood from crystallizing in his veins, allowing him to survive being frozen.)

  The rest of Cap's issue is fairly routine, but along with it comes the basis for Cap's characterization for the next forty years, which still holds up today. Captain America is a man out of time, lost in a new world. We see a bewildered Cap wandering around modern New York marveling at the technology and the fashions (hopefully someone was good enough to tell him that we won the war), and wondering how he could find a place to belong.

  His membership in the Avengers fills that void, and while Cap eventually adjusts to the modern world, the best Captain America writers manage to keep Cap from coming across like a fossil while still reinforcing his 1940s origins and values.

  CHRIS SAYS

  Other Captain America runs are more heralded for various reasons, but for my money, the J.M. DeMatteis/Mike Zeck era (1982–1984) was as good as it got. DeMatteis really gave Cap's alterego, Steve Rogers, a good personal life, and brought in serious storylines such as anti-Semitism and racial politics. Oh, and he re-defined the combative relationship between Cap and the Red Skull. On the art side, Zeck illustrated a truly imposing Cap, battle-ready and still very human. A highly recommended run.

  There have been several exceptionally good runs of Captain America since his return in 1964. First off, naturally, are the Stan Lee/Jack K
irby stories in Tales of Suspense. Initially, the series focuses on Cap and Bucky's exploits in World War II, featuring frequent appearances by the Red Skull (including, finally, a look at his origin: he was originally Hitler's bellboy). Later, the series shifts to the present day, and injects Cap's adventures with a good dose of science fiction and high-octane espionage, enlisting Cap as a freelance agent in the spy agency the S.H.I.E.L.D. and introducing the high-tech terrorists known as A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics). Not only is A.I.M. responsible for the creation of the Cosmic Cube, which can convert thoughts into reality, but it also revives the Red Skull, who had fallen into suspended animation due to exposure to mysterious chemical gases.

  Writer Roger Stern and artist John Byrne delivered a very solid nine-issue run in 1980, in Captain America #247–255. Stern's characterization of Steve Rogers is consistent and historically accurate, while Byrne's art and storytelling are clear and appealing. The Stern/Byrne run also introduces future Cap love interest Bernadette Rosenthal and places more emphasis on Steve Rogers's attempting to build a personal life, which includes a new career as a commercial artist.

  In 1985, Marvel editor and writer Mark Gruenwald took over the scripting on Captain America and remained for more than ten years and 136 issues. The highlight of Gruenwald's run came with issue #332 (August 1987), entitled “The Choice.” Captain America is summoned by a secret presidential commission and informed that since the federal government created the uniform and identity of Captain America, they therefore own the concept of Captain America. If he wants to continue in the role of Captain America, he must put an end to his operations with the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D., as well as his solo operations, and report directly to them. After much deliberation, Steve Rogers refuses, citing his loyalty to the American dream and not one particular administration, and turns in his uniform and shield, giving up his life's work as Captain America. The commission attempts to replace Captain America, with disastrous results, while Steve Rogers searches for a way to adjust to his loss and find a new way of serving the American dream. While the “replace-the-superhero-with-a-crazy-dark-version” storyline was a popular one at Marvel and DC in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Gruenwald did it first and did the best job of it, as well.