Created by writer Joe Simon and artist Jack Kirby, and debuting March 1, 1941, Captain America #1 features one of the most famous comic book covers of all time: Captain America punching Adolph Hitler in the face. That dramatic and iconic cover art guaranteed the introductory issue of Captain America as one of the all-time greats in the hobby.
A copy of Captain America #1, graded 9.2 (near mint), sold for $810,000 including buyer’s premium June 22 at Heritage Auctions. A year ago, a copy of the comic book graded at 9.4 sold for $3.12 million at Heritage, a record for the issue and making it one of the five most valuable comic books in the world.
Timely Comics, the publisher that would evolve into Marvel Comics, published the Captain America debut. Robert M. Overstreet, who launched The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide in 1970, called Captain America’s debut a “classic creation” and “a patriotic paragon that set the comics market reeling. A trend setter.”
The irony of the Captain America cover is that it was still nine months before Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, pulling the U.S. into World War II. Until then, many Americans wanted nothing to do with a global confrontation so soon after WWI ended in 1918.
Image courtesy of Marvel Entertainment
So why did the creators of Captain America decide Hitler should be punched if the U.S. was not yet involved in the war? Turns out, Simon and Kirby were simply looking to create a “character to win and triumph over evil,” Kirby said in an interview. “It is a simple formula, but very effective and powerful.”
“Basically,” Simon said, “we were looking for a villain first, and Hitler was the villain.”
And Captain America was the hero.
More than 80 years later, Captain America remains one of the most popular and celebrated superheroes, moving seamlessly from comic books to the silver screen as one of the key players in the blockbuster Marvel Cinematic Universe. And that debut issue, which also introduces Captain America’s sidekick, Bucky, remains one of the most valuable comic books in the collecting field.
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