Fawcett 1941 Week--Captain Marvel Adventures #2 (Part 1)

Well, after being trapped in 1941, we've seen how comic companies published lots of anthologies. But what did they do when a character stuck, and became popular? Did they just keep him in a 12-page lead feature?

Oh, no:

You give him his own title!

People nowadays decry DC over-saturating the market with Bat titles, or suggest Marvel is overusing the Avengers franchise or the X-Franchise.

Well, maybe...but they aren't doing anything Fawcett didn't do first. Giving Cap his own solo title was only the first step. Within a few years, Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr. and Mary Marvel would have their own solo titles; the Marvel Family would join them; and Cap would still headline Whiz while Freddie and Mary were the lead features of Master and Wow, respectively. Not to mention appearing as the lead story in America's Greatest Comics. So Fawcett would be putting out 7 or 8 Marvel-featuring titles most months. DC and Marvel aren't doing anything different than Fawcett was doing--following the money.

Meanwhile, isn't that one FABULOUS cover by C.C. Beck? And yes, it shows Billy punching out a Nazi--although that swastika on his helmet is so small you practically need a magnifying glass to see it--so it one (of the few) counter-examples to everyone except Timely avoiding the issue. And there is not a trace of Nazis or Germans or spies or what have you in any of the stories in this comics.

And as we start our 4 Captain Marvel stories this issue, I should point out that, according to GCD, the entire issue--all 64 pages--was penciled AND inked by George Tuska. 64 pages!! Sure, Captain Marvel Adventures was a quarterly at the time, so Tuska had some extra time to do it all...and yes, the art is cruder than we would accept today. Still, the next time we hear about some artist unable to meet a monthly deadline for 20 pages of pencils, some editor might want to sit him down and tell him about how it was in ye olden days...

Anyway, good old Thaddeus Sivana has a cunning plot to destroy the Big Red Cheese:

Well, that may have been satisfying...but was it really a death trap?

Fortunately, Cap will not be alone in this ordeal, because Sivana is a pretty crappy parent:

You know, I would have been happy with a whole story that was just Sivana going around throwing glasses of water in peoples faces...

But we actually have to have some adventures here, so we follow Cap and Beautia as they battle microscopic monsters:

And Cap even defeats one caterpillar-like dude who sorta look like Mr. Mind would look when he was introduced in a couple of years:

But they're not insects, oh no:

I should mention...the Fawcett writers clearly hadn't adjusted to increased space yet, because boy, are these stories padded. Marvel has to fight about 27 more beasties (I exaggerate, but only slightly) as they try to fill 17 pages with 12 pages worth of story.

Meanwhile, Beautia continues to flirt with Marvel:

Marvel gets eaten by a plant:

And then things get really nuts:

Uh...A) that's not how germs work, and B) If Sivana could negotiate with germs and teach them, could he like cure most diseases? Couldn't he be wealthier and more powerful than anyone??

Anyway, Marvel ends up in a fight with the germ-chieftain. Guess who wins?

Then Marvel and Beautia discover a store of growth drugs Sivana had stashed, and we get a scene that should have White Rabbit playing in the background:

So, it's a sad end for Sivana:

And Beautia??

She commits genocide against a sentient species!! Woo hoo!!

Next up, Captain Marvel must face the terror of Spider-Man!! OK, not Peter Parker...but the Spider Men from Mars!!

And these so called Spider Men??

Well, they look more like the Flea Men from Mars, but, OK...and they are pretty terrifying:

Fortunately, a simple SHAZAM! and a few punches reveals:

Maybe merely robots, but still tougher than the pre-WWII American army!!

Patton is rolling over in his grave!

So Marvel heads to Mars, and meets their dufus leader:

Well, once again, a simple SHAZAM and a couple of punches settle things (yeah, these stories were pretty formulaic):

But back on Earth, the out-of-control Spider Men (who look nothing like spiders) are winning!

But Cap arrives to beat the stuffing out of them!!!

And the day is saved!!

But we've barely begun! Tune in later today for the second half of this big big comic book!!