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Marvel Novel Series #4
Captain America: Holocaust for Hire
The story is pretty straightforward. Cities around the globe are being destroyed by violent earthquakes. Problem is, none of the cities lay on geologically active areas. Reporters Jake Sheridan and Amanda Twain believe this is tied to the disappearance of Dr. Gregory Crandall, who was doing work on "advanced sonics" when he vanished five months previously along with his daughter. So does Captain America, who is cutting a swath across New York's underworld trying to find out what happened to the doctor who invented a weapon capable of destroying cities. The Red Skull, on the other hand, just might. Before long, Cap, along with Nick Fury and SHIELD, are engaged in a race to stop the Skull and his personal army of neo-Nazis from using his newfound weapon to establish a Fourth Reich. First, however, Cap has to find the scientist. Too bad that's exactly what the Skull wants him to do...
191 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1979
157 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 18, 2020
This Captain America prose novel, the fourth in the Pocket Marvel series, was written by Ron Goulart under his Joseph Silva pseudonym. Goulart was an experienced comics writer, and, as well as having written other franchise adaptations, he had written many novels under his own name, so he was a great choice for this one. This was my favorite of the series, though I'll have to admit to being prejudiced because Cap was my favorite Marvel character when I was growing up... and after. Cap faces off with the iconic villain Red Skull in this exciting book... 'nuff said, True Believer.
February 14, 2008
How exciting it was, as a high school student in 1979 to run across a NOVEL of one of my favorite comic book characters.
What I found, reading a novel about a character that I was already familiar with, was that I could spend a little more time getting to know the character. When action is described, rather than drawn, I got to understand motivations. In the comic books, my eyes scanned the action but didn't think much about it.
Having 'Cap' face his arch-enemy, Red Skull, was a thrilling adventure for this nerdy youth.
What I found, reading a novel about a character that I was already familiar with, was that I could spend a little more time getting to know the character. When action is described, rather than drawn, I got to understand motivations. In the comic books, my eyes scanned the action but didn't think much about it.
Having 'Cap' face his arch-enemy, Red Skull, was a thrilling adventure for this nerdy youth.
August 5, 2024
I loved these books as a tween/young teen, but they don’t hold up as an adult.
August 15, 2011
Sometimes you REALLY can't judge a book by its cover, since Ron Goulart (behind the name Joseph Silva) gives a clinic on effective writing even when it is at the service of a silly story. If writing is problem solving, and it is, Goulart has a daft a touch in solving the problems. Time and again I marvel that he found such unexpected yet effective ways to say something that would be said less interestigly if written by another. There are dozens of examples in this book.
As for the book itself, it isn’t much: a super-hero novel structured like a thriller. I think it might have been more effective if it had been written more like a cliffhanger serial, but it wasn’t. Captain America seems appropriately heroic. One problem with turning this character into the protagonist of a novel is the improbable action. It works in comics because panel 1 shows the hero begin to do something and panel 2 shows him doing it. That the action probably cannot really be done is not seen because the improbability takes place between the panels, for example, a leap into a summersault from across the room to disarm someone shooting at the hero. Not always, but Goulart finds verbal ways to convey this 1-2 panel sense most of the time.
I study adaptation, and most comic book novels are bad, bad, bad. This is one of just two I have seen that is worth reading. The author of the other? Ron Goulart.
As for the book itself, it isn’t much: a super-hero novel structured like a thriller. I think it might have been more effective if it had been written more like a cliffhanger serial, but it wasn’t. Captain America seems appropriately heroic. One problem with turning this character into the protagonist of a novel is the improbable action. It works in comics because panel 1 shows the hero begin to do something and panel 2 shows him doing it. That the action probably cannot really be done is not seen because the improbability takes place between the panels, for example, a leap into a summersault from across the room to disarm someone shooting at the hero. Not always, but Goulart finds verbal ways to convey this 1-2 panel sense most of the time.
I study adaptation, and most comic book novels are bad, bad, bad. This is one of just two I have seen that is worth reading. The author of the other? Ron Goulart.
February 10, 2016
Very good novel adaptation of the comics. if you are a comic super hero fan these are Very recommended.
January 7, 2025
Joseph Silva is a pen name for Ron Goulart, who knows how to tell an entertaining comic book story.
In this one, Captain America and Nick Fury are on the trail of the Red Skull. The Skull has kidnapped a scientist (along with the scientist's beautiful daughter) and forced him to build a sonic weapon that can simulate earthquakes. The quakes generated can be powerful enough to destroy cities. Naturally, the Skull plans to use the weapon to destroy democracies and create the Fourth Reich.
The action begins with Cap taking on mobsters in New York, on the trail of a mob boss who helped kidnap the scientist. From there, events move on to a ski resort in Vermont that the Skull is using for a headquarters. Further events take Cap to Texax and Nick Fury to Barcelona looking for clues, leading to a climatic battle with the Red Skull on a small Pacific island.
The action scenes are all a lot of fun and Goulart handles the personalities of Cap, Nick and the Skull well. He also gives us several pro-active supporting characters (the scientist's daughter and a pair of reporters) who get to play important roles in the plot.
All-in-all, this is an enjoyable adventure written by someone who appreciates the characters and understands the logic of the Marvel Universe.
In this one, Captain America and Nick Fury are on the trail of the Red Skull. The Skull has kidnapped a scientist (along with the scientist's beautiful daughter) and forced him to build a sonic weapon that can simulate earthquakes. The quakes generated can be powerful enough to destroy cities. Naturally, the Skull plans to use the weapon to destroy democracies and create the Fourth Reich.
The action begins with Cap taking on mobsters in New York, on the trail of a mob boss who helped kidnap the scientist. From there, events move on to a ski resort in Vermont that the Skull is using for a headquarters. Further events take Cap to Texax and Nick Fury to Barcelona looking for clues, leading to a climatic battle with the Red Skull on a small Pacific island.
The action scenes are all a lot of fun and Goulart handles the personalities of Cap, Nick and the Skull well. He also gives us several pro-active supporting characters (the scientist's daughter and a pair of reporters) who get to play important roles in the plot.
All-in-all, this is an enjoyable adventure written by someone who appreciates the characters and understands the logic of the Marvel Universe.
January 9, 2025
I've read Ron Goulart books and stories since I was a kid. I really like most of his original stuff, but it's always been touch-and-go on his tie-in work. I was glad he continued the Avenger series back in the day, but those new books really took a hard turn in the overall fabric of Richard Henry Benson's adventures.
This Marvel novel about Captain America, under the pen name Joseph Silva, is one of the latter and it just didn't hold my attention. I think I read it 45 years ago when it came out, but I'm not certain. I can understand now why I don't remember it. The plot is thin, and the characters are there, but not developed, not even the heroes Captain America and Nick Fury. They were two of my favorites back in the day.
The origins of Cap and the Skull are there and really stick out because they interrupt the breakneck (TOO breakneck, IMO) pacing of the novel. There are also a couple of journalists who are some of Goulart's stock characters and don't do much for the plot. One of the problems I had with the book is the fragmented storyline. There were too many POV characters.
The read is like a Marvel comic from the early days, like Stan Lee's early work before Roy Thomas made the characters and plots a little meatier, which is not a bad thing.
This Marvel novel about Captain America, under the pen name Joseph Silva, is one of the latter and it just didn't hold my attention. I think I read it 45 years ago when it came out, but I'm not certain. I can understand now why I don't remember it. The plot is thin, and the characters are there, but not developed, not even the heroes Captain America and Nick Fury. They were two of my favorites back in the day.
The origins of Cap and the Skull are there and really stick out because they interrupt the breakneck (TOO breakneck, IMO) pacing of the novel. There are also a couple of journalists who are some of Goulart's stock characters and don't do much for the plot. One of the problems I had with the book is the fragmented storyline. There were too many POV characters.
The read is like a Marvel comic from the early days, like Stan Lee's early work before Roy Thomas made the characters and plots a little meatier, which is not a bad thing.
July 27, 2019
Another entry in Marvel's 1970s series of prose novels about superheroes; after only two of these books (I've also read the Iron Man one), I am starting to suspect that they were written to very stringent editorial mandates -- for example, it seems to be required to present a lengthy origin-story flashback a few chapters in, followed by a less-lengthy origin-story flashback for the villain.
Even under these constraints, the author manages to tell a relatively entertaining story -- Captain America versus (of course) the Red Skull, foiling his evil plan to use a seismic gun to cause earthquakes. Technically, this is better-written than a lot of comic prose novels: the POV does a better job sticking, and the author writes action scenes very deftly. But if you're reading these for the emotional content -- which I know isn't the point, but, hey, it's how I'm reading them -- I found it hard to really connect to any of the characters, and I would have really liked more of, say, Captain America's thoughts about any of this. But it was a fun book, and a lot like reading a comic of the era!
Even under these constraints, the author manages to tell a relatively entertaining story -- Captain America versus (of course) the Red Skull, foiling his evil plan to use a seismic gun to cause earthquakes. Technically, this is better-written than a lot of comic prose novels: the POV does a better job sticking, and the author writes action scenes very deftly. But if you're reading these for the emotional content -- which I know isn't the point, but, hey, it's how I'm reading them -- I found it hard to really connect to any of the characters, and I would have really liked more of, say, Captain America's thoughts about any of this. But it was a fun book, and a lot like reading a comic of the era!
February 22, 2023
This is a pretty good novel based on the Captain America comics of the 60s and 70s, along with the Nick Fury stories of that same period. Without dragging things out too much, this was the time when both Captain America and the Red Skull had been revived from suspended animation, but Nick Fury was just considered middle-aged, before they retconned him into being very slow to age due to a secret formula...yeah, I guess you had to be there and read the story to understand that one, but I digress.
Ron Goulart, under one of his pseudonyms, did a very good job on this story, and his ability to describe comic book action in prose was the key to it. You could visualize the fight scenes based on his descriptions, which was not an easy thing to achieve.
That said, this same story might have been a better comic book mini-series, but was written before those were much of a thing.
Ron Goulart, under one of his pseudonyms, did a very good job on this story, and his ability to describe comic book action in prose was the key to it. You could visualize the fight scenes based on his descriptions, which was not an easy thing to achieve.
That said, this same story might have been a better comic book mini-series, but was written before those were much of a thing.
May 12, 2024
*YAWN* This thing is as tasteful as a fill of tap water.
Honestly, it aged well NOT, it's so cringe-y with stereotypes, it's almost laughable. 191 pages, but it feels way longer, as if they took a comic book's one-shot and stretched it into the territory of boredom. I can understand that it's made for young reader, but this is like slapping everyone older than 6yo and telling them "Shame on you! Howdo you dare our made-for-little-kids stuff?"!
Honestly, it aged well NOT, it's so cringe-y with stereotypes, it's almost laughable. 191 pages, but it feels way longer, as if they took a comic book's one-shot and stretched it into the territory of boredom. I can understand that it's made for young reader, but this is like slapping everyone older than 6yo and telling them "Shame on you! Howdo you dare our made-for-little-kids stuff?"!
June 16, 2024
A novel for the ages? Nah, but who cares? I couldn’t wait to read these as a kid, but with my allowance money spent on other things, I couldn’t afford most of them. Very much in the tone of the comics at that time, this was a fun, breezy read that filled me with nostalgia for those simpler years. I think I’ll pick up a few more of the classic Marvel Novel Series!
September 25, 2018
A pretty decent book. I could definitely see this as a comic book, it is very sequential in that way. I like that they didn't completely shy away from the Red Skull's ideology but it would've been nice to be even more upfront about it.
March 29, 2024
Comic book cheesy (in a good way) and a fun Captain America novel/ novella. No filler and all superhero saving the damsel and the day.
A nice break from the heavier content on my book list to read.
A nice break from the heavier content on my book list to read.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews