Archive for the ‘Independence Day’ Category
Captain America (1941) 1
Before the hamburgers and hotdogs, before the sun-soaked dip in the pool and before the fireworks, take time to remember today is Independence Day; America’s day.
What better hero to represent the Fourth of July then the one draped in our nation’s stars and stripes, Captain America?
Cap has been called the living embodiment of America. Not because of his red, white and blue costume, but the ideals he has manifested. Captain America provided a prelude to the second World War when he socked Adolf Hitler on the jaw on the cover of his first issue, six months before the “…day of infamy…” speech.
Captain America (1941) 1
Captain America became a casualty to the nation’s beliefs in the 1950s. As senators conducted witch hunts, Cap fell out of favor. His absence went unnoticed for a decade.
By the early 1960s, America and its avatar were about to embark in a period of strife not seen since the Civil War. This struggle within the nation was mirrored in pages of Captain America. When he finally had had enough, Cap tossed aside his heritage and donned a black suit and new name reflecting his and other’s dissatisfaction with the country and its leaders.
As a new era dawned in the 1980s, Cap was asked to run for the presidency. His decision to stand aside was based on the greater good of America.
He later became a symbol for individuality during the nation’s second Civil War. His name has been smeared and death cheated, but Captain America remains the nation’s champion.
Unlike so many of Four Color Holiday’s observances, this is the real thing. The federally-sanctioned holiday has been commemorated since 1777 when 13 gunshots were fired in Bristol, RI. The salute was fired once in the morning and once in the evening recognizing the original 13 colonies.
In 1778 General George Washington remembered the day by toasting with his troops as the artillery sounded the celebration. In Europe, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, ambassadors, held a dinner party with fellow Americans in Paris, France.
The Massachusetts General Court became the first state legislature to recognize July 4 as a state celebration in 1781.
In 1791 the first recorded use of the name Independence Day was noted.
In 1870 the United States Congress made Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees.
Not until 1938 did the Fourth become a paid holiday for federal employees.
Dust off the Captain America’s and the pride in the nation to commemorate America’s day.
Elvira’s House of Mystery (1986) 8
No real 4th of July celebration this issue; just three-tired tales to stretch out the 18 pages between covers.
In addition to DC, Elvira also appeared in Eclipse and Claypool comics. Her residence at DC was short-lived, a mere 11 issues and a Christmas special.
Elvira is the alter ego of Cassandra Peterson. The Mistress of the Dark first appeared on KHJ-TV as a horror host in 1981. By 1985 her fame spread as she released a series of VHS tapes of her show. In 1988 she starred in her first film, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark. It wasn’t until 2000 she appeared in a sequel, Elvira’s Haunted Hills.
The Fourth of July, or Independence Day, commemorates the Declaration of Independence. The federal holiday is traditionally observed with picnics, fireworks and patriotic displays.
Marvel Treasury Special Featuring Captain America’s Bicentennial Battles (1976) 1
As the fireworks color the sky in flashes of brilliant hues and loud retorts let’s remember the King: Jack “King” Kirby.
Kirby’s name is synonymous with comic books. So much so he was one of the original three inductees into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1987.
Most will remember Kirby as co-creator of the Marvel Universe. Depending on how you feel ownership should be distributed, he and Stan Lee partnered in the formation of such properties as the Fantastic Four, Hulk, early members of the X-Men, etc.
Prior to working with Lee, Kirby was co-creator on Captain America in 1941.
It’s this creation, whom he partnered with Joe Simon to give life, that Kirby takes on this Bicentennial pilgrimage to the heart of America. All courtesy of an odd guide named simply Mr. Buda.
Through his own eyes and the eyes of those he comes in contact with, Captain America is truly allowed to learn what the nation whose name he boasts really is about. The journey takes the star-spangled hero through time; past, present and future.
Cap becomes entwined with the formation of our nation through struggle and strife. The pain of others is passed on to him. More importantly, so is the hope. The hope for a new way of life.
The journey takes Cap through some of the most turbulent of times including the Revolutionary War, slave trade and World War I. The persecution of the American Indians and great Chicago Fire. In each era Cap was allowed to experience life as it happened.
This tabloid-sized treasury was created after Kirby’s return to Marvel Comics in 1975. Kirby was already working the monthly Captain America comic book at the time.
During this second stay at Marvel, Kirby would dabble in more science fiction-grounded characters and titles. Creations at this time included the Celestials and The Eternals.
By the end of the decade Kirby left Marvel for a second and final time.
The book was originally published under the Marvel Treasury imprint, but as a special. Since then it has been reprinted in the first Captain America omnibus, Essential Captain America trade volume five, King-Size Kirby Slipcase, Marvel Masterworks: Captain America volume 10 and the self-titled trade.
Independence Day
To our USA readers, have a happy 4th of July holiday!
Ghostbusters Con-Volution! (2010)
Still looking good at 246 years of age, it’s time to celebrate another birthday for America.
Commemorating the day with us is another by product of the U.S. of A, the Ghostbusters who attend yet another American original, a comic book convention.
Virginia’s Richard Henry Lee proposed the legal separation from England on July 2, 1776, but it wasn’t until two days later the Declaration of Independence was officially adopted.
Historians have debated as to when the Declaration of Independence was signed, though evidence does prove Benjamin Franklin and future presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams did sign on the fourth.
Coincidently enough, Adams and Jefferson were the only signatories to serve as presidents; both dying on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the document. James Monroe, who did not sign the deceleration, but also served as president died July 4, 1831.
The 30th president, Calvin Coolidge, has the distinction of being the only president born on the Fourth of July: July 4, 1872.
While the day has been observed with reverence over time, it was not until 1938 Congress voted it as a paid federal holiday.
For Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Egon Spengler and Ernie Hudson, the Ghostbusters; the Fourth, or at least the 2010 Fourth, meant comic books and signings.
Keith Dallas and Jim Beard, with Josh Howard, took the phantasmic four to a comic book convention to sate Ray’s inner geek. There they encounter other-worldly demon D’orka. Peter is forced to call upon the ghost of comic-book legend Frank Bancroft to defeat the convention crasher.
The 1984 movie has become a franchise and cult favorite, spawning a sequel, remake, cartoons and a wealth of merchandising. To cement the popularity and importance of the film, the Library of Congress chose the preserve the movie in the National Film Registry in 2015.
The original Ghostbusters was conceived and written by Dan Aykroyd and directed by Ivan Reitman. It starred Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis.