Nazi-Punchers CAPTAIN AMERICA "Adventures of Captain America" Conclusion

When Last We Left Our Patriotic Heroes...

A flashback to 1944 reveals how Captain America and Bucky were sent to investigate rumors that Nazis were attempting to sabotage production of the (real-life) Adventures of Captain America movie serial!
When the actor playing Cap is shot and wounded during filming, the real CA steps in to take his place!
And it turns out, the rumors were TRUE...

Dekker had gotten away, and survived until the "present day" (1977) where he...well that's a story for another time.

Story by movie serial expert, animation scripter, and occasional comic book writer Don Glut.

Art by Marvel stalwarts Sal Buscema and Joe Sinnott.

Here's a special Hero Histories bonus; a feature from 1964's HTF Warren Publishing's On the Scene Presents SuperHeroes! one-shot magazine about the real reel-life Captain America...

Who Sez Comics Ain't Educational?

Nazi-Punchers CAPTAIN AMERICA "Adventures of Captain America" Part 1

Poster from the 1944 movie serial!

We're presenting a slightly-different story this week, a fictional tale on the real-life filming of the reel-life Captain America serial from 1944!

Movie serial authority (and occasional comic book writer) Don Glut pitched a story to Marvel about how Captain America and Bucky ended up working on the Republic Pictures movie serial in order to stop a plot by the Red Skull to sabotage the film's production!

The story, told in flashback, began as Private Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes went on leave...

"Democracy Pictures" = Republic Pictures

"Sundown Dawson" = Sunset Carson, noted 1940s Western b-movie actor.

"Lyle Dekker" = Howard  & Theodore Lydecker, Republic Pictures' SFX wizards

"Glenn Reeper" = stuntman Dale Van Sickel.
"Whit Spencer" = directors William Whitney & Spencer Bennett. Everything (except the reason for no Bucky in the serial) is true!

"Tim Irons" = stuntman Tom Steele

"Jet-Man" poster in panel one refers to the King of the Rocket Man serial which, in the real world, was produced in 1949, a half-decade later!

Tune in next Monday for both

1) the astounding conclusion
2) some more background info about the movie serial!

The real Lydecker brothers were not Nazi Agents!
We're ending today's entry on (what else?) a cliffhanger you'll have to come back next week to see resolved!

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Heroic Halloween in Rutland "Rebirth!"

Technically, this material you're about to read is not part of the almost-mythical "Rutland Trilogy"!
But, since it "sets up" the situation for the final chapter, I'm including it as a prelude to the actual issue which you'll see on Monday!

Crusher Creel aka The Absorbing Man, is a long-time Marvel villain.

We now jump ahead a number of pages...

(The first panel is blurred because it really has nothing to do with this situation, but if I PhotoShopped it out, the page would look weird.)

Once more we see real-life Halloween Parade organizer and comics uber-fan Tom Fagan...

(On this page, I simply cut the bottom 2/3rds off since it has nothing to do with this particular plotline!)

We now jump ahead to the end of the story, as The Absorbing Man arrives in Rutland... 

You knew all along who it was, didn't you?

You've now seen how writer Gerry Conway and penciler John Buscema set the stage in Marvel's Mighty Thor #206 (1972) for the conclusion of the Rutland Trilogy!

Note: while DC sometimes did two, three, and occasional multi-part stories (such as the never-reprinted Silver-Age "Death of Superman" we presented HERE), those were the exceptions rather than the rule.

Marvel, on the other hand, was noted for serialized storylines that could go on for a year or more!

You will be here on Monday for the finale, right?

Heroic Halloween in Rutland THE BEAST "...and the Juggernaut Will Get You...if You Don't Watch Out!" Conclusion

We Have Already Seen...

...Henry McCoy, aka the X-Men's Beast passing through Rutland on his way to Canada on a vital mission.

He meets several comic book professionals who have arrived for the annual Halloween Parade, which features participants dressed as superheroes!

Unfortunately, long-time X-Men foe Juggernaut is also there, projected from a mystical dimension he had been exiled to, due to the supernatural properties inherent to the Rutland area as shown in the previous year's Marvel Feature #2 when the dread Dormammu tried to sacrifice Dr Strange on a nearby mountaintop on Halloween (long story we won't get into here)!

When the Juggernaut appears, Hank becomes The Beast to stop him...

Real-life Parade organizer and party host Tom Fagan appears in almost all Rutland-themed comics, dressed as Nighthawk (if it's a Marvel book) or Batman (if it's a DC book).

You'll see him in this trilogy again!

The two blondes in panel 2 are Marvel's own writer/editor Roy Thomas and writer Jeanie Thomas, who appeared in both the previous Marvel Rutland comics.

To clear up several things...

The Juggernaut got better, and returned...and returned...and returned!

(You can't keep a classic baddie down!)

Hank did get to Canada, where his expertise helped save the world!

But those are stories for another time and blog...

OTOH, keep an eye on Steve's beat-up jalopy, which plays a role in the remaining tales!
And, Glynis did have a rather exciting time while she was separated from the guys, as you'll see...

NEXT MONDAY!

Hint: It has to do with her wearing a Supergirl costume!

Seriously!

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Heroic Halloween in Rutland THE BEAST "...and the Juggernaut Will Get You...if You Don't Watch Out!" Part 1

We presented some basic info HERE, so read that before you begin this trilogy of terror!

Don't worry, there'll also be footnotes as we go along...

The three real-world comic writers we see here are Steve Englehart (balding blonde), Gerry Conway (long brown hair) and Len Wein (goatee), as well as Len's wife Glynis (whose real-life counterpart colored this story)!

In-joke: the real-life Steve Englehart had been writing The Beast's strip for the last five issues (as well as this story), so it's not unreasonable for "Marvel Universe Steve" to find Hank McCoy "familiar"!

Glynis is dressed as DC's Supergirl, which figures into the storyline in the other tales in the trilogy!

Also Marvel had to modify her costume insignia from "S" to "G" for legal reasons.

And on that ominous note, we end the first part of this re-presentation!
The explanation for Glynis' disappearance is in another of the stories in this trilogy.

Written by Steve Englehart, penciled by Bob Brown, and inked by Frank McLaughlin (with caricatures of the real-life comics creators by Marie Severin), this tale will conclude...

TOMORROW!

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