In our hobby, there are many different areas upon which to concentrate.  Some folks like to collect only Golden Age, Silver Age or Bronze age books.  Some prefer to concentrate on certain characters.  Some folks like to collect things related to comics -- toys, games, posters, etc.  And some, like myself, like to collect original comic art.  

This area of the hobby has recently (in the last 20 years or so) undergone an explosion.  Back in the '60's, '70s and '80's, unless you lived in New York or L.A., original comic art was hard to come by.  With the advent of websites like ComicArtFans.com or eBay, and the websites maintained by original art dealers, it is much easier to get pieces by your favorite artists or featuring your favorite characters.  Auction houses like Heritage Galleries have also made it easier to get the stuff you want. 

Now, collecting comic art has become more mainstream.  Comic art is very desirable because it is truly a "one-of-a-kind" collectible.  Each page or cover is the only one of its kind, which is attractive to collectors.  Plus, it's hard to get much closer to the artists you love than owning an actual, hand-drawn creation by that artist.  Many collectors have their pages or covers framed and hang them around the house or office so that they can be seen all the time.  This practice is fine, as long as they are framed with archival materials and kept out of sunlight. 

The ways of collecting art are as many and varied as the art itself.  Collectors approach collecting art in ways that are meaningful to them.  I am a huge Spider Man fan, and almost all the original art in my collection depicts Spidey.  Some collectors love certain artists, and their collections are almost exclusively works by that artist.  Still others look for the best examples that they can find of certain artists -- an Avengers page by George Perez, a Spider Man page by Steve Ditko or John Romita, a Submariner page by Everett, a Fantastic Four page by Kirby, etc.  Still other collectors only collect covers or splash pages. 

There are many factors that determine a price for a page.  Covers are usually the most expensive of the page types, because they are the most desirable.  Splash pages usually command high prices, and the prices reduce as you move to 3/4 splashes, 1/2 splashes, etc. down to panel pages.  The more that the featured characters appear on the page, the higher the price.  What the characters are doing on the page helps determine the price.  For example, a page with Spider Man fighting the Green Goblin is worth more than a page when Peter Parker and his friends are hanging out at the Coffee Bean, but, in turn, that page is worth more than a page with supporting (not main) characters talking.  The rule of thumb here is that the more integral and interesting the page is, the higher the price.

The older pages are worth the most money, as a rule, but this is not always true.  For example, a generic superhero page from the '80's is never going to be a valuable as a John Romita Jr.  Spider Man page from 2001.  In addition, the more popular the character, the higher priced the page.  Spidey and Batman pages are always going to be more expensive than Darkhawk and Rom pages.  Not that the pages from less popular characters are not "hot" and collected -- I have friends with very interesting collections of second and third tier Marvel and DC character pages.  In fact, in my own collection, I have some pages I love from Man-Thing, Nova, and Morbius.

Of course, certain artists are always going to bring a premium regardless of the characters they are doing.  Frank Miller, Bill Sienkiewicz, Bernie Wrightson, Richard Corben, Los Bros Hernandez, George Perez, Michael Golden, Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane are a few of the most collected "modern" artists.  There is a whole crop of new artists just starting out today, and some collectors pride themselves at being able to find and collect these young guys (and ladies) before the get "hot."  Once you have been collecting for a while, you will get feel for what artists are the most desirable, as I have not named a ton of artists who are very prized and hard to get.  Additionally, some collectors collect exclusively independent art -- not from the big 2 companies -- and these collectors are almost always driven to collect certain artists like Dan Clowes, Jeff Smith, Dave Sim or the aforementioned Hernandez brothers.   

 
A word about price -- I have tried to stay away from saying what pages go for in today's market, as it is very volatile at this point.  Pages that would be selling for $50 or $100 a few years ago are bringing hundreds and even thousands of dollars today.  It is hard to find any cover from Marvel or DC regardless of age, artist or character for less than $500, and they are most always many times more than that.  The real secret to collecting art is the same as it is for any collectible -- buy what you like and what you can afford.  If you pay $1000 for a page that you love, than it is worth it, even if that is the only page you buy this year.  If you find an artist or character you love and the pages are selling for $20 each, you will be happier with them than a $1000 page you bought just because it was showy or popular.  Lots of folks who have been collecting art for years have great collections today because they bought the $20 pages back then that they loved.  

There are only a few things that you should be cautious of when you buy pages.  There is not much counterfeiting going on, but it is still something to be mindful of, especially in the area of convention sketches.  A convention sketch is a sketch that you pay the artist to do at a convention.  Lots of collectors are very into convention sketches, and they are a great way to get a relatively inexpensive piece by an artist.  However, there have been instances of these being counterfeited and sold on eBay.  There was a problem with this a couple of years back with sketches by Michael Turner, and several counterfeits turned up.  ComicArtFans.com is a great resource to check these before you buy them, as there is a wide network of collectors on there and you can get on the message boards with photos before buying.  Another thing you should be careful of has been caused by the advent to technology.  In the old days (and sometimes still today) pencilers penciled the pages and then the inker inked over the pencils to create the finished art.  Today, many pencilers use art programs that create the penciled art in the form of "blue line" art which is then e-mailed to the inkers.  The inkers then print the pages on Strathmore and ink the blue lines.  Or, the pencilers will pencil the pages and then scan them and make them blue line art to send to the inkers who ink the blue lines.  There may be no original pencils for a page (except in cyberspace somewhere) or the pencils may exist as a seperate piece of art from the inks.  This makes the inked page less valuable, especially if there is a penciled page just like it.  Watch when you are buying a piece that the listing for it doesn't say "ink over blue-line" or something to that effect.  If you are going to buy these pages, price them accordingly.  Get familiar with how an individual artist works before bidding.  Many artists have their own websites or blogs and you can contact them directly to ask.  Remember, penciled pages are always worth more than inks over blue-line, even uninked pencils.  

Collecting art is a fun and rewarding hobby.  There are clubs all over the country of art collectors that get together to show off their art and trade pieces.  With a little preparation to learn values and types of art, you can have a great collection.  Plus, in many cases, it leads you to meet and even socialize with the artists who are your favorites.  There is nothing greater than walking up to you favorite artist's table at a con and have them know you by name, or bringing some piece you bought at auction to the artist at a local con and have him sign it -- as often as not, you get a wistful smile while he looks at the piece and some great stories about what was going on when he created it.

Enjoy! 

Raychul Moore is a freelance video game journalist who describes herself as a hardcore gamer, writer, cosplayer, collector, video producer, Youtuber, and geek. She’s been featured in GamePro Magazine, CNN, USA Today, comicsalliance.com, Craveonline.com, RollingStone.com, and countless other websites and magazines.

CPG recently caught up with Raychul and had the opportunity to speak with her about her love for gaming, collecting, cosplay, and her love for it all!

When it comes to comics, games, and pop culture collectibles the biggest demographic in relationship to gender is still male. Have you seen this changing over the years? What do you attribute this change to?

Yeah, I have definitely seen the industry change and more females are expressing the same passion for geek culture. But I don't know if I have contributed much to that. I have been told that because I have taken sexy pictures in the past or because sometimes I have cleavage in my videos that I am actually a negative force in the female group of geeks. But, I still don't see why just because I am a gamer I have to pretend to not have boobs. I do have them, and I love them. :)

When did you first get into video games? What caught your attention and how did it progress from there to where you are today?

My dad actually got me into gaming. He bought himself an Atari 2600, but little me kidnapped it and I have been gaming obsessively every since. Most dads with a daughter try to get her into sports or something like that, but not my dad. We would spend our quality time watching Star Wars or Indiana Jones. He would call me from downstairs when Star Trek was on and he also fueled my addiction to collecting action figures and other cool gadgets. My dad is awesome.

You are a collector of many things from video games to action figures to horror movies. What are your favorites in your collection and why?

My favorite piece in my collection is definitely the Phurba Dagger from Uncharted 2. There were only 500 made, if I'm not mistaken, and I am the proud owner of one. I don't let anyone but myself touch it. It's definitely my precious.

At what age did you get into collecting and how? Do you think people are "born collectors" or is it something people can pick up at any age? What was the first item that made you into a "collector"?

I got into collecting because of my dad. The only thing he really collected was Star Wars memorabilia and promo items from all three original films release years. I was never allowed to touch them when I was younger, so I looked forward to when I was older when I could finally actually touch them. I think that's when the collecting bug bit me. Now that I have a huge collection of my own, my dad had given me most of the Star Wars collectible items he had and they are some of my most treasured pieces. I do think having the collector obsession is something that can't be taught or just picked up. It's just something that is naturally in some of us that makes us want to surround ourselves with the things we love, like Star Wars toys, video games, and action figures.

Where do you see the video game market going in relationship to licensed comic characters? Do you think that video games are bringing comic characters to more of the mainstream public that might have never picked up a comic book?

I am torn on this. I do think it's almost like giving a lot of the forgotten comic book characters a new beginning. But on the other hand, it's turning some of our all-time favorites into water-downed, over-hyped, merchandise machines. Like Spider-man and Superman for instance, great characters, but enough already. With so many other great characters to chose from, I am kinda tired of always seeing the same few. Give me a survival-action-adventure game of Y the Last Man and I'd be happy. Also kinda sad to see The Walking Dead become a point-and-click adventure game. If any comic/graphic novel deserves a rich in story and character development, action/adventure game (looking at you Naughty Dog)...it would be The Walking Dead. Which is kind of another weird spot with me. I love that the show has opened up so many new fans to the comic....but at the same time, it's kinda bastardized the graphic novel that I adored so much. So yeah, I am very torn on that subject.

What are you interests in cosplay and how did you get involved in it? What are you favorite characters that you have dressed up as and why?

I adore cosplay because it takes what I love about games and makes it real. In games I get to pretend I am that character, but in cosplay I get to be that character. I have dressed up as Natalia from the Danger Girl comics, Supergirl, Poison from Final Fight and Babydoll from Sucker Punch. My favorite costumes I have done are my female Kratos from God of War and my female Thor. But my fan favorite is by far my Cammy from Street Fighter. I only cosplay as characters I know and love because I want to represent them as best as I can.

You recently entered the Maxim Gamer Girl contest. According to the contest they are looking for a woman who has the “looks, personality, and gaming skills”. What are your thoughts on the contest and your competition?

I am so pumped for this contest! Well, nervous too. I think I have a good shot because I don't just specialize in one or two specific games or genres. My gaming knows no bounds. I play pretty much everything. But, there are some gorgeous girls in the contest, who definitely look the part of Maxim, so I am nervous. It's always hard with these vote-based contests because it turns out to be whichever girl has the largest following, not the girl who has the most experience or passion for the topic. But, that being said, my fans are being so supportive, I know if I won I could make them proud. So now I sit here and refresh the page over and over like a coke addict. :) I would really appreciate the support from any one who could spare the 2 minutes to vote! I need all the help I can get and you can find me on the Maxim Gamer Girl site. If anyone wants to game with me, my twitter is www.Twitter.com/theRaychul, just let me know! :)

Do you have any interesting plans or projects in the works?

I do! I am working on a few new live show ideas with a few other girls. Hopefully I will have more info on that in the coming weeks!! Other than that, I will be at E3 and SDCC which are my two favorite events of the year!!

To learn more about Raychul's gaming, collecting, cosplay, and more you can visit her online at Raychul.com

Wonder Woman was created by Charles Moulton which was the pen name for psychologist William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 in December of 1941 and within a short time was given her own comic title the following summer.  She is truly the first iconic major female comic superhero to stand the test of time and is on par with the likes of Superman, and Batman in the DC Comics lineup.

Her original mission was that she left her home of Paradise Island, an unknown island which was only inhabited by women at came to the United States to assist in the fight during World War II. She has seen a fair amount of changes over the years ranging from being the secretary of the Justice Society of America to love stories to modern costume changes.  The end result is Wonder Woman unlike many other female superheroes has been a favorite among readers and outlasted numerous other female characters.

While originally featured in several comic book titles the character has also been featured in both a television movie and the unforgettable television series which debuted in 1975 starring Lynda Carter. She was also featured in cartoons including the Super Friends, the Justice League series, and a Wonder Woman dvd in 2009. She was the center of a controversy when NBC was planning to pick up a new live action show and fans were strongly against the planned costume.

Unlike numerous other female superheroes Wonder Woman she has been heavily marketed on products including Valentine’s Day cards, dolls, drinking glasses, statues, lunchboxes, and much more. The end result is Wonder Woman, unlike many other female superheroes has stood the test of time and is easily the most iconic and recognizable female superhero of all time.

Echoes of the Cold War still ring out over this world over sixty years later. The image of the Russians as the bad guys and America as the good guys was an incredible simplification to begin with, but many, many people bought into it.

When it comes to fictional creations, the stories from that era of roughly the mid-fifties to the mid-sixties range from the incredibly complex and very human ones such as John Le Carrre's The Spy Who Came in From the Cold to stories and characters that are essentially carry-overs from the days of pulp adventures such as James Bond and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Even Rocky and Bullwinkle fought the Cold War as they were being chased by Boris and Natasha.

The public's awareness of what the Cold War actually was meant that, for a very short while, the people who wrote the stories we read and the films we see knew that the public would really eat up anything spy-related that they could find. There were so many of them (spies) that by 1966 the genre was ripe for parody and Cinema serves up Matt Helm. By 1997, spy parodies were ripe for parody and we get Austin Powers.

This happens because the Cold War has a massive presence in the mindset of the world and that mindset has never really left us. Everyone on both sides of the battle sweats out the possible consequences of men with their finger on the button. The potential for tragedy on a global scale is real and we can come so close to the brink of disaster. It is a fear that is just as real today as countries demand the right to develop their own atomic weapons.

More than anything, a good spy story reduces the massive, world-wide conflict to a level that most of us can understand. It moves a global problem right back down to the story of usually, just one person. We, as the reader or viewer, are able to grasp the conflict easier because a good spy story reassures us that a single person can make a difference in this crazy world.

The world needed spies and in 1964 Marvel Comics, Stan Lee, Don Rico and Don Heck were going to give them one of the best ever. More than almost any other comic character, the early Black Widow needs to be dropped into a historical context because doing so reminds us that, of all the Avengers, she may be the one who has traveled the farthest, developing over time into one of the deepest and most complex characters in comics.

The Black Widow debuted in issue #52 of Tales of Suspense and by 1964 there were very few real spies left in comic books. The concept of spies itself does have a somewhat decent history in comics. One of the earliest was a feature by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster called "Spy" that had first appeared in 1937 in Detective Comics #3. That series lasted, off and on, until 1944.

Fawcett had Spy Smasher during WWII but by the Silver Age his presence was minimal at best. 1950 saw the debut of King Faraday over at DC. He lasted five issues. But by 1964 he was reduced to reprints in Showcase #50 and #51 under the title I-Spy. DC had also done an issue of James Bond in Showcase #43, but that was really a reprint of a Classics Illustrated adaptation of Dr. No.

When Natasha Romanoff first appeared spies were few and far between in comics. At Marvel Sgt. Fury was still leading the Howling Commandos. A year after Natasha shows up he is leading an amazing underground government-sponsored organization called S.H.E.I.L.D. So great was the public's demand for spy stories that Stan Lee and his cohorts in literary excellence reconfigured Nick and his soldiers for espionage.

The debut of Black Widow not only meant that the Marvel universe was growing; it meant that for almost the first time, a woman was doing the fighting. Yes, there was Sue Richards, but she was part of a team. Wasp was a solid character who had debuted a year earlier, but she hadn't really taken off. Maybe she wasn't a fully developed character yet, it's hard to say. DC had Wonder Woman but for all intents and purposes the Wonder Woman of 1964 was the Wonder Woman of 1954. But from the minute The Black Widow shows up, she is a force to be reckoned with.

The cover showcases Iron Man and The Crimson Dynamo doing battle but the real story is the be3hind the, clad in an expensive mink, her face shrouded by a veil and her arms covered in full length glove, the cover blurb tells us she is "The Gorgeous New Menace." Sure, she is pointing at Iron Man, after all it is his book, but even to this day her image is so striking that your eyes immediately drift right over to her.

Iron Man himself is a product of a Cold War mentality. How often were Communists or an unnamed country looking to grab whatever Tony Stark had just invented for their own nefarious purposes? What is amazing is that it took so long for a good old Russian Femme Fatale to show up at all!

What is one of Tony Stark's greatest weaknesses? Women! She gets Tony to take her to dinner while her friend Boris goes after that rotten defector, The Crimson Dynamo.

Iron Man saves the day and The Black Widow runs away form her failure. Now she is not only worried about Stark coming after her, she has her Communist bosses on her tail for not getting what they sent her for.

From this very first issue The Black Widow neither belongs to one side or another. It is a pattern of dual allegiance that will follow her over the next few years.

After her first appearance she comes right back in Tales Of Suspense #53 to try again. Only this time there is no Boris and she is dueling with Iron Man on her own terms. As far as a costume she is in the typical clichéd uniform for women of the day, pearls, veil, fancy dress and big hair.

It's her third appearance that sets the tone for a good portion of her career. In Tales of Suspense #57 she is put up on Long Island by her Russian overlords. Once there she runs into Hawkeye. It is one-sided love at first site. She talks him into going after Iron Man and this is a request that the archer is willing to give into. After #64, she is taken back to Russia, but she realizes that, even though he may not be the most intelligent archer in the forest, she actually likes Hawkeye.

In Tales of Suspense #65 she gets a make over. Gone are the pearls and the gowns, and in their place is anew uniform with fish-nets, a cape and once again, big hair. In the next few issues and over the next year she and Hawkeye become a bit of a couple and unfortunately for her, she is kidnapped and brainwashed into coming back to the Communist side of life.

Her next important appearance occurs a short while later. While she was dealing with the entire brainwashing problem, Hawkeye had chosen to change his lifestyle from that of a villain to a hero and shows up asking to join The Avengers. In issue #29 of that title The Black Widow shows up and Hawkeye is forced to make some choices. In issue #36 Hawkeye nominates a Black Widow with a clean brain for membership. The rest of the Avengers have trust issues about this.

As the team goes out to battle an alien they all fall in battle. Eventually it is left up to Hawkeye and Black Widow. Hawkeye, as an Avenger, can't kill the Alien, but Black Widow has no compunctions about making that threat. The Alien believes she will do it and leaves. When the other Avengers come back to reality, neither Hawkeye nor Widow ever gives them the details.

This is how her long association with The Avengers begins. A touch of deceit, for no real Avenger would ever threaten to kill anyone. In her early years she is not really a member, but does stand with them over the course of quite a few good battles.

By now it is 1967 and, in the real world, the concept of a spy begins to move into parody, readers fascination with spies begins to wane. By 1967 Marvel (and Stan Lee) is quite sure that the company is on its feet and going to stay afloat by publishing comic books. In another year or so a new distribution deal opens the flood gates for Marvel as they can finally start to print as many titles as they want to.

As we leave the early Black Widow in 1967 comics are swiftly on their way to becoming the amazing hobby and the big business that we know today. Which means that characters are needed and detailed stories are needed about those characters as every year new fans are added to the Merry Marvel Marching Society. This means a solid character that resounds well with fans such as The Black Widow is going to evolve and change into the fantastic hero she is today.

After her first encounter with The Avengers she is now a hero in the Marvel Universe, but at her heart Natasha is a spy. This leads to her joining S.H.E.I.L.D for her talents in espionage are too much for Fury to pass up. Over time she breaks it off with Hawkeye and takes up a relationship with Daredevil that lasts quite a while. Eventually she breaks it off with him. As with any character that has been in print this long, it gets complicated.

One of the most important parts of her long history is her relationship with The Avengers, especially now that the new Avengers movie is clearly going to feature Black Widow as a major member of the Avengers Team. Today it is how she began that relationship with the Avengers which catch our attention. No matter what, the world needs a good spy, and she is one of the best ever seen in the pages of a comic book.

The most recent poster for The Dark Knight Rises has a shadowy figure walking away from Batman's broken cowl. Those who read Batman on a regular basis know that this is Bane, one of the most spectacular villains created in the last twenty years. The image of the broken cowl suggests that Batman is done for.

As soon as this poster hit a good number of people in the press seem to think that the demise of Batman is exactly what director Christopher Nolan and crew have in mind for next summer's blockbuster release.
Which brings to mind, who is Bane? And why does he get to kill Batman when The Joker didn't?

Second question first. The Joker can't kill Batman because there would be no one for him to goof off with any more. The Joker knows that. He needs Batman like the flower needs the rain. He can't kill him. What would happen after he knocked the Caped Crusader out of the picture? Retirement to a beach with a bucket of Coronas to his left? Maybe Skiing in Aspen?

So that leaves Bane, possibly the most powerful villain Batman has ever faced, to do the job. A massive persona in both mind and body, Bane is every bit the perfect match for Batman. While those who see the poster and the photographs that have been taken from the set of the film will marvel at his physique, Bane is no fool. He spent a lot of time honing on his mind, as well as his biceps.

Bane started young. A native of the Caribbean Republic of Santa Prisca, he spent his early years in jail. His father, Sir Edmund Dorrance, is also better known as King Snake. This master of the martial arts made his first appearance in 1991 in Robin #2. One night, while working with local anti-communist rebels in Santa Prisca, his camp was attacked by stooges working for the local government that King Snake was looking to help topple.

While gunfire tore around him he saw looked for the young rebel woman he had been intimate with. When he saw here she appeared to be dead. Thinking the worst, he took off assuming she was dead. As it happens she was not only still living, but pregnant with the Bane.

Seething with anger that King Snake had escaped the local militia, the corrupt government decided to award a life sentence to King Snake in absentia. Lacking Snake himself, they passed that sentence on to that both Bane and his mother. As a result Bane spent a good number of his early years behind bars in a prison cell in Santa Prisca. His mother passed away at age six. The prison officials simply threw the body of his mother into shark-infested waters as he watched. From there, his anger and rage only grew. With the help of a few other prisoners as well as a Jesuit priest who schools him in a more traditional sense, Bane develops his first class mind into a first grade weapon.

At one point Bane served ten years in solitary confinement but this only added to his personal determination and significantly increased his mythic status inside the prison walls. When he came out he was atop the prison hierarchy, so powerful that the other prisoners would follow his word instead of the Warden's.

As the Warden and other officials, watched his rise to the top of prison society, they grew worried and eventually decided that he had to go. They forced him to volunteer for an experimental drug program. The drug they injected him with was called Venom. It had killed every one of its other test subjects and nearly does the same to Bane. But through sheer force of will he survives. Once he begins to regain his health he finds that his muscles now look almost freakish in nature and his stamina is increased as well. While not super-human, he is definitely knocking on the door of that classification.

One unfortunate side effect is that he now needs the drug Venom delivered into his system every twelve hours. To deal with the need he develops a costume, which will feed him the drug in regular intervals. This explains the system of tubes that grace his side as well as the head mask which helps keep him alive.
Bane is the creation of Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench and Graham Nolan. The villain was originally designed along the lines of the pulp hero Doc Savage, if he was viewed through a very dark looking glass. While Bane and Doc shared the qualities of discipline, self-motivation and highly developed skills, Doc used his for good and Bane didn't.

Denny O'Neil is also associated with the creation of Bane, although his input is generally acknowledged to be a bit unclear. What is certain is that he introduced the concept of Venom and the island of Santa Prisca into the DC Universe. The island first appears during an early Question story line and Venom is featured in Legends of the Dark Knight storyline issues #16-20 (which are collected in the TP Venom).

Bane's first appearance was in Batman: Vengeance of the Bane #1 (January 1993). Most famously he is the man who broke Batman's back. Since then, Bane has gone to become fully incorporated into the DC Universe. Eventually he finds out that King Snake is his father, which causes some real problems! Bane also shows up during Infinite Crisis. Recently he encountered Hourman, and during that battle it was revealed that the earliest days of research into Hourman's Miraclo pill allowed for the creation of Venom.

So why does Bane get to kill Batman, if that is in fact what will happen in the film? For our money it has to do with the detailed and very deep characterization created by Dixon, Moench and Nolan.

The character has an origin that is also similar to Batman's. They both found themselves without a father at an early age. Bruce Wayne had the shelter of money and Bane, for better or worse, had the shelter of a prison environment in which they both could grow. Both men were absolutely driven and seem to poses a will of steel. They have trained themselves rigorously for years while honing their intellect and mental skills to the peak of human perfection.

When it comes to fiction they are also from the same gene pool. Doc Savage predates Batman and Superman. A read of any Doc Savage storyline from the early thirties will reveal the influence that the character had on Joe Shuster, Jerry Siegel, Bob Kane and Bill Finger (as well as anyone else creating comics in the late thirties and early forties). Both Bane and Batman are part of the tradition of self-made men driven by something that almost everyone else doesn’t seem to hold in their DNA.

Bane and Batman have both walked the same road. The Joker hasn't. He is a freak. In the grandest themes of most fiction, most men kill themselves. Either through the choices they have made or their own foolish behavior. Batman and Bane are close to being the same man. One of them kills willingly and the other doesn't.

Bane is an amazingly complex villain who matches Batman on almost every single level. The film looks to be every bit as good as the last installment. We won’t know if Batman dies during the course of the film until next July. Until then it is sure going to be fun to speculate what Nolan has in store for us.

The Spider #19 (April 1935), featuring the story, Slaves of the Crime Master, opens with such energy, with such breathless and exacting narration that being pulled into the world of The Spider is unavoidable.

"Never before has the Spider, Master of Men, crusader extraordinary against the Underworld, been faced with such overwhelming difficulties. A magically persuasive radio voice luring thousands of young people to crime; a scientific madman dealing germicidal death over the nation; every criminal gang in the country organized to levy toll by start terror…"

Notice the very specific and detailed accounts of the action: "luring thousands of young people to crime", not hundreds, but thousands. How about "a scientific madman dealing germicidal death over the nation?" Not a town, not a city, but the nation. And note the unseen terror of a "germicidal death."

In the world of the Spider nothing is ever done on a small scale. The villains can (and do) kill thousands. When The Spider (on the second page of the story above) encounters three henchmen guarding the place where the kids are meeting, he has to act fast to avoid capture because "The Spider has killed too many of them in the swift administration of his secret justice, to expect mercy now."

Yes, the Spider kills anyone who gets in the way of his obsessive battle against crime. He carries two pistols and plenty of back up ammo. The underworld knows to either kill him or run.

In the first nine pages of this story the Spider eludes the armed henchmen, gets chased by gangsters, invades the meeting attended by all those impressionable kids, while standing on the bar he pulls his automatic to shoot a beer bottle thrown at him, fights a couple of the kids, eludes a machine gun attack on that same meeting of kids, gets chased by the cops and somehow just never, ever stops. He is a whirlwind of thought and deed and drive and more than anything, The Spirit is one of the most exciting and memorable heroes of the Pulp era.

On August 18, 2011 Dynamite Entertainment announced that they had acquired the rights to The Spider. The pulp character, who first saw publication in 1933, is another in a long string of pulp-related acquisitions by the company. Some even consider The Spider, a violent hero who was shrouded in mystery, to have been a very important influence on the creation of Batman.

In a slightly ironic note, the day before, August 17, 2011, Dynamite also announced that they had been granted the rights to what may be the most classic pulp character of all, The Shadow. As it was at the beginning of their slightly shared history, The Spider was once again following The Shadow. In fact, as was the practice of publishers of the time, his creation was a direct result of the success of The Shadow.

While he may have followed The Shadow on the newsstands, he definitely was his own man. Where as other pulp heroes would shoot to wound, or do what they could to keep the action relatively clean, The Spider shot for the kill. His villains were just as extreme as he was. Even by the relatively lax standards of the day, The Spider was "out there."

Today The Spider is just as relevant, just as thrilling as the day he first appeared. He is attracting new fans every day and his profile is really rising among collectors as well as in the marketplace. In addition to Dynamite Entertainment’s new license, Radio Archives is starting a line of new live action dramas in an audio book format based on classic scripts from the Spider.

Tom Brown , the President of Radio Archives and noted pulp expert recently told CPG.COM that "The great pulp magazines of the 1930s and 40s produced a number of heroes, but none as action-oriented as the Spider. For almost exactly a decade, from October 1933 to December 1943 the Spider was the scourge of the Underworld, doling out his own particular brand of justice and imprinting his dreaded red Spider seal on the foreheads of those he has killed for the good of mankind."

Brown continued by saying "One of the things that sets the Spider apart from other hero characters is magnitude; the villains commit acts of destruction on a grand scale, sinking whole ocean liners, toppling entire buildings, wiping out entire towns with germ warfare. The evil masterminds are in truth more terrorists than criminals, their villainy often more for its own sake than any concrete plan for profit." For a sample of what makes The Spider so exciting, scroll down to the end of this article and click on the link for the first chapter.

Too understand what made The Spider so great, it might make sense to take a quick look at The Shadow as well as the highly competitive nature of the pulp publishing world of New York in the late twenties and early thirties. This is a decade before the appearance of Action Comics #1 and Superman. Radio had just arrived and the nation was in a massive depression. Sound in movies was just coming into fact the marketplace. Comic books as we now know them were still at least five years away from making an impression on the newsstands.

Pulps, with their shoddy paper, their exploitative covers and their cheap price, ruled the day. Any reader looking for a regular fix of westerns, horror, thrills or adventure, had only one place to turn to, pulps.

The Shadow started as the narrator of Detective Story Hour, an anthology radio show which debuted in July of 1930. The show was designed to help promote Street and Smith’s magazine of the same name. The narrator was just devised in order to add some coherence to the often un-related stories.

While the stories were the usual fare of the day, it was the narrator, The Shadow, which caught on with the public. In less than a year, Street and Smith had fleshed out the character and in April, 1932, The Shadow as we know him today debuted in his own self-titled magazine.

Some historians maintain that the character of The Shadow actually debuted in the February 1929 issue of Fame and Fortune in the story The Shadow of Wall Street. While the magazine was also published by Street and Smith, there is no real connection between the Shadow of 1929 and the appearance of the narrator on the radio show.

The secret identities are very different and the over-all make up of the character is removed from the more familiar character that debuted in 1931. Still, it may have served as a jumping off point for the later version. It was not unusual for characters to be created by committee and than turned over to a specific writer.

The Shadow, as written by Walter Gibson, was a big hit. As a result of their sales, it inspired competitors to look for their own "Shadow."

Street and Smith had been around since 1855. They knew exactly what they were doing. So did on of their main competitors, Popular Publications. But compared to Street and Smith, Popular was a very modern and very deliberate creation. Unlike Street, they came into existence with one thing in mind, make money off of the pulp market. The exact same mind-set would govern a whole new generation of publishers a decade later when Superman blows everything off the stand.

Popular had been formed in 1930 by Henry Steeger. He handled the editorial aspect of the company and his silent partner Harold S. Goldsmith handled the money. From the beginning volume publishing, a complete coverage of newsstands if at all possible, was their goal. They started with four magazines and at their peak they were capable of publishing over forty titles a month.

While Street and Smith were creating characters by committee and than assigning them to writers, Steeger was looking for anything he could get his hands on from anyone who had something to publish. His experience had been as a story editor (mostly war titles) over at Dell. Over the years titles published by Popular would come and go.

Unlike many other fly by night publishers, Steeger was a strong editor, as a well as a very good writer himself. Popular published everything from horror to westerns and over to romance. He knew what was good and he knew how to get it on newsstands. Like any good editor of the day, he watched what everyone else was doing. Noticing how well Street and Smith was doing with The Shadow, Steeger develops the idea of The Spider.

Since he was editing so many magazines and still writing as well, Steeger turned the idea over to R.T.M.Scott. Scott had created a series called Secret Service Smith and had published several novels about the character. It may have helped that Scott’s son, Robert (R.T.M. Scott II), was also an assistant writer and editor for Steeger.

It wouldn't be hard to image that Scott had received a somewhat minimal template for The Spider from Steeger. Some historians maintain that the idea for "character development" was in Steeger's instruction to Scott. So the first two stories that Scott wrote for The Spider sound an awful lot like what he wrote for Secret Service Smith.

The most telling aspect of the overlap was the presence of The Spider's Hindu assistant, Ram Singh, a deadly expert with a knife. Secret Service Smith had a very similar assistant named Langar Doonah. In his first two appearances, Smith as a spy in the service of America, but for the next adventures he became a private detective who solved crimes. Scott developed The Spider’s secret identity as a millionaire playboy named Richard Wentworth. With time to kill, and a serious belief in civic duty, he would put on a long cape, a big hat and a face mask and go out and fight crime.

Scott also contributes another worthy not to the legend of The Spider. When his victims fall, he brands them with the sign of The Spider. Using a cigarette lighter designed to create the band, the concept is very close to the ring that The Phantom would use about four years later. In another interesting parallel to The Spider, the very first story line of The Phantom is about The Singh Brotherhood. Singh happens to be the last name of The Spider’s assistant. (I am not casting stones at Falk. He is one of the best story tellers and artists in comic history. At the time it was not uncommon for one character to influence the other, that’s all.)

But where Secret Agent Smith drifted off into the shadows and side alleys of pulp history, The Spider remains the third most popular pulp character ever published, right behind The Shadow and Doc Savage.

Why? Because after two stories Scott leaves Norvell Page takes over the assignment. He takes over the character and within an issue or two; The Spider appears to have been remade. Keeping the cape and hat, Norvell adds a fearsome mask with fangs. The Spider’s appearance is considered to be one of the most frightening in pulps. The editors may have thought so as well because the new mask, while it is always a part of the story, only shows up on seven covers. It is replaced artistically with the older, softer version as described by Scott.

Page elevates the Hindu assistant from a "servant-like" helper to a friend and equal. Wentworth's girlfriend, Nita Van Sloan, rises in prominence and starts assisting him while fighting crime. Oddly enough, Wentworth won’t marry her because he is afraid that if his secret identity is found someone will come after his family. As if the villains wouldn’t come after his girl-friend…

There are also a circle of supportive characters. His chauffeur is Ronald Jackson, who also served with Wentworth during WWI. There are also two characters that, in retrospect, seem to have obvious parallels to Batman.

The Spider is close to the Police Commissioner, Stanly Kirkpatrick. The commissioner is a staunch ally of The Spider and even thought he suspects that The Spider is Wentworth, he can never prove it. In addition to the commissioner, Wentworth also has a butler named Harold Jenkyns. There was also a scientific genius who assisted him with his career. Professor Brownlee invented an air-kill gun which allowed The Spider to kill silently when needed.

Another key change made by Page was that the device which creates the brand The Spider was no longer a cigarette lighter, but a ring. This was also invented by Professor Brownlee.

Wentworth becomes a great mimic (as does Nita) and his voice is so commanding that many are compelled to help him by just the sound of that voice. This leads to the often used subtitle, The Mater of Men.

There is also The Spider’s web, a long cord which not only helps him tie up criminals, but it also allows him to move around the city with speed.

But the biggest change is in personality. Wentworth goes from being a relatively nice guy with a hobby to an obsessive. He has to fight crime. It becomes part of him. As mentioned before the violence of The Spider is much more condemning than a regular pulp. The Spider shoots to kill and he doesn’t care. One of his justifications for the violence is that the villains he fights, even with the standards of the day, are nuts. The Eye of Death burned thousands to death. The Black Death sets the plague loose in New York City. The Spider even had a "Fu-Manchu" style villain, Ssu His Tze, the ruler of all vermin.

Page's tenure on The Spider was one of the most imaginative and thrilling in the history of the pulps. The man was gifted when it came to creating full characters and the incredible worlds they inhabited. His level of consistency on the Spider is on of the great runs of the pulp era. Few others could match his intensity.

I mean he had a villain bring The Plague to NYC. Can you imagine being an eleven year old and reading this? It is one of the most terrifying concepts possible. This wasn’t your run of the mill drug gang, it was The Plague. It could strike anyone, your mom, your dad, you!

While a few other writers did work on the character, it was only after Page had established such a strong run.

The character easily moved into two move serials. As movies do, they changed the costume of the character and added some elements that may have seemed out of place, or unfamiliar, to the pulp readers. Page assisted on the first.

The Spider lasted through an astounding 119 adventures. His stories have appeared in various reprints, even hardback editions. The character remains so popular that in 2009 Moonstone did an excellent anthology of new Spider short stories that featured the work of Chuck Dixon, Steve Englehart, Will Murray and an introduction by Denny O'Neil.

Dynamite has done an astounding job on The Green Hornet, The Lone Ranger, Zorro and Jungle Girl, to name a few. The addition of The Spider (and The Shadow) is another win-win for fans of comics as well as fans of the golden age of pulps everywhere.

Radio Archives has given us an exclusive 12 minute sample of the new Spider Audio book. Get ready for adventures! Click here and spend a few minutes listening to the new adaptation.

After the war wound down, the title, and superheroes in general, went into a decline. In 1946 they attempt to generate some excitement for the title when issue #66 featured Bucky getting shot. He survives but Captain America gets a new sidekick, Golden Girl. Despite the wound, Bucky was still working with Cap over in the All-Winners title as part of that squad of heroes.

By 1950 superheroes had run their course. Readers moved elsewhere for their thrills, most notably over to TV. Trying to keep the attention of a straying public, the company incorporated a horror theme for the last two issues changing the title to Captain America’s Weird Tales. The book was canceled with #75.

A couple of years later in 1953, Marvel, working under the title of Atlas and struggling for readership, tried to reintroduce superheroes to the public. The idea proved to be a bit too soon for the public to latch on to. Cap was brought back along with the Sub-Mariner and The Human Torch. Cap’s solo title was reintroduced but only lasted three issues until #78. By 1954 all three heroes were canceled.

The company went on for the next few years publishing monsters, horror, romance and western titles. But after the attempt in 1953, there are no new superhero titles from Marvel for almost a decade.

Over at their biggest competitor, DC Comics, 1956 proved to be a watershed year. Knowing full well that Atlas had failed when they reintroduced heroes in 1953, and struggling with their own declining base, DC decides to try the hero concept one more time. Part of their logic is that the standard age of their readership base, basically young boys, changes every seven years as the generation ages. The kid of 1956 would have no knowledge of what was published back in 1949. So any character introduced would be new.

In addition to this they also decide to radically redesign the Golden Age characters they own for the upcoming space age while keeping the original concept intact. Their first issue featuring a new Flash is a hit but it often takes six months for accurate sales figures to come in. the next few years fly by and before anyone knows it, it is 1960 and The Justice League of America, a team magazine featuring many of their newly updated heroes, is selling out everywhere.

As the oft-told tale goes, it’s now 1961 and Timely publisher Martin Goodman is playing golf with the publisher of DC. Over the course of friendly conversation, DC takes the opportunity to brag about the sales figures on JLA. Now whether this tale is true has been debated by many, but the end result is that the head of Marvel goes into Stan Lee and says “Get me a book like the JLA.”

A few months later The Fantastic Four is on newsstands quickly followed by The Incredible Hulk and Amazing Spider-Man. By early 1963 Marvel is coming back to life. Unlike the stories at DC, which tend to be of the more traditional “lantern-jawed heroic” nature, the new Marvel characters are deeply flawed and more human. Readers are attracted to this new way of presenting heroes.

Who is at the center of this rebirth? Primarily it’s Stan Lee, Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby. They are struggling to create new characters as fast as they get the sales figures. But they are hampered by a constrictive distribution deal with of all people, DC. So they are limited as to the actual number of books they can publish.

This means they have to work within a limited amount of space. It is obvious to them that they have to bring back the character that many consider their most important contribution to the Golden Age, Captain America. But they are unable to give the man his own title without testing the waters first. So they bring him back in a Human Torch solo story featured in Strange Tales #114 (NOV 1963).

The Torch is running around with Captain America who is introduced to the new reader as having returned from retirement. At the end the Captain America character is revealed to be a fake. He is really a villain known as The Acrobat whom the Torch had defeated earlier. At the end of the story the last panel asks the reader if they want to see more of Cap.

At the same time the team of Kirby and Lee Marvel had created their own version of the JLA, called The Avengers. The team debuts in their own title and in issue #4, they find Captain America in a state of suspended animation floating in a block of ice.

At the very end of World War II, Captain America had been flying in an experimental drone plane over the North Atlantic. Things hadn’t gone as planned and he ended up frozen for a few decades. It doesn’t take long for Cap to become the leader of The Avengers as others recognize his wisdom and experience.

It is obvious that readers have taken to the character and he is given a guest shot inside an Iron Man story in Tales of Suspense #58 (OCT 1964). Due to the distribution deal with DC that severely limited the number of titles that Marvel could publish, the next issue of TOS sees the two heroes splitting cover billing.

For the first time in a long time Kirby is drawing the character he co-created. His love of the character shines through his amazing pencil work.

Issues #63 (MAR 1965) through #71 (NOV 1965) put Cap back in action during WWII and also feature Bucky. As the distribution deal with DC ends its contract Marvel can get more books on the stands so with issue #100, Captain America gets his own title.

One of the most appealing features of the new Silver Age version of the Captain is that he maintains the sensibilities of the time he was actually created in, WWII. Alive again in the sixties, he becomes a fish out of water as he struggles to understand the ways of a newly modern America. Kirby stays with the title for most issues and his work is exemplary.

In 1969 Captain meets and trains the man who would become the first African-American hero in mainstream comics, Sam Wilson. Introduced by artist gene Colan and Stan Lee, Wilson, under the training and tutelage of Captain America becomes The Falcon. In #134 the title becomes Captain America and the Falcon. During this period Cap becomes disillusioned with what America has become and adopts the identity of Nomad. This lasts four issues, but over the years, the character of Nomad would return to the Marvel Universe several times in various forms and in various identities. Throughout most of the seventies the Cap and the Falcon do their best work in NYC.

Nomad wasn’t the only time that Cap became conflicted about the behavior of those who serve in the Government of the United States. In another significant story line he becomes “The Captain” while a man named John Walker takes his place. The demands of the job drive Walker insane and in the end there is only one real captain America, Steve Rogers.

As writers come and go throughout the years, Cap’s origin is retold and occasionally adjusted. Steve Rogers, anxious to serve his country but rejected from enlisting due to his poor physical health, is given a simple injection of the super-soldier serum. At one point the serum leaves his body and he develops his skills through hard work. At another point his body has begun to deteriorate so badly that he needs an exoskeleton to continue.

The Red Skull is determined to have been a clone of Cap. A blood transfusion from his most fiendish enemy returns the serum to his blood and Steve Rogers once again resumes the mantle of Captain America.

The team of Cap and Falcon comes to an end with issue #222 when the title reverts back to Captain America. The book lasts until issue # 454 (AUG 1996). From there the character begins appearing a run of self-titled books. In essence there are four volumes of Captain America, each more exciting than the last.

Captain America is so respected that during the classic Marvel mini-series Secret Wars the heroes trapped on Battleworld elect him their leader.

During the Marvel series Civil War, Captain America comes out opposed to mandatory registration for super-beings. Forced into hiding, he goes underground and becomes a Mall Security Guard. As the series moves on, Captain America becomes involved in a tremendous fight with Iron Man, who firmly believes in the Registration Act. As the fight comes to an end Cap unwillingly has to surrender when a group of civilians becomes endangered during the fight.

Traditionally one of the most stable heroes in the comic book universe, Captain America suffers a cruel fate. After his trial he is shot in the back by a sniper and than shot three more times on the steps of a courthouse. Though of as dead, everyone believes that he is buried in Arlington.

The Red Skull finally has his day.

Bucky picks up his mantle in issue #34 (MAR 2008). After a long series of restarts, the title resumes its original numbering with issue #600 and Bucky still in place as Cap. The story line of Cap’s death continues in the mini-series Captain America: Reborn. It is reveled that the Red Skull had arranged for Cap to be sent bouncing through space and time. He jumps across the eras he lived in, often fighting battles and reliving events of his life.

Today Steve Rogers is once again wearing the mask of Captain America. He stands tall as one of the most loved characters in the Marvel Universe. His various incarnations, coupled with the depth of his personal convictions in what he believes and stands for makes him one of the most interesting and popular characters Marvel publishes. His struggles as he searches for his own identity ahs often mirrored the same search that America itself was going through.

Originally a quickly created character for a newly expanding industry, Captain America has gone on to become one of the most important creations of the comic world. The energy and excitement created by Simon and Kirby has been well served by the best that the creative comic community has to offer.

Over the years John Byrne, Gil Kane, Jim Steranko, Ed Brubaker and many other skilled artists and writers have kept Cap’s flag flying high. Often pushing himself beyond his own limits, Captain America stands as an example of the best that comics can offer.

It's an amazing summer for fans of comic book Cinema. First there was Thor and then Green Lantern. Next up is Captain America: The First Avenger. Some are predicting that this may be the biggest hit yet. That may be true, but there is still Conan waiting in the wings for August! Of all these characters, Captain America may have the most interesting history of all.

The greatest comic characters of the Golden Age were explosions of pure color and hyper-kinetic energy. And no cover, no hero, ever leapt off the newsstand like Captain America #1. With one iconic cover Joe Simon and Jack Kirby transformed the new medium of comics. The stories that title held demonstrated what the new medium was capable more than anything that had preceded it.

That single issue stands as a testament of what Kirby could do. Action jumped from the page. Panels went crazy with detail. The normal idea of "eight panels to page," while others had experimented with the format, exploded under the pencils of Kirby.

The figures that Kirby drew were more athletic, more muscular, the fights more real. If you saw the punch that Captain America delivered to Hitler you instinctively put your hand to your jaw because you felt the punch land.

It was covers that sold books in those early days and the one that Kirby created for Captain America #1 was unavoidable. Newsstands were packed with a lot of choices for the average reader. Dimes were stretched mighty thin in those days. America was still reeling from the depression and a magazine had to have something special on the cover to get a reader to part with ten cents. The comic industry was in its earliest days and newsstands already featured the juggernaut of Superman flying off the shelf, so any new creation had to be something special.

Like many true artists, the idea of success wasn't the only reason at the heart of Simon's new hero. The red, white and blue design of Captain America, that very obvious and direct reference to the American flag, was completely intentional. It was early 1940 and America had yet to become involved in the battle overseas.

There were fierce debates about whether America belonged overseas or not. At that time many chose to bury their heads in the sand and ignore what was going on in Germany. The campaigns to keep America out of the war were vocal and organized. But Simon and Kirby knew full well what was happening in Germany and the surrounding countries. They felt that they had to get their opinion out there somehow.

In his biography, Simon says that took the idea he had for a hero called "Super-Patriot" to Martin Goodman, the publisher of Timely. Since there were so many characters with the word "Super" in their title, Simon claimed that the switch to "Captain America" was an easy decision. He needed the approval of Timely's publisher Martin Goodman to move forward.

Simon had been hired by Timely after a stint as an editor at Fox Feature Syndicate. It was while he was at Fox that Simon had met Kirby who was working on, among other things, The Blue Beetle newspaper strip. By the time they were hired by Goodman the two men had already established a strong creative link.

As for Goodman, he had been publishing pulps for years and was now trying to break into the suddenly lucrative field of comic books. At first he had bought books from an independent studio, but he quickly figured that he could make more money if he cut out the middle man and brought the creative aspect of the books in house. Offering profit participation, among other incentives, he got Simon to jump from Fox. Shortly afterwards, sometime around the summer of 1940, Simon brought in Kirby, first as a freelancer, in to help.

As a creative team they had some moderate success, most notably with The Vision, but it was Captain America that flew off the newsstands. According to Simon he had the idea and took it to Kirby to work on. According to Kirby he was there at the creation of Captain America from the beginning. Either way, the idea that their next creation would be centered on an American theme was there at the start.

As publishers tried to find the next Superman, patriotic heroes were quickly becoming a big part of comics. MLJ Publishing (in a few years they become Archie), already had The Shield on newsstands. He had debuted on the cover of Pep #1, in January of 1940. By any definition, he was a success. A few months later Will Eisner offered up Uncle Sam over at Quality.

But neither of those creations had the one thing that that would send Captain America into the stratosphere, the team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. After approving the concept, Goodman told Simon to do everything he could to hit the newsstands as fast as possible. He wanted a hit.

Simon, thinking as an Editor, determined that the book would feature stories solely about the new character. Believing this to be too much work for one man, he figured that he would parcel out the contents of the title to different writers and artists. Kirby told him that he wanted to do every single page himself. He was adamant that he could do all the pencils and make the printing deadline.

Knowing full well how strong Kirby was, Simon had his doubts, but gave ultimately gave Kirby the assignment. In the end Simon had to pitch in on a few pencils, and they used another artist to do the inks, but the book was finished on time. The book was cover dated March 1941, but it hit the newsstands on December 20, 1940.

The book was an immediate hit. One of the biggest reasons was the origin story the two men had hit upon. Almost any young kid can identify with Steve Rogers. A sickly young man, diminutive in stature and spindly, Rogers is still desperate to serve his country. But the Government can't use him because he is simply too small so they turn him away.

Desperate to prove his worth, Rogers allows himself to be subjected to an experimental drug.

Unfortunately a saboteur ruins the experiment and Rogers is the only beneficiary of the Super-Soldier Serum and Vita-ray treatment. In addition to a brand-new, incredibly honed athletic body, one that is pushed to the absolute peak of human capabilities, he also gets a miraculous shield which is nearly impenetrable. It can also be thrown as a terribly effective weapon.

The success of the book is directly attributable to the work of Simon and especially Kirby, but it was also a product of the times. Despite the very public debate over America's role in the world, the Country was about to become incredibly patriotic.

On December 29, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered a fireside chat heard by millions everywhere. FDR made the claim that America's involvement in the War overseas was "imminent." He made it very clear that the goal of the Nazi's was not only to "dominate all life and thought in their own country, but also to enslave the whole of Europe, and then to use the resources of Europe to dominate the rest of the world."

Simon knew how important a good villain was to any hero. Since the biggest villain Earth was Adolph Hitler he saw no problem with introducing Captain America delivering a knock-out blow to "Der Fuhrer." That alone was enough to intrigue anyone who stumbled across the cover.

The book sold out quickly and the second print run was rumored to take the total run close to a million. Considering that the country had a population of roughly 130 million at the time, that is an astounding print run. Add in the fact that the title stayed at close to a million copies sold per issue for at least the first ten, and that is a lot of comics sold.

The detail-packed cover is also notable for another reason. At the center, directly underneath the title, there is a television showing an explosion at U.S. Munitions Works. The New York World's Fair was taking place in at the time that Simon and Kirby were creating the title. One of them had to have stopped by the Fair and seen one of the exhibits. Or at the very least, heard about it form another writer or artist.

For many people 1939-1940 World's Fair was the first time they had seen a TV work. There had been a TV Station in NYC as early as 1931, but who could afford the set? The inclusion of the set on the cover showcases Kirby's attention to the outside world around him and his willingness to incorporate what he saw into his art.

The first issue contained almost every single thing that Captain America would need over the next seventy years. In one story a young man named Bucky Barnes the secret that Steve Rogers and Captain America were one and the same. He became Cap's sidekick Bucky.
Next the two partners meet The Red Skull. The character is another example of how much Joe Simon understood the importance of a great villain in any hero's mythology. The Skull is first introduced as the leader of a ring of Nazi spies. He lasts for a couple of appearances in the title. After he is killed it is revealed that he was merely an agent of the real Red Skull.

The real Red Skull, Johann Schmidt, was an orphan. His mother died in childbirth and his father was so upset that he tried to kill the baby. His father commits suicide and Schmidt is left to the streets. A few years later, when a young Jewish woman declines his advances, Schmidt kills her. From there things get much, much worse for him. Working as a bellhop, Schmidt meets Hitler, who decides to train him personally. Pleased with what he has accomplished, Hitler promotes Schmidt quickly. Outfitted with a fearsome mask, he becomes the leader of a group of Nazi terrorists.

The introduction of Captain America in the first book would be enough for any one team. But to also bring in Bucky and The Red Skull demonstrates the seemingly limitless amount of creativity in the minds of Simon and Kirby.

While Simon and Kirby had their own quiet political agenda when they created Captain America, there was another side to what they accomplished. People noticed the clear political themes behind the character and stories and they had their own opinions about the book. After all, Captain America fought little else other than Nazis for a long time. Simon later revealed that they had received plenty letters decrying the overt political nature of Captain America. More than a few of which made them nervous.

The success of Captain America allowed Simon to bring Kirby in on staff at timely. Working for Goodman they did the first ten issues of Captain America and than went onto other projects.

During the War years Captain America not only featured in his own title, but he was also featured in other Timely titles such as All-Winners, All-Select Comics and USA Comics. As the popularity of superheroes faded after the War, he led a team of Marvel Heroes called the All-Winners Squad who lasted two issues in All-Winner Comics.

Be sure to check back next month for Part II of Captain America: The First Comic Avenger!

With the trailer for the newest Planet of the Apes film, Rise of the Planet of the Apes in theaters everywhere, awareness of the original is once again hitting an all time high.

There is no greater ape-based concept in Science Fiction (and comics) than the 1963 novel La Planete de Singes by the French writer Pierre Boulle. In 1963 the book was translated into English as Planet of the Apes. Boulle’s original featured gorillas, orangutans, monkeys and chimpanzees in roles throughout its narrative.

The novel opens with a couple out on a nice afternoon ride through space when they come upon a message in a bottle. The bottle holds the story of another traveler who is writing in the hopes that someone will read his adventure on the Planet of the Apes.

Since many only know Plant of the Apes from the 1968 film and its subsequent sequels, concepts that were introduced as part of Boulle's original novel may seem odd when first encountered. But they are fascinating and as equally disturbing, if not more so, as anything in the film.

Boulle created definite divisions within the society of Apes. Gorillas were seen as violent while chimpanzees formed the intellectual part of society. The orangutans were portrayed as conservative, which is actually how most of the society appeared to be. The creation of three separate strata of society adds deeper texture than the concept of a single species of apes featured in the film.

Also inside Boulle's novel is the idea that the Ape society never really evolved because they were incapable of innovation, preferring instead to rely on imitation as a way of moving forward from generation to new generation through time.

The original novel found fans quickly and was quickly translated fro foreign markets. In 1964 the title found success as a mass-market paperback in America when it was published by Signet. A paperback wasn't the only place to find Planet of the Apes in 1964.

At the time pulps were still a viable outlet for science fiction. The editors of Saga: the Magazine for Men published an abridged version of the work in their May 1964 issue (Vol. 28, No. 2) which contained the first illustration created specifically for the franchise.

Hollywood acted just as quickly as the publishing companies. Two different film companies made offers for the rights to the book. The rights were eventually won by Arthur P. Jacobs of APJAC Productions. For the script Rod Serling worked for two years at incorporating many of Boulle's original ideas, but eventually Michal Wilson was brought in to work on re-writes. Both men receive screen credit. Jacobs' patience and hard work were rewarded as the film was a huge hit when it premiered.

Boulle, despite his initial reservations, was happy with many of the changes to his original novel. He was particularly impressed that the ape make-up didn't make them look silly. Still, he found the ending to be out of step with what he would have wanted.

No one associated with the production thought that the film would have the impact it did. Some historians rank Planet of the Apes as the first real science-fiction success in films since serial films such as Buck Rogers had played themselves out.

Its star, Charlton Heston, was a solid name on the marquee and a star by anyone's standards. But by 1968 Ben-Hur and The Ten Commandments were well behind him and even though 1965's The Agony and the Ecstasy was a hit, he was by no means a guarantee of success for the producers.

Expectations for the film were modest. But when it hit, it hit big. America went "Ape Crazy." Some felt it was the subtext of man being oppressed by another "race" because of who they were. This meaning certainly wasn't lost on a country still involved with a massive struggle for civil rights issues. Others felt that the film tied into the country's belief in the heroic quality of astronauts. But no matter how you looked at the film, the real reason for the film's massive success was that it was just a good adventure story. And who doesn't love a great surprise ending?

The success of the film demanded a sequel and Jacobs went back to the original author, Boole. Unsatisfied with what the author submitted, Jacobs brought at Paul Dehn and Mort Abrahams. Dehn was credited with the screenplay, but qualities that all three had brought to the screenplay were used.

The producers were anxious to bring back Heston's character but Heston wasn't interested in a sequel. While agreeing to appear, he asked that his salary be donated to charity. Even though he wasn't on the screen as long as they had hoped, he exerted a good amount of influence on the script and helped shape the final form of the film.

Beneath the Planet of the Apes opened in 1970 and was considered by many to being inferior to the first film. The concept was strong enough to still see three more Planet of the Apes films as the series became one of the first science fiction franchises of the modern era of film.

Following the second film a year later in 1971 was Escape from the Planet of the Apes. The film went a long way to re-establishing the credibility that the first film had initially established. In 1972 Jacobs released Conquest of the Planet of the Apes and in 973 his company released the final film in the series, Battle of the Planet of the Apes.

With the film series seemingly exhausted at the box office, 1974 saw a live action television series Planet of the Apes debut on CBS. The series saw thirteen episodes broadcast but it was brought to its knees by Chico and the Man and Sanford and Son over on NBC. A fourteenth episode was made and finally saw release on a DVD box set in 2006.

An animated version of Planet of the Apes was created by DePatie-Freleng who were famous for their work on The Pink Panther. Broadcast on NBC on Saturday morning, it also went for thirteen episodes before it was canceled.

Planet of the Apes has a long and very worthwhile history in comic books. The first film was adapted twice in manga, first in 1968 and than again in 1971. These still turn up on eBay and are well worth searching out.

Marvel Comics issued several attempts at a Planet of the Apes comic. The most important one was a black and white magazine that was put out by their Curtis Magazine arm which lasted 29 issues. The series adapted all five films and also added new stories to the cannon. Marvel wasn't the only company to develop the title. Other comic companies such as Gold Key who adapted the second film, kept their own name out there. The nineties started with a strong run from Malibu /Adventure Comics as they published Planet of the Apes titles.

In 2001Tim Burton, riding high on success of Batman and Edward Scissorhands as well as several other highly imaginative films took on a remake of the original film. Expectations were high and the film did well financially. Heston even returned for a well-received cameo. But Burton's version of Planet of the Apes suffered from among other things, criticism over what many felt was a forced and somewhat confusing ending. On the comic front, Dark Horse did an adaptation of the film as well as a mini-series. In 2005, Mr. Comics did a mini-series, but plans for a follow-up series never materialized.

This year will see the release of a new Planet of Apes film. Advertised as both a reboot and a prequel to what has gone on prior to its release, the film is expected to begin another successful run for the concept. Scheduled to be release on August 5, 2011, previews for Rise of the Planet of the Apes, have been met with positive feedback and audiences are responding well to the trailer. In tandem with the film's release Boom Studios! has picked up the comic license and plans to publish an on-going title.

Reading the book for the first time, or just returning to it after years away, is a rewarding thrill. Many consider Boulle's novel to be among the best ever in the history of Science Fiction. The original film series is still looked at as the template for a successful sci-fi franchise. Planet of the Apes stories found in comics are still thrilling fans in trades and are well worth seeking out in used comic bins. If the audience response to Rise of the Planet of the Apes is any indication, the series will be with us well over another forty years.

Today the character of Green Lantern brings to mind imagery of space adventure, interplanetary travel, wondrous aliens and quite possibly, the most poetic oath ever uttered by a hero. The name of Green Lantern also signifies an elite police corps of ring-bearers who do their best to stop crime as well any other disturbance, be it cosmic or mundane, in the Universe. With the film version of Green Lantern and the story of Hal Jordan set to open on screens across America on June 17, 2011, ComicsPriceGuide.com takes a look back at the long and varied history of the character itself.

When Green Lantern first appeared in All-American Comics #16 (July 1940), he was something completely new. His first appearance was less than two years after the incredible science fiction of Superman had set the comic world aflame in 1938. While comic books had existed for a few years before Superman's debut, his appearance ignited a new industry that was barely on its feet, comic books. The demand for new heroes to fill those books was clear, but few knew what the secret formula for success actually was.

With one foot in magic and the other in science fiction, the creation of Green Lantern by Martin Nodell and Bill Finger was a product of his day. In 1940 a mystical based character was as common as a science based character, but no one had successfully combined the two concepts in such an original way.

The idea for Green Lantern actually began on a train platform. Writing in his preface to the 1999 publication of The Golden Age Green Lantern Archives Volume 1, Nodell tells the story of waiting for a train to come into a station when he saw a trainman "waving a red lantern as he checked the rails." After determining the rails were clear, that same trainman than waved a "green lantern, indicating that all was safe."

Now armed with a name for his new creation, Nodell imaginatively added a few more details. He checks off the details of the process in the previously referenced Archives volume: "a mysterious meteor falling in ancient China; Wagnerian opera – the Ring Cycle – from which I borrowed the ring; and a bit of an ancient Greek look for the costume." He than added the one new factor which would become a key to the nature and longevity of the character, the hero's will power. While the origin of Green Lantern may have changed with the needs and standards of new generations of readers over the next seventy years, the most consistent part of the character has never wavered. The bearer of the ring must have incredible willpower.

Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern, stumbled across the first known lantern as the sole survivor of a train wreck. The lantern instructs him to make a ring from the metal that it's made of so that Scott can tap into the lantern's power. At the very end of its tale, the lamp relays this last thought "The Green Lantern …to shed light upon dark evil." And thus is born one of the key ingredients in the mythology of the Green Lantern, his oath. A much more familiar version of the oath is written by Albert Bester and shows up in Green Lantern #9.

Since nothing in life, or comics, can ever be perfect, the ring holds one very real flaw; it cannot function on anything made of wood. As explained over the years, the standard weapons of the time were almost always made of, or contained some, wood. This made the limits placed on the power of the ring a lot more real for the readers of the day. Wood as a flaw may not seem practical to a reader in 2011, but in 1941 it was very real.

This was the Golden Age of comics and Green Lantern is one of its most powerful and popular characters. But as the war wound down, publishers begin to panic when readership decreases. Funny animals begin to show up in DC titles and Green Lantern and his sidekick Doiby Dickles found themselves in trouble. In February 1948, the same month as DC's newest teen sensation Leave it to Binky shows up, Streak the Wonder Dog appears in Green Lantern #30. Eight issues later GL's solo title is canceled with #38.

The Golden Age Green Lantern's last appearance was All-Star Comics #57 (March 1951). Issue #58 features the new title All Star Western. This change says volumes about comic publishing over the next six years.

The next few years saw DC dive into westerns, romance, science fiction, horror and more funny animals while Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman kept the banner of superheroes flying.

In 1956, the company faced declining readership and declining sales. Looking for a way to bring in new readers, the editors at DC decide to look backwards to their own history for salvation. With a new generation of readers out there, the idea was floated to update The Flash. They decide to give him a new science-fiction-based origin and a sleek aerodynamic costume; one that would appeal to the new generation.

Barry Allen debuted in Showcase #4 and, due to the vagaries of distribution in those days; it took almost six months for the real distribution numbers to come in. The Flash looks to be a hit but, not entirely sure of how much of a hit he actually is, the editors decide that The Flash should get a few more try-outs in Showcase before he gets his own title.

When they do decide to award him his own book, no one at DC believes that a reader would pick up a book that doesn't have a long history behind it. So they decide to start this new Flash with #105, which would have been the next issue of the Golden Age Flash if he hadn't been canceled with #104.

Once DC was sure that the Flash was a hit, they go back into the deep well of company history. For their second hero, they choose the Green Lantern. With their second attempt at updating a Golden Age hero, they decide to make this hero even more science-based and modern than hey had done with The Flash.

The creation of John Broome and Gil Kane, coupled with the guidance of Editor Julius Schwartz; the new Green Lantern made his debut in Showcase #22. Every part of the hero has been created from scratch. Gone was any reference to the mystical aspect of Alan Scott's incarnation. The modern Green Lantern is a pure product of science.

Instead of receiving his ring from a magic lamp, the new Green Lantern is now a test pilot. This is an occupation that would have thrilled any kid of the late fifties. In reality, the idea of flight has been a staple of pulps and comics for years, so it really isn't that hard to understand. Kids had been crazy about aviation since before Lindbergh had flown across the Atlantic.  Think of Smilin' Jack or the Zeppelin tales written by Lester Dent. However, Jordan was a test pilot during the earliest days of the space race. This in itself was a new concept that was quickly taking over the headlines in newspapers across America.

Test pilot Hal Jordan is summoned by an alien named Abin-Sur who has crashed landed his spaceship on Earth. Jordan was singled out above all others because, according to the alien's power ring, he is without fear. Nothing in the essence of the concept, especially the space alien and the spaceship, really suggests magic. The new Green Lantern is an immediate hit.

Unlike the editorial decision to start the Flash with the old numbering, this time DC decides to make a clean break with the past. After a quick run in Showcase, Green Lantern made his debut in a solo title the cover of #1 dated July, 1960.

For the next ten years, Broome and Kane expand on the mythology of the character. But it's their early part of the run that sets the tone and really establishes the mythology of the series. Within a few issues Jordan's role as a test pilot as well as great supporting characters such as Carol Ferris, Tomar-Re and Thomas are established in more and more detail. The Guardians are introduced, the existence of other Green Lanterns who police other sectors of space is revealed and we met Jordan's greatest foe, Sinestro. That's just by issue #7.

As their run on Green Lantern begins to come to a close in the late 60s, Broome and Kane expand on a character they had introduced early on, Guy Gardner. It was revealed that as the battery had initially sought out a replacement for Abin-Sur, it had actually found two choices, but Hal Jordan was chosen because he was physically closer to the crashed ship.

The ring's second choice, Guy Gardner, had started out as a logical, solid man. But time and an exploding battery changed that. By the eighties Gardner had morphed into a reliable tough guy who held true to his very closed beliefs, often at his own peril.

By the early seventies, a new generation has grown up with comics. The style of Kane and the stories of Broome seem to have run their course. While the work of these two creative giants held some of the best science-fiction and most dynamic art ever seen in comics, a new generation of readers with different expectations and different experiences has risen in America. They are more open-minded and demand more of their heroes. In the years since Jordan's first appearance many of them have drifted over to the more socially relevant work found at Marvel.

Facing cancellation of the title, DC decided to turn over Green Lantern to writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams. Adams had actually started working on the title with a striking cover created for issue #63. Knowing that they were going to get the title a few issues later, the two, working closely with Schwartz as editor, began revamping another hero, Green Arrow. This revamp of a relatively minor character (compared to GL)  laid the groundwork for what they hoped to accomplish with Green Lantern.

Ironically, given his status as a "Batman knock-off", Green Arrow was one of the few characters who had been continually published since his debut in 1941. His status as a member of the JLA, as well as being a back up feature in titles such as World's Finest or Adventure, had helped GA weather the death of other superheroes during the late forties and early fifties.

To his credit, when GA was teamed with Batman in The Brave and the Bold issues of the late sixties, the numbers always went up. (Wildcat was another hero that saw circulation rise in B&B. Can you imagine if they gave Adams and O'Neill Wildcat?!!!) So he was definitely loved by someone beside Mort Weisinger. Still, it was the fact that he wasn't a front line hero that allowed Arrow to undergo such radical reinvention under O'Neill and Adams.

Adams had shocked long-time fans of the archer with a new costume and attitude when he shared an appearance with Batman in The Brave and the Bold #85 (September 1969). Over in the pages of Justice League O'Neill had been changing the Emerald Archer's attitude at the same time. The two men had a plan for GL and they went in well-prepared with the backing of Schwartz. The two made their debut in Green Lantern #70, (April, 1970).

Writing in 1983, O'Neil says of the revamp of Green Lantern and Green Arrow that, though it first debuted in 1970, "the stories belong to the previous decade as surely as do Owsley Acid, The Fillmore, protest marches, draft-card burning, the Johnson Presidency and those innocent, arrogant naïf's, the flower children." He also points out that it was the same decade that gave comics a new audience. One that was "… a cadre of knowledgeable, enthusiastic readers."

Unlike the Golden Age, where the publisher was unsure as to how to greet the changing times and often coated their heroes and titles in a staunch patriotic fervor, this time DC made the bold leap to address the world around it. The stories of O'Neil and Adams openly confronted racism, the war, religion, poverty, cults, sexism and most memorably, with a visceral directness seldom, if ever, seen in comics before, the effects of parental neglect and drug abuse. The site of Green Arrow's ward and sidekick Speedy on the cover of #85 (September 1971), still clad in his uniform but noticeably without his mask; holding his arm as a needle sits front and center on the table before him is still one of the most striking and disturbing covers in comics history.

While rightfully lauded and praised for their vision, style and execution, many forget that O'Neill and Adams also created a new Green Lantern as well.  John Stewart made a larger than life debut in issue #86. One of the first major black characters at DC, Stewart revealed even more humanity than Hal Jordan or Oliver Queen did. As he moved into the eighties he appeared in a short-lived title, Green Lantern Mosaic and continues to be a major part of the DC Universe to this day.

Unfortunately even the hard work of O'Neill and Adams could not save the title. The first solo title of the Silver Age Green Lantern was canceled with #89.  After the cancelation GL moved into his buddy Flash's title as a back-up feature for a short while afterward.

Throughout the eighties the character, as well as his title, would undergo periodic revitalization. A third run of the title begins in June 1990. After a relatively short run, DC was once again faced with declining interest and sales on the Green Lantern character and titles. This time they don't cancel the title. Instead DC decides to go another direction with one of comic history's most respected heroes.

In 1994, during the storyline "Emerald Twilight," Hal Jordan is driven insane by the destruction of his home town, Coast City. He becomes the monstrous villain Parallax and destroys the entire Green Lantern Corps and all the Guardians of the Universe except one, Ganthet.

It is during this crisis that we meet a new Green Lantern, Kyle Rayner. In an alleyway, the lone remaining Guardian (the others were victims of Jordan's madness), appears to the young artist and gives him the last power ring of the Green Lantern Corps. DC's gamble with making Jordan a villain and introducing a younger, much less certain version of Green Lantern pays off as Rayner becomes a respected member of the DC Universe.

As Parallax, Jordan plays a central role in the "Zero Hour" storyline as he attempts to rebuild the DC Universe along his own guidelines. It takes a few years, but Jordan redeems himself in "Final Night." As everything in the known universe faces destruction while the Sun begins to quickly die, Jordan uses his own power to reignite the Sun and in the process, sacrifices his own life.

Redeemed and recognized as the hero he always was, Jordan's soul is than raised from Purgatory to inhabit the character of The Spectre. In 2004, Jordan stages one of the most welcome comebacks in the history of comics in  Green Lantern: Rebirth. All of which sets the stage for the "Blackest Night" storyline that ran through 2010.

As many of the Green Lantern storylines are still running in the DC Universe, Warner Bros. prepares the world for the character's feature film debut.