Marvel Firsts: Wwii Super Heroes

Marvel Firsts

by Bill Everett, Joe Simon, Will Harr

In 1939, Timely Comics - the precursor to modern Marvel - burst onto the scene with a wild and unmatched energy, populating the Golden Age of Comics with hundreds of all-new characters! Take a trip back to the beginnings of the Marvel Universe and relive the dynamic debuts of the Sub-Mariner, Captain America, Ferret, Dynamic Man, Marvex, Black Marvel, Blazing Skull, Patriot, Young Allies, Whizzer, Rockman, Jack Frost, Destroyer, Witness, Miss America and many more!
Material from Marvel Comics 1; Daring Mystery Comics 1-3, 5, 7; Marvel Mystery Comics 4, 13, 28, 49; Mystic Comics (1940) 1-2, 4-7; Red Raven Comics 1; Captain America Comics 1, 6, 13; Human Torch Comics 4; Young Allies Comics 1, USA Comics 1-2

Genres: Comics, Superheroes, Marvel, Fiction

456 pages, Paperback

First published February 26, 2013

About the author

William Blake Everett, aka Bill Everett, was a comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner as well as co-creating Zombie and Daredevil with writer Stan Lee for Marvel Comics. He was a descendant of the poet William Blake and of Richard Everett, founder of Dedham, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Hans · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - Found this inside a Little Free Library during a recent neighborhood stroll. Fascinating slice of comic book history showing a period when the stories were fueled by World War II and the war effort in general.

There is a key note at the end of the table of contents...and they aren't kidding because this collection has many awkward characters and moments:

Editor's Note: Some stories in this historical collection include references and depictions that are considered derogatory and offensive by modern standards.

--The most obvious in the Black character (named White Wash) who is part of the Young Sentinels. The team of six kids is featured in the upper left corner of the collection volume, but only five of the kids are shown...probably because every single image of him seems more offensive than the previous ones. This is definitely not Wakanda...White Wash seems like he walked out of a minstrel show.

These are only the origin stories, so it does get to be a little repetitive to read these back to back. That said, it's fascinating to see which characters somehow continued to find an audience / story through the decades (Captain America and Black Widow) and which characters were left as historical footnotes.

[Matthew Ledrew]

Marvel Comics 1;
Daring Mystery Comics 1:
Daring Mystery Comics 2:
Daring Mystery Comics 3:
Daring Mystery Comics 5:
Daring Mystery Comics 7:
Marvel Mystery Comics 4:
Marvel Mystery Comics 13:
Marvel Mystery Comics 28 :
Marvel Mystery Comics 49:
Mystic Comics (1940) 1:
Mystic Comics 2:
Mystic Comics 4:
Mystic Comics 5:
Mystic Comics 6:
Mystic Comics 7:
Red Raven Comics 1:
Captain America Comics 1:
Captain America Comics 6:
Captain America Comics 13:
Human Torch Comics 4;
Young Allies Comics 1,
USA Comics 1:
USA Comics 2:

[Nipun Fernando · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being an avid fan of comics and graphic novels, I found this book to be an interesting read. Being a fan of Marvel, I found this book interesting as it showed the origins of Marvel, and some of its most famous creations. A must read for all Marvel fans.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of first issues of superheroes that launched in the 40s. Very much of their time, mostly skimmed for the curiosity factor. The anti German sentiments were interesting to see....you can just picture how it impacted kids and their play. I liked Captain America with tiny Bucky, and there was a Black Widow from hell, which was fun. I do love the very bright colors used back then.