[k9feline]

An outstanding first issue! Important for Captain Marvel for more than just being his debut issue of his solo comic book series. It's also features his first stories that weren't written by his writer/creator Bill Parker. A good thing too, since Parker would soon be drafted in the army and unable to write anymore. The four stories in this issue are completely unlike each other, a testament to the rich, varied imagination brought into tell Captain Marvel stories. The first tale is a type that would become quite common in modern superhero comics, but based on my own knowledge of Golden Age comics was quite rare at the time. This story might even be the first superhero comic book story of its kind: an epic fight between a superstrong hero and a superstrong villain. The second tale is the least of the bunch, a fun little Western. The third story is a sci-fi adventure as Cap flies to Saturn to fight dragon-men invaders (with a nice continuity nod as Cap uses the rocketship he took from Sivana in Special Edition Comics # 1). The fourth tale is a grisly horror story as Cap battles vampires. The head vampire is named Bram Thirla. "Bram" is obviously from Dracula creator Bram Stoker, but I have no idea where "Thirla" came from.

Link to the book: Captain Marvel Adventures 001 (fiche)