Hi everyone:

I enjoyed the Captain America: The First Avenger movie and I was wondering if there is an ongoing series or graphic novels that has Captain America stories taken place during WWII.

I know the 40's comic were in WWII but I am looking at something more modern?

Thanks!

the Invaders. There's one from the 1970's and I beleive there was at least one other series in the 90's or later.

Right, basically modern sensibilities and storytelling applied to tales set in the past. Unfortunately, there isn't much out there. You do see a lot of brief flashbacks to WWII, especially in the early part of Ed Brubaker's run, but unsurprisingly modern writers (and readers) prefer modern adventures for Cap.

Paul Jenkin's Theater of War is an excellent series focusing on Cap in wartime. The tales are pretty evenly split between WWII and our current conflicts, but the stories are essentially timeless. It is not a slam-bang superhero collection, however.

There are a couple of volumes collecting Roy Thomas' Invaders series from the mid-70's. This was a team book featuring Cap, Bucky, Namor, and the Human Torch & Toro. However, the sensibilities and artwork may not be appealing to modern readers approaching the series for the first time.

That's about all that come to mind.

I'll second Ed Brubaker's run as a good place to jump on if you don't mind the split to be 50/50ish (Great writing... some of the best cap stuff in years). There are a few annuals that have decent mini WWII chapters, but you'd have to pick through them.

Your in luck, this series starts tomorrow:

Captain America and Bucky (2011) #620

The Story: Think you know the story of Cap and Bucky's origins? Well, think again. The secret story of the early days of Captain America, told from Bucky Barnes's point of view. From co-writers Ed Brubaker and Marc Andreyko with artist Chris Samnee (Thor: The Mighty Avenger).

Thanks everyone! I see that there are collected works for Ed Brubaker and I will check out the Captain America #620. I sort of remember the Invaders will check that one out. 50/50 stories don't sound to bad, and I will also check out Paul Jenkin's Theater of War.

I did purchase a few Captain America comics this past weekend at the comic book shop but there were like limited four issue editions which they didn't have all of them.

Thanks again.

The Adventures of Captain America (1991) - A re-telling of Cap's origin by Fabian Nicieza and Kevin Maguire.




There's also Truth: Red, White and Black which is a "secret history" of Cap's origin.




The 70s Invaders series is dipped in WWII history. Roy Thomas LOVES to write WWII stories. I learned more from his comics than I did from history classes. Good stuff if you're really into that time period.

Arrggh, I cannot believe I forgot Sentinel of Liberty. If you're getting into Cap because of the movie, this is the series to pick up. Nice catch, Vally!

Yeah, I was never wild about that art. One of the reasons I preferred the Liberty Legion.

The issues drawn by Frank Robbins and inked by Frank Springer are some of my favorite from that period. Did the Liberty Legion have a series? Because outside of their appearances in the Invaders, 2 issues of Marvel Premiere & 1 issue of MTIO, I don't recall seeing them. Who drew the Legion stories you preferred?

Every series is somebody's favorite series. Still, you have to admit that Robbins' artwork is a bit of an acquired taste. I respect the man and his contribution to the industry, but I really don't enjoy his art.

I think you've listed all of their original appearances. I, too, preferred the Liberty Legion to the Invaders and the artwork certainly played a role in that. Heck, Coletta, and the like were not as innovative as Robbins but they were a darn sight more accessible, especially to a ten-year-old.

Of course, the line-ups were probably the main reason. Cap, the Torch, and Namor were all appearing in one form or the other in books set in the present day. The WWII stories were the only place to see heroes like the Whizzer, Blue Diamond, and the Thin Man. I've always had a fondness for obscure characters.

I'd never fault someone's preference. It's funny though, I was attracted to Robbins' dynamic style the first second I looked at it and loved the heavy blacks that Springer laid on top of the pencils but it took me a while to acquire a taste for guys like Heck & Ayers and other guys I thought drew "stiff". Different strokes and all that.

I was your opposite as far as the line ups were concerned. To me, you couldn't beat Captain America and to have him paired with original Human Torch and Namor just upped the ante. That the stories took place during WWII was all the better. Roy Thomas' text pieces describing the golden age of comics and the characters' roles in it helped create almost a feeling of nostalgia for a period that I wasn't even familiar with at that age.

I don't have my TPBs handy, but I basically agree with Preterite. The LL artists weren't really my favorite either, and if anything were probably a little on the bland side, but Robbins was jarring to my eye.

Blue Diamond was probably my favorite character from that group perhaps because he was a nerd, and I always thought Miss America was hot.

I think Robbins' exaggerated body language throws some readers off:



I personally found his style exciting and dynamic. Besides, for every overly exaggerated piece like the above there was an absolute gem like this:



Not to slight the Liberty Legion at all, they just don't jump out of a plane with as much style!


(I don't mean to prolong the discussion or debate preferences, I just thought it would be fun to post pics. Long live the Legion!)

Pics are always good, and bonus points for including Nomad in a Cap thread

I just read the Liberty Legion HC that came out in January: The original Invaders/Legion arc plus the FF Annual with the Invaders that crossed over into Marvel Two-in-One with the Legion. I had all these in trade already with the Invaders Classic 1 TPB and Essential MTIO #1 (kudos to the Essential for including the FF Annual that kicked off that arc--back in the day, I subscribed to MTIO but never read the FFA), though of course the Essential was in B&W. These are still good stories, and I prefer the Sal Buscema art in MTIO to that in Invaders/Premiere (funny, considering the conversation in the Liefield thread). Though I'm wondering a bit what I saw in the Legion since the heroes are a little, well, boring (one fast person, one flying person, one strong person, etc.), and there's not much room for characterization when there are that many heroes (including the Invaders and the Thing) in the story. Oh well, I still like the Legion.

I recently re-sorted my trades, and all the Marvels are organized by character or title. Wasn't quite sure whether this one should go under "Fantastic Four" or "Marvel Two-in-One" (or even "Thing," since the official title is "Thing / Liberty Legion"), but considering the Invaders/LL half of the book, I've filed it under "Liberty Legion." At least they get that little bit of a moment in the sun!