CAPTAIN AMERICA

With CAPTAIN AMERICA going great guns at the box office (go see it, in 3D, and watch for nods to Indiana Jones and even the woeful 1970s Captain America telefilms), now seemed like a good time to revisit Marvel UK's CAPTAIN AMERICA weekly.

CAPTAIN AMERICA

59 ISSUES

25 FEBRUARY 1981 – 7 APRIL 1982

Unfortunately I don't have a complete run, including issue one, but the initial line-up of US reprints were Captain America, Iron Man, The Defenders and Dazzler.

Despite the US-centric name, the weekly managed to outlast CAPTAIN BRITAIN's weekly by a good 20 issues, albeit with none of the origination overheads.

Here's a few sample issues and, when it's possible to identify it, where the contents originally hailed from.

There's two mergers and a format change along the way.

V1N2

MARCH 1981

FREE GIFT: STICKER

CAPTAIN AMERICA PT2

IRON MAN PT2

DAZZLER: SO BRIGHT THIS STAR PT2 (US DAZZLER V1N1, 1981)

THE DEFENDERS PT2

COVER: US CAPTAIN AMERICA V1N248.

V1N5

25 MARCH 1981

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE SINS OF THE FATHERS! (US CAPTAIN AMERICA 246, 1980)

IRON MAN: THE MONACO PRELUDE (US IRON MAN N125, 1979)

DAZZLER: WHERE DEMONS FEAR TO DWELL (US DAZZLER N2, 1981)

THE DEFENDERS

COVER: US IRON MAN V1N125

V1N6

1 APRIL 1981

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE SINS OF THE FATHERS! PT2

IRON MAN: THE MONACO PRELUDE PT2

DAZZLER: WHERE DEMONS FEAR TO DWELL PT2

THE DEFENDERS: VALHALLA CAN WAIT! (US THE DEFENDERS N68, 1979)

COVER: US CAPTAIN AMERICA V1N246.

V1N7

8 APRIL 1981

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE SINS OF THE FATHERS! PT3

IRON MAN: A MADNESS IN MOTOWN PT1 (Emergency stand-by replacing planned strip) (US IRON MAN N59, 1973)

DAZZLER: WHERE DEMONS FEAR TO DWELL PT3

THE DEFENDERS: VALHALLA CAN WAIT! PT2

COVER: US THE DEFENDERS V1N67.

V1N8

15 APRIL 1981

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE MERCENARY AND THE MADMAN PT1 (CAPTAIN AMERICA 251, 1980)

IRON MAN: A MADNESS IN MOTOWN PT2 (Emergency stand-by replacing planned strip)

DAZZLER: WHERE DEMONS FAIL TO DWELL PT4

THE DEFENDERS: THE ANYTHING MAN! PT1 (US THE DEFENDERS N69, 1979)

COVER: UNKNOWN – ORIGINAL?

The 1973 IRON MAN reprint was apparently the result of a deadline crunch, despite having appeared in the US some two years earlier. Maybe the pages were lost in the post.

V1N9

22 APRIL 1981

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE MERCENARY AND THE MADMAN PT2

IRON MAN: THE HAMMER STRIKES (Delayed from N7) (US IRON MAN N126, 1979)

DAZZLER: THE JEWELS OF DOOM (US DAZZLER N3, 1981)

THE DEFENDERS: THE ANYTHING MAN! PT2

COVER: US IRON MAN V1N126

Normal service is resumed in IRON MAN.

V1N10

29 APRIL 1981

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE MERCENARY AND THE MADMEN PT3

IRON MAN: THE HAMMER STRIKES PT2

DAZZLER: THE JEWELS OF DOOM PT2

THE DEFENDERS: THE ANYTHING MAN! PT3

COVER: US CAPTAIN AMERICA V1N251

V1N11

6 MAY 1981

CAPTAIN AMERICA PT1

IRON MAN: A MAN'S HOME IS HIS BATTLEFIELD PT1

DAZZLER: THE JEWELS OF DOOM PT3

THE DEFENDERS: CATCH A FALLING LUNATIK (US THE DEFENDERS N70, 1979)

COVER: US DAZZLER V1N3

It's hard to take a hero seriously... in roller boots!

V1N21

15 JULY 1981

TITLE CHANGE TO MARVEL ACTION STARRING CAPTAIN AMERICA

CAPTAIN AMERICA: DEADLY ANNIVERSARY (CAPTAIN AMERICA N257, 1981)

IRON MAN: THE HULK IS WHERE THE HEART IS PT2 (US IRON MAN N131, 1980)

DAZZLER: THE HULK MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH (US DAZZLER 6, 1981)

THOR: WALK ON THE WILD SIDE (US THE MIGHTY THOR N269, 1978)

THE FANTASTIC FOUR

COVER: Montage based on US IRON MAN V1N131.

The title change is a little misleading, it implies its the good Captain that's been demoted but its actually MARVEL ACTION that took a bullet. Thor and the Fantastic Four jump ship although Marvel's first family are gone after V1N28. Presumably completely by coincidence, the Hulk appears in three of the strips (CA, Iron Man and Dazzler), presumably the result of Marvel USA cashing in on his TV success circular 1980-81 (when these strips originally appeared).

Here's the announcement of the merger from the previous week's issue:

V1N34

14 OCT 1981

In one of those notorious examples of Marvel UK covers not matching the contents (stay tuned for an even more fragrant PLANET OF THE APES violation, coming soon), Dazzler retains her cover billing but her strip vanishes with this issue. Despite the traditional Next Issue billing the previous week. Cock-up or conspiracy? You... are the jury.

V1N37

4 NOVEMBER 1981

FIRST GLOSSY COVER / CENTRE SPREAD

PRICE RISES FROM 15P TO 20P

FREE GIFT: MASK

CAPTAIN AMERICA: DEATH OF A LEGEND? PT2

THOR: A BALANCE IS STRUCK PT2 (PT1 IN N35) (US THE MIGHTY THOR N275, 1978)

DAREDEVIL (FROM MARVEL SUPER ADVENTURE)

COVER: UNKNOWN

It's relaunch week. Following on the heels of SPIDER-MAN (now SUPER SPIDER-MAN TV COMIC), CA gains a glossy cover and centre-spread (as well as a 5 pence price rise), reversing Dez Skinn's Marvelution plan to make the UK weeklies more palatable to UK buyers (and the news trade) by making them – err – cheaper looking!

Daredevil transfers from the defunct MARVEL SUPER ADVENTURE but the merger isn't deemed important enough to merit a cover mention. Was MSA's readership really that small?  Here is the announcement from the previous week:

And a house ad announcing the changes here and in SUPER SPIDER-MAN TV COMIC:

And, just to make the relaunch as attractive as possible... Marvel threw in a free CA mask!

V1N49

27 JANUARY 1982

THOR: A HAMMER IN HADES PT2 (US THE MIGHTY THOR N279, 1979)

CAPTAIN AMERICA: FEAR GROWS IN BROOKLYN (US CAPTAIN AMERICA N241, 1980)

COVER: US THOR V1N279

Dig those flares man!

V1N55

10 MARCH 1982

In the letters page, reader Jonathan Edwards asked some questions about the first CAPTAIN AMERICA Universal TV movie.  Unfortunately, because ITV didn't network its Christmas 1981 UK premiere, London-based Marvel UK hadn't actually been it!

V1N59

7 APRIL 1982

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE CALYPSO CONNECTION PT2 (US CAPTAIN AMERICA N245, 1980)

IRON MAN: FACADES PT5 (US IRON MAN N137, 1980)

THOR - PUBLISHED LANDSCAPE FORMAT

COVER: UNKOWN

IRON MAN CONTINUES IN INCREDIBLE HULK 4

It's a rushed final issue. Surprisingly, Marvel didn't even try and transfer readers to another weekly and the Captain America strips end here. 

Iron man fares better, crossing over to THE INCREDIBLE HULK from V2N4. Thor, also left homeless, is shrunk to allow two US pages to run side-by-side (ala TITANS) to bring the strip to a logical conclusion.

TRIVIA

• Captain America first appeared in CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS N1 in 1941.
• THE OFFICIAL INDEX TO THE MARVEL UNIVERSE: CAPTAIN AMERICA covers his solo career from 1941-2010.
• Perennial supporting feature IRON MAN has never enjoyed solo success in the UK despite two (thus far) feature films and two solo animated shows.
• Prior to this year, Captain America's screen career has been woeful. Two seventies telefilms (the second with Christopher Lee) are amongst Marvel's worst screen adaptations and never delivered the hoped-for weekly series. The 1990 feature film received poor notices (when anyone noticed at all), enjoyed limited international distribution and went straight to VHS in the US. Plans for an animated series in the 1990s were nixed over concerns about its WWII setting and Marvel's shaky financial footing.
• Plans to stage a Captain America Broadway musical in the mid 1980s progressed as far as casting adverts in Marvel's US titles before the project sunk without trace.
• The Dazzler, originally the Disco Dazzler,was conceived as a multifaceted merchandising opportunity which would have included a real-life recording artist (with hoped-for hits) and possibly a feature film too. Delays saw the other aspects (and disco itself) fade away, leaving Marvel to go-it-alone with moderate success.