Why is no one collecting Captain America?
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- Опубликовано: 4 мар 2024
- Why do comic books shudder when they receive Captain America Comics? Why are Cap comics always the last thing to sell? Why is no seemingly no one interested in Marvels most iconic hero? We talk about it all today!
#CaptainAmerica #Unpopular #Slump
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The Mike Zeck run is one of my favorites all time. Thanks everyone for not collecting CA and giving me cheap books!
I'm interested in Englehart's run, Byrne's run, Brubaker's run and a couple of more.
I'm also interested in the Jack Kirby, George Taska, John Romita, Sr., Joe Steranko & John Buscema's run on Captain America.
No Gruenwald run?
I'm Canadian and I have a very large captain america comics run from 70's, 80's and 90's.
Nice!
I'm living in Canada since 2007. I re-started my Captains collection again. Just the editions from 1968 to 1996.
Do you like Captain Canuck? I'm from the US and have the original series (more recent runs are really hard to find down here) and think he's a great character.
Cap and Superman represent an America most of us have never known.
It is really ironic that he's such a fan-favorite in the MCU movies and yet so disregarded in the Comics. You made a lot of great points.
Now would be a GREAT time to get into Cap comics!!!
The Brubaker run, in my opinion, was one of the best, if not the best, comic book runs ever!
Totally agree
It's okay. He wasn't the best of the 2000s writers and his writing is often hokey and strained. The whole thing goes off the rails after the Death into a never ending saga of nonsense.
It was very very very good for sure! To take such cheesy character and really make it grounded and gritty.
Brubaker also had the best Catwoman run, which with Darwyn Cooke’s art gave us her modern costume with the one piece zippered catsuit, aviator cowl, goggles, and whip for a belt.
He made me read Iron Fist, a character a never cared for. And his time on Batman comics alongside Greg Rucka that started post No Man’s Land and culminated in Bruce Wayne: Murderer?/Fugitive and Gotham Central was one of the best periods in Batman comics runs up there with Denny O’Neil’s and Steve Englehart’s Bronze Age tenure.
@@MildMisanthropeMaybeMassive Yeah but it also gave her that butch haircut that she never grew out of to this day. It was okay, mostly the first 15 issues, but nothing special or groundbreaking.
I am 58 yrs old and have loved Captain America 🇺🇸 since I first bought his books at my local corner shop off the spinner rack. He in my opinion represents like you said an idealized version of a Super Hero much like Superman. I was drawn to his never say die never surrender attitude. Even though he is technically not super human he always had the willingness to make you believe that even a human being (albeit enhanced) could still triumph over almost anything or anyone. This is a trait that has held true for Cap wether he was fighting
That's a proper way of illustrating who cap is XD
59 here and the same for me....was so worried when cap quit over the uh Whitehouse incident..
@@OQuinlan-nz1md LOL did you mean the time he became the nomad?
This is an excellent point. Captain America shares ideals with Superman, but more resembles Batman. He is a regular guy (as you said, albeit enhanced), and a master tactician. Where Cap and Batman differ is in their approach; Captain America is a symbol of hope (like Superman), while Batman is a symbol of fear.
I think so many writers forget that Captain America works best as an inspiration of what we could be, not as a gritty reflection of how things might be.
My first ever super-hero comic book I read was Captain America #227 against a 100 Red Skulls.
I think you’re spot on with all the reasons you mentioned. Parents today don’t teach their kids the traditional values of what it means to be kind to one another and helping others in need. Ask a public school teacher what it’s like to be a teacher nowadays. He is probably hard for kids nowadays to relate to. I’m old school, I love and collect Captain America. In a world turned upside down, he’s still all that’s right. I do wish Marvel didn’t water down his series with so many different volumes. I hope this is just a bad cycle we’re going through in US politics today and we can get past this me first attitude a lot of people are in.
Probably because he's a Golden Age hero. There's a general lack of interest in the MCU at this point too
Batman and Wonder Woman (and almost every DC golden age hero) would disagree!
@@MintHunterComics DC printed WW at a loss for years so they wouldn't lose the right to the character.
@@HepCatJack. And Batman? Real loss leader there.
Batman was created in the Golden age too.
I tried reading a few Captain America comics but found the ww2/Nazi/red skull/hydra thing to be boring.He really is a character out of time.
Cap is dope. I do a cosplay as Captain America at conventions, and even won two contests . Damn right, “I can do this all day”.
You must have America’s ass to boot!
The Steranko run was amazing 111-113 the modern stuff ;-)
Got them on my study wall .. fantastic.
I'm a big Captain America as well Captain Britain fan but then I'm over 50 A life long comic reader and action figure collector.
I think Cap could come back if someone writes a really good and grounded early years. Like Batman year one. He works best in a WW2 setting in my opinion. But I too like the ultimate Captain America.
Ironically Cap writing is usually top notch! Brubaker and more always do great by him! I actually don’t think it’s the writing
@@MintHunterComics Some may argue that the writing of Cap hasn't been good since a Brubaker
@@whodatnation1222 I think you're on to something there. There's been a lot of Cap bashing since Hydra Cap and I thought JMS would bring us a good Cap story, but it's been slow burning trash.
As a Huge Cap fan I mostly go for his Silver and Bronze Age books, They have gone up in recent years but I can always find some good deals on them. I think part of it, which you mentioned is he is so upstanding and not everyone likes to relate to that. For me I like him because he will fight for the underdog, and I honestly love the speeches that he gives in his book and his moral compass.
Cap's morality also shifts from one author to the next. When you've read nearly ALL of the comics you notice this, especially if you know a lot about political philosophy.
Cap is at his best when he's anti-establishment, & not every writer understands this or how to utilize it properly.
Mark Gruenwald did, though.
I sell comics out of an antique mall and have always been shocked how long some great CAP books sit. And sit, and sit..one of my favorite Cap issues is the issue with the John Byrne cover and the story is the Death of Baron Blood. Such a great book..for $9 !! It must have sat there for 3 years before someone bought it. Cap sales are slow. But not nonexistent. I find that issues with the Red Skull on the cover sell much quicker.
Brubakers run on Cap with the Winter Soldier is amazing.
Captain America #254 😅 it's one of my "buy it every time I see it" books, & I do manage to move it/sell it again later most of the time. I currently only have 2 copies on hand, & one of them is my personal collection copy.
Yeah, that's one of my favorite Cap issues.
That was one of the first Cap comics I ever read and is one that I've been on the hunt for in the wild. LOVE that book.
@@grownassedgamergamer807 Yeah I read it when I was really young as well and it was one of the first comics I went after when I started seriously collecting as a teenager. Two part story..one of the best imo. It isn't easy to find in the wild, which is why I was so surprised it sat for as long as it did for a mere $9 ! I refused to put the price down though because it was in nice condition, great story from a time when 'death' actually meant dead.
@@Matthew.E.Kelly. I have two copies of #254 as well, one in the PC and one in the inventory boxes. Childhood favorite ..great villain that should never have been brought back.
@@Boxingbearthat short-ish Byrne run is in pretty high demand among folks who collect to read, the old-school folks who don't necessarily like TPBs or Epic Collections, etc.
It was the 2nd run I completed after the Kirby run.
I just recently completed the Tales of Suspense Captain America run, #58 through #99, and some were not cheap! And I'm damn proud of the collection.
Kovac, Attuma,Dr. Doom,Thanos orange number of high powered foes. I personally love his never say die attitude and wish more people had this type of real life ideal. I think the world would be a better place. LONG LIVE CAPTAIN AMERICA !
I’m not American and I absolutely love Cap. I’ve been trying to get his keys from before the Gruenwald era and let me tell, you that it was almost too easy. They sell for a decent $$ but nothing I can’t pay. The only big key that’s been eluding me is that issue 109 big boy you showed at the start. It has slipped from my fingers many times, still looking for a decent copy for a decent price. 😢
The movies made Captain America way more popular than he was before. I do like him but as far as my comic book collecting there are other series and heroes that I want to collect first. It’s a shame that he doesn’t get much love, I was there for the claim sale and it indeed was rough for cap.
I agree, I love the movie Cap! And yes hahaha not a single Cap moved
That really sucks, man, I kinda wanna save up & come to the shop *specifically* to buy whatever Cap you have.
I do, part of the problem is the artificial inflation of the prices. I was able to get a lot of the more important bronze and after issues for literally $1-$2 about 10 years ago.
My son actually bought a few during Christmas break there. We just went again this weekend and got a bunch of $1-$3 comics that were priced great worth way more
2 factors I would add:
A relatively weak Rogues gallery besides the Red Skull, and even the Red Skull seems kind of one note/generic and done to death at this point.
The other is the team leader curse. Storm and Cyclops are super popular but their solo comics have never really caught on because it just feels like you are missing something without the rest of the x-men. A DC example might be Martian Manhunter.
Even in his WW2 era stories his most fun stories were with the Invaders or howling commandos.
So even though I like Captain America myself I feel like I’d probably prefer to collect the Avengers first if I was going to collect his appearances.
Pairing him with Bucky or Falcon helps a little but neither can really compete with Cap with the Avengers.
you are right about his rogues gallery and it seem, even when the new writers who come up with new baddies none of them stick
@@kurumais Agreed. They should’ve kept Iron Nail and Dr Mindbubble around. They were the last two new Cap Villains I liked!
The problem is ww2 is so far in the past people can't relate to it since the nazies are over used and the word nazie is used to shut people up rather than what nazies were.
Some of cap's best were dealing with nazie war criminals in the present day. This worked in the 60's to the 80's but won't work today.
Trying to bring back nazies to day through suspened animation is a tired formula.
The usa is a world power today. Not so in the forties where Germany was seen as a world threat.
Todays problems in the us is seen as 1st world problems by the rest of the world.
Stories can be done in a modern way. Example Red skull takes over Lativa (Doom home town) using Dooms own weopons to take over countries causing other countries to go after Doom (since he invented the weapons) CA is sent there to cantain the damage.
Or the Red Skull rediscovers the solider surem (spelling terrible today) gives it to Junkies and gangmembers to cause problems. Thus trick the Gov to reactivate the Sentiles to take care of the threat.
Red Skull controls the sentinals to take over the country while the solider secrum is laced with posion to kill the users.
Red Skulls views the Senitials as the perfect solider while getting rid of the his views Dregs of society.
A modern Night of the long knives.
Using high tech to dominate a country.
Just my two bits to tell a story.
The trick is writers missing the purpose of a paragon hero. When the hero is a paragon (perfect) the best human ideal, the story is his affect on the people and characters around him. Think “The Shawshank Redemption,”and his impact on the prison. Captain America is supposed to be the best of what America can and should be calling out where we need to improve while calling attention to where we have ground and have gained ground.
I collected Cap in the 1980's and my fav runs were his two stints as Nomad, his run as The Captain because he saw how flawed the military commanders were.
Also like the Scourge Saga and Cap dealing with Flagsmasher.
I see his sales parallel with other 'War/Military' books...after people realize the flaws and mistakes that every Military branch makes, people's desire to read those type of books drop.
Marvel has screwed with Steve Rogers too much. Captain America is Steve Rogers. Period. That's at the heart of the character.
That Brubaker is one of the best runs ever. With that being said I think like Superman. Too many books to collect so everyone goes for just the keys. But we won't see Steve Rogers Cap or certain villains for a very long time so I feel like everyone brought Cap back in the early MCU days and now there is no need for them to buy. BTW I love these kinds of videos. Would love to see you talk more about other characters or teams that don't seem to get a lot of love.
I also want to add I was an officer in the Army I was deployed as a 2LT Infantry. The really built hardcore Cpt's were nicknamed Cpt America. We had one in our BN that could of played Steve Rodgers in a movie. It was pretty cool.
I like Captain America. He represents how America was and should be now.
It’s nice having one or two of the Boy Scout trope characters! We need that I think!
Cap is usually the ideal personification of _liberal idealism's_ vision of what America should be, but let's be honest here -- all of that wishy-washy stuff is nowhere near as good as Gruenwald's Cap, who was a lot less misty-eyed nostalgia & much more hands-on, gritty, & legitimately *was challenged* by the stark reality of what America actually is... Compared to the _idea_ of what it's supposed to be.
That dialectical conflict/contrast is at the core of the best Cap stories. When he's *not* perfect & when he acknowledges how f*cked up this country is & the mind-blowing fact that it's THE major world power but has no business having that kind of influence & control...
That's the core of the best Cap stories.
Nationalism is jingoistic garbage, but a lot of people conflate nationalism with personal aspects of "identity politics." That's a... Different take, like an ahistorical one, really. But the best Captain America stories are about struggling to resist the urge to step into line, follow blindly, & become part of a swarming mass of vulgar flag-worship 🤷🏻
I dunno, my personal politics often feel reinforced/affirmed when I read a really good Cap run. The best writers knew there were limits to the power of an individual, of a symbol, & placed that struggle in the story -- in Cap's very identity -- as a result.
This is spot on correct.bI couldn't have said it any better!
So true. Cap identifies everything that the left stands for and fights everything that the right stands for.
@@vivalarazausarmyvet4453I would argue that my *favorite* Cap stories have him left-leaning, such as the majority of Gruenwald's run, but there's a lot of right-wing hegemony in American liberalism -- so much so that many writers have shown Cap supporting granular socio-economic hierarchies with actual physical violence & even defending right-wing government officials & institutes.
You have to remember that two of the pillars of left-wing political philosophy that polarize us against the right-wing are 1. vertical hierarchies & 2. capitalism. Those go hand in hand in meta-analysis, as they intersect -- but some leftists (anarcho-syndicalists in particular, but other anarchist philosophies) have very specific ideas about _horizontal_ hierarchical distinctions. So it's not always a hard/fast rule.
Anyway, there are an overwhelming majority of writers who are absolutely okay with socio-economic hierarchies under capitalism but think that "representation" is important, or that we need to "vote harder" to enact "progressive" policies. Generally liberals think the system is fine, it's just prone to corruption because of who's "running" the system.
Leftists know the system sucks. It's not even broken, it's doing exactly what it's supposed to. It's just not a system that was designed to "work" for the majority of people -- it's mostly set up to benefit a small ruling class of capital owners.
The times when Cap opposes _that_ -- as well as everything that goes along with it such as racism, classism, electoralism, bourgeoise propaganda, cultural hegemony, etc. -- is when I like the stories the most. Again, Gruenwald wrote about these things a lot with context & subtext.
I think it's like you alluded to in the video. James Bond used to be the cultural touchstone in the 60's and 70's. As it was an embodiment of the idea that Britain, or specifically England, was the centre of culture in the world. Fashion was Carnaby street, music was the Beatles (or the Stones) and movies were James Bond and other spy related films.
Then the 80's and Margaret Thatcher happened. Whether you were a supporter or not she polarised people. Same has happened to America of late and any character that embodies a country that is seem to be divisive is not going to sell. The last time I saw Captain America selling well was Ed Brubaker's run and if you remember Steve Rogers was dead and gone for half of it.
Well said!
Ah, yes, Margaret Thatcher -- whose tombstone is now recognized as Britain's very first official gender neutral bathroom 🥰
Captain America represents American ideals not America itself. My favorite storyline was when a Skrull replaced Nixon and for a time Steve Rogers was Nomad until he realized true American ideals of equal opportunity, anti racism, taking care of the less fortunate and all that other we hold these truths to be self evident stuff we are supposed to Believe in is important.
@Mint-Hunter. I agree with you. The story arc that Lee & Kirby placed him in, going back to The Avengers # 4, the first series, circa 1964, in the Silver Age of Comics, where he lived with the guilt of Bucky Barnes death, and he had trouble adjusting to a era that had advanced twenty years ahead of him, and his desire to get a job doing espionage work with an organization such as SHEILD, so he wouldn't feel like The Avengers were footing all his bills, despite it made him appear grouchy, was a interesting plot line.
I am South Afican and Captain America is my favourite hero. I am struggling to collect his comics because everything is sold out online and we don't actually have a bunch of comic shops so yeah I don't know what to tell you
Hey James, I'm an old collector of Captain America. I had a complete collection of his comics published in Brazil. I sold it all before moving to Canada. Now I'm starting to collect Captain America again here. Yes, we are rare, but we exist! And I don't just collect keys, I'm what you guys call "a filler". Collecting mainly 1968-1996 editions.
“Streets of Poison” was one of my favorite of Cap’s storylines.
So many great story lines in Gruenwald's run.
The first Captain America Comic I remembering reading was Tales of Suspense # 65, which also featured the first Modern Age appearance of the Red Skull in the Marvel Age Universe. I later discovered since since Avengers # 4 that he had joined the Avengers. The next comic I saw him in was Avengers # 5, "Invasion of the Lava Men," and Avengers # 14, "Even An Avenger Can Die!" I later discovered Cap stayed with the Avengers after the original line up had changed after Issues #16 & 17. I enjoyed his appearances in the Avengers Comics from the Silver Age thru The Bronze Age. And I followed his adventures, on and off, in Tales of Suspense, until he got his own Comic Book Series in the early 1970's, where Joseph Steranko, took over the art from Jack Kirby. In the 1980's, I also enjoyed when John Bryne did the art, and Paul Neary illustrated the stories where Cap. fought the Scourge of the Underworld. Around the same time period, I again enjoyed Cap.'s appearances in The Avengers, where Roger Stern wrote the scripts, and the late John Buscema and Tom Palmer did the art. But I don't know how the current Captain America and The Avengers Comics are, because I haven't been reading them lately. Some people may think that CA makes corny speeches, but I don't! And it's sad that what Captain America stands for, going all the way back to his creation in the 1940's has practically died out, perhaps going back to the mid-1960's and the 1970's!
Though it was brief, I always felt the 1980’s Stern/Byrne run on Captain America was so good, just for sheer quality, that it should stand alone as highly collectable. I mean, they managed to make Baron Blood and Dragon Man into legit characters. And the Hyde/Batroc pairing was brilliant.
I was sorry to hear about this lack of general lack of interest. Particularly as I have a mint silver age Cap run myself - the only one of those freakish garage sale finds that ever happened to me. I hadn’t planned on selling them anytime soon, but it would have been nice to know that I could have. Ah well…they’re great to have regardless.
I need to get up to NJ and visit your booth. I want to collect Cap, just have to consolidate some of my collection first. Maybe find someone to trade up for keys with.
Cap and sometimes Marvel in general seems to have specific runs that garner the most attention but with marvel for the most part keeping a single continuity their longer characters ie the golden age ones that still get runs can be daunting
Great Topic. I’ve been fascinated by Cap since I became an adult and started feeling like a “man out of time.” I love how the variations tend to reflect American times.
You made lots of good points in this video. I have never been interested in collecting Captain America. It's not a comic character I am interested in. I agree that Winter Soldier is an incredible movie. I like the Winter Soldier better than Captain America myself. Take care.
Hahaha well said Six!
It’s probably because 97% of all Modern Age Captain America comics can easily be found in $1 bins; and the stories usually aren’t very good.
I love 100 - 181, after that it's a hit or miss..i love cap and agree with you, winter soldier was incredible.
Because the key first appearances are way back in the golden age, Avengers 4, or in Strange Tales. The only key first appearances of his own title are Falcon and Winter soldier Bucky’s return. The only other thing you can hang onto are the few Kirby and Steranko issues.
Captain America died the moment they gave that hack Nick Spencer Steve Rogers: Captain America. That knucklehead can go where the sun don't shine. And Sam Wilson is Falcon. Period.
I hadn't looked at my collection for 40 years until 2021 when I thought I should probably have a look at what I had and catalog everything. I did notice that The Cap stuff really hadn't moved much. I didn't know just how much the key book significance revolved around first appearances and wondered if that was the case with the Cap stuff. Doesn't seem like there's a handful of significant first appearances in the silver-to-present time frame? When I was collecting in the late 70's-early 80's, that wasn't a popular title then either (current issues at that time). The only issues I was collected were the ones that Byrne illustrated.
I love Captain America, I'll be ordering every omnibus of his I can get next payday, and I also think this video nailed the reason he's not selling these days. This video was fantastic, definitely subbing to your channel now.
I focus my Cap collection on issues 100-410... i dont like to spend the money on the expensive old issues so much, but i love the old stuff, and the stuff i grew up on. I grew up in the 90s so i love all those books. Cap Wolf was cool and thats where I stop. I love the Ron Lim stuff, but that late 80s Captain America is the best. LOVED the Johnny Walker story line, evil Cap was what brought me into his books, issue 347 "VENGEANCE" where he kills the twins is legendary. Loved Flag Smasher. Loved the Blood Stone Hunt story on some Indiana Jones adventure. Loved the Mike Zeck artwork from the 80s, I need that key you have on the wall! Cool cover art shown at 11:10 love that artwork!
I always liked the Bucky Barnes Cap uniform: Red, White, Blue and Black. And speaking of volumes, The Punisher has had 13 volumes, excluding the new version that was just put out.
For me, I always loved seeing Cap as a leader of a team. That’s why Avengers appealed to me more than solo cap. He seems more in his element leading a group.
I’m debating on collecting Captain America but even now when I’m getting ready to ship off to basic training having joined the army I find it hard to want to collect the comics outside of the keys except for the newest run I love that volume
Cap is like plain oatmeal. Old Fashioned, good for you, but it's only exciting when you add something else to it
Oatmeal keeps me regular - which is important at my age. 😃
Lol....good analogy
Like Wolverine, or Spidey!
Sorry, 90's kid here! 😂
Loved this video. Great job!
I've always LOVED Captain America (Steve Rogers), he was always consistent and true to his nature.... a real American hero and patriot, high character, honorable, high moral, and ethical principles and values, he fiercely guarded his image and what it stood for by tightly controlling and self policing his own conduct and actions with high self-accountability, he was the ultimate in keeping himself in check to project the image of himself at all times in public as a self-proclaimed "public servant." To me, Steve Roger's a.k.a. Captain America was the living embodiment of a true real life American hero who was the ultimate patriot that represented what it was to be an American at one point long ago, it's the same feelings that I had when I joined the U.S. Marines as a 17 year old. Like Superman, who loved earth and the people of earth, Captain America loved the U.S.A. and its citizens and its way of life, as a veteran, that's why we serve, to preserve that which blood was shed to create this country and its ideas and way of life concerning our rights and freedoms. If you asked a lot of older veterans, I think you'll find that they love Captain America also and that they identified with him regardless if they were in the Air Force, Navy, Army, or Marines. Captain America is a great American hero and a very noble character worthy of respect, like our flag and Bill of Rights and Constitution.... we need to embrace and love him for what he always stood and fought for. Captain America, being an Avenger, was the most perfect pairing in comic book history because they were the great collection of heros to me personally.... the X-MEN were right on their heels. I love Captain America and the Avengers, the absolute best ever.
This kinda explains why my Caps are not selling... awesome vid, sire!
Really appreciate your thoughts on Cap. I picked up various runs over the years, The Waid and Garney 90's run, the run that had Cassaday and Reiber on the book, and parts of Brubaker's run. Really clicked with Marvel's Civil War Cap. He's a tough one to write solo in a compelling manner 100%.
I’m currently building my Wonder Woman New 52 run. Thrilled that no one seems to be collecting this, cuz it’s super easy to find!!!
Love Cap, grew up with Byrne,Zeck, Dwyer…. Now I will start to hunt for those silver keys! Good video,Sam from 🇨🇦
The essense of Captain America is perseverence, duty, and a commitment to the ideals that once were said to embody the spirit of America.
We have generations... millenials onward, who literally dont know what the frak we're talking about. Ta-Naheisi Coates tried to reframe the discussion during his run, but it didn't come off the way he wanted. Like most Cap writers post-Grue, he probably would like a chance to retune those stories a bit.
I always liked Captain America BECAUSE his motivations are pure even though he might not always get it right.
The Brubaker run was fantastic and built the Captain America roster up in such a good way that they became vital and important again.
As a British guy, I enjoy Captain America comics but I’m not really enamoured with Captain Britian comics.
Captain America #156 is one of my all time favorites comics, and any of that Era
Cap was my favorite when I was a kid. Sounds like a good time for me to pick up some older keys.
Wish I had known about the Cap sale. Cap got me started reading, and collecting in 1987. Working on a volume 1 run. I have a run of Cap from #262-454. He will always be my favorite Marvel hero.
He's better in a team atmosphere because he is a born leader. As a solo hero he's limited by his rogues gallery like red skull and crossbones
I got som epic collections from Gruenwalds run. And i love those stories. Gonna get me that omnibus later.
Started to read comics pretty late, but it was the "Doesn't matter what the press says"-speech from Spider-Man Civil War, that got me hooked on Cap.
And I'm from Sweden, so it doesn't have anything to do with patriotism. I guess I have always liked that kind of idealism that Cap is.
Gruenwalds run! Great stuff. Him and Kirby were the best for the character.
As a Cap collector most of my life, it's kind of always been this way. Bought that Bloodstone saga in real time, loved it. It got a bit off buzz in the shops too, very Indiana Jones-ish.
Cap is my all time favorite character. I've bought probably 200 back issues in the last year. Raiding those dollar bins.
I will always love the Steve Englehart and Sal Buscema run. I paid a pretty penny to complete my collection of those issues. Sal was the best Cap artist ever, in my humble opinion.
I think as an armature collector that there isn't any great cover art, most of it is Cap crouched down, shield up and a balled up fist. I believe that if they took Cpt. America and put him in the middle of some modern conspiracy stories and build an arc off of those, recreate him into more of a special agent (like he is) but I'm not a writer or editor for a comic publisher. Great Video!
I loved the Spencer run on Cap and Sam, and of course his Secret Empire event book. Nothing else has held up when I’ve dipped my toe back in the Cap waters.
I think most of the recent creative teams just haven’t had a good story to tell. They feel Cap has to be a specific thing and is boxed in. Nothing says you can’t go outside the box while keeping the core of the character intact.
Welp, considering the people that have been writing him in recent years actively hate him.
I mean turning him into an in universe Nazi and as far as I recall is still the new canon. Where current Steve is the one birthed from the cube or whatever.(Correct me if that changed.)
It’s tough to come back from that.
Captain America and Iron Man are my favorite heroes. Captain America stands for the principles of what's right and just. As a hero he usually makes the right decisions but in his personal life it's just like everybody else's with ups and downs.
I’m from the UK & love Captain America, I’m in processing of collecting vol 1 and quite happy prices are low 😊
I love Cap. At one point I'm sure it was my second most collected book.
Two reasons I don't go out of my way to pick up back issues: 1) As a golden age hero, a complete run is out of reach. 2) The bronze and copper age covers are mostly cringe. I can't help but pick up cheap FF and Thor. Every cover is an absolute banger. But Cap... too many speech bubbles, too many baddies who look like clowns, and sometimes just bad art.
You're probably right about MCU speculation and definitely right about volume dilution (especially the Wildstorm reboot), but I think you're wrong about the nationalism and have the politics backwards. Most western comic collectors are American or Americanophile, so I don't think the "A" is a drag on his popularity. I think his films did pretty well internationally. As far as politics go, everyone in the hobby knows Cap is nobody's nationalist. He's probably the most stridently liberal "America-hating" hero besides Green Arrow. The large contingent of collectors who gravitate toward Batman, Wolverine, Punisher and other characters known for brutalizing their enemies are probably the ones turned off by Cap's politics.
I think another small factor for why Captain America books don't move as much is because there's not as many newer Generations that have an appreciation for Jack Kirby and the stuff he did on Captain America when he came back to Marvel in the 70s
Captain America is in my top five or six favorite characters. I enjoy the comics way better than the movies, and I really enjoy the movies. So this will tell you how much I like the comics. The comics are the best way to really get a feel of the character. He is and has been one of the best written comics consistently throughout his entire comic history.
If you go out and fine either the comics or tpb’s just read them you will like it. If you are a true comic fan. If you are an investor, keep steeping you are not what we need.
I quit Cap when Brubaker & Epting/Guice/Perkins wrapped up the Winter Soldier era. But I buy occasional issues, like the Remender/JRjr run.
Eh, I dunno about you guys but every chance I get I'm getting at least a couple issues to try to complete #100-400.
He's my favorite character. Absolutely awesome, badass, and NEEDED
I agree with the Ultimate Captain America. I liked how they did more of his Military Background...they really played to his inner strength. Physically the weakest of the Ultimates but lead them through his faith and determination!
I love you're take on Captain America and I personally am a collector (mostly DC) I am a patriot I served in the Air Force. I totally agree with the fact that people are more into anti-heros I am a huge Punisher fan. Keep up the awesome vids.
I too have always been shocked by the low value of Arnim Zola's first appearance. A NM Raw copy has been $16 for the past year or more, which is the same price as the non-key issues in the # 202 - 214 range. When it comes to Captain America's Rogues Gallery, he's portrayed as an A-Lister a notch or two below the Red Skull, but lower level Cap villains like Dr. Faustus, Flag Smasher, Sin, and even Nightshade have much higher values for their first appearances.
Great video and lots of insight!
I never really felt any interest in Captain America when I was growing up. As you say, roo perfect etc. His heyday was long in the past. And he wasn't really featuring in 90s cartoons or anything.
The hype is not there now. But when the nostalgia really kicks in for the MCU early phases, I imagine there will be alot of people wanting to collect the key issues.
But as you say, the early ones are quite unnatainable.
The other thing is that he doesn't have a rogues gallery like Spider-man, particularly in the silver age. Red Skull is golden age, and Baron Zemo is bronze age.
He also doesn't have that many runs that are really considered classic, aside from Brubaker I guess.
But he does have some great comics. Like the Steranko ones. I want to grab those at some point.
I feel like most collectors want to go after the golden age cap issues and a select few of the silver aged issues. Yea there are a few mini series worth reading but the good stuff are the timely and silver aged caps
I am an Australian, born in 1969, and have been reading, and collecting, Marvel and DC comics for as long as I can remember.
I fricking love Steve Rogers, Captain America. I don’t care that he is American. I care for what he stands for. Doing the right thing. Even when it is unpopular. ESPECIALLY when it is unpopular. I love his portrayal in the MCU (“I don’t like bullies”, and “I can do this all day”, and in the comics (“No, you move”).
Steve Rogers may be American, but he is not America, as has been shown many times in the comics, where he takes a stand against what he believes to be wrong. Even Stevil Rogers was, in his own way, a good man. His beliefs were flawed, from our perspective, but he still struggled, as he was still that good man, underneath.
Even without the shield, and without powers, Steve is a good man, who will always do the right thing. The shield and powers are just the cherry on top.
He is a natural leader, and the gold standard other heroes in the Marvel universe hold themselves to.
Perhaps he is not selling, because the average person no longer believes in what Steve stands for. We have all become selfish, and self-centred. No longer is it “what can I do for my country?”, but rather, it is “what can my country do for me?”.
Cap is often depicted as a “dinosaur”, and “a man out of time”. Personally, I think we could do with many more people like him in the world. People who put others before themselves, and strive to make the world a better place for everyone, and not just themselves.
So many individuals these days are desensitised to everything, lack empathy, and are self-obsessed beyond belief. Many don’t even make an effort to get to know their neighbours, let alone learn their names. Our present society doesn’t deserve people like Steve Rogers, even though we desperately need them…
Cheers,
I loved the John Walker as Cap storyline leading up to issue 350. Still affordable,
but a good story!
I'm actually a fan of Jeff Mace, The Patriot, from the Liberty Legion. He was the third person to replace Captain America. That four issue Patriot mini series that came out several years ago is one of my favorites. And I always liked Jack Monroe, 1950's Bucky who became Nomad in the early 80's. Too bad he's dead.
Good overview.
Very interesting video. I am a black British 🇬🇧 Captain America fan and the A on his head certainly didn't bother me as a kid or adult regardless of the wars America has engaged in in my lifetime. I always felt that Steve Rogers represented the best of us.He just happens to be American. The first Cap books I read were the issues leading up to issue #300. A very dark storyline by J.M DeMatteis that has Cap pushed to his limits and the (then Final) battle against the Red Skull. That storyline had a major impact on me. Cap even said that he no longer hated the Red Skull. He felt pity for him even though he was sickened by him. So it was the character of Steve Rogers drew me to him. I also loved when he travelled to the future (1990) and met Deathlok. The tie in to Secret Wars 2 when the Beyonder was observing him and could see something special about him were very memorable to me.
I am currently reading J.Michael Straczinski's run.
I will continue to slowly buy his entire run (from the 70's up to now) if they are not too expensive.
I literally just bought the first appearance of red skull for just over 100 bucks. I was in shock I got it that cheap at a whatnot auction. It’ll probably just go in my pc there was 200 folks in the room and just 2 of us biding on it. I think ya gotta add on not that many readers anymore either. Nice video I’ve forgotten about him myself until that auction.
You DID NOT buy a copy of Captain America Number ONE from 1941 for 100 dollars. Youre greatly mistaken as to what you bought- and perhaps THAT is why there were only two bidders.
First appearance of red skull in the silver age what dumb ass would think it was golden age.damn guess I should’ve been exactly specific for the morons.@@donaldcleveland5300
I like silver and gold age cap. There just aren’t many cap keys after that. The golden age cap is particularly collectible as war covers. There are some great silver cap and avengers books but afterwards there hasn’t been a “legendary” run or anything to increase the increase in the comic. Avengers twilight is a great series right now and maybe that will increase its profile. With that, I do agree with everything you said.
Its interesting because Captain America has had some great covers over the years so you'd think at the very least he'd attract the people who go for cover buys 😂
Sadly, CA has never sold well in mainstream circulation or as a back issue.
John Byrne and Mark Gruenwald understood Cap because it is all about how others see this perfect hero.
That's why he clicks so well with Nick Fury and the senior Avengers, as the respect is evident. The Red Skull, Baron Strucke, Zemo and others all hate Cap because in their heart of hearts they know they are not enough, and this man was strong enough to walk the righteous path.
For me when it comes to Cap I really only want the classic Cap and flacon header books and the issues that had Lamar Hoskins aka Battlestar
I'm a Cap collector and have been since I was a kid. Love the. character but REALLY became a fan after the Original Secret War when all of the heroes deffered to him as their leader. What's funny @minthunter is that I own like 80% of the comics you had on screen during this video and I'm looking for more. Cap always represented an ideal we should aspire too and he's NOT perfect but he tries to be. What's ironic to me is that you can't be more "perfect" in comics than Batman... the guy is rich and can apparently beat ANYBODY "with enough prep-time" ugh! I kid, I collect Batman too, but he's Basically emo Captain America with money lol! I'm always humting for Cap keys, particualrly books that I owned as a kid but no longer have. I recently just reacquired Cap annual 8 with that iconic Mike Zeck Wolverine cover. The next one I need to get is the other classic Mike Zeck cover where Cap goes full Rambo. Still need to check your shop out, and plan on it next time I'm in Jersey.
When Captain America was first created during WWII it was much easier for the public to accept a Nazi fighting superhuman as a heroic figure. Since then the public is much less naive about how the US acts in the world. The injustice the US has committed domestically & abroad has undermined the public's suspension of disbelief which allowed the public to accept Captain America as a heroic figure. The public can more easily believe that some one like the Watchmen's the Comedian would have been chosen by the US military to become Captain America than the heroic & admirable Steve Rogers. I think if Marvel took away his stars & stripes, & put out a title like "Steve Rogers: Agent of SHIELD" the public would be more accepting, & there wouldn't be an issue with the suspension of disbelief.
Im just getting back into comics after 20 years, but I love captain America. Cap and X-men have been what I’m buying to start 👍
Very good, very interesting look at one of the best heroes comics ever came up with. Let’s face it, since Miller’s DARK KNIGHT returns in the 80’s nobody wants heroes anymore, they want anti-heroes, people who do the right thing, but in a lot of the wrong ways. It’s sad because whole generations of comics readers are growing up thinking that having honor and faith in being a good person is a joke. These are the kids who will soon be running the show and I shudder to have leaders without any idealism or hope at all.
Where is your claim sale would love to check it out!
Well GA Cap...but that is a diff thing. Silver Age is a good pickup, keys will always be keys for SA and beyond. Cap's no-cavities attitude has been challenged many times in his comics for some good stories. Start with Steve Engelhart's run in the '70s (several keys in that) and work your way from there.
Amen!