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Golden Age U.S.A. Comics Masterworks Vol. 1 (USA Comics (1941-1945)) Kindle & comiXology

by Stan Lee (Author, Artist), Various (Author), Jack Kirby (Cover Art, Artist), Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 29 ratings
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Collects U.S.A. Comics (1941) #1-4.

The Defender! Major Liberty! Rockman! Rusty! The original Young Avenger! The origins of the Whizzer, Jack Frost and the Vagabond! Captain Terror turns back a deadly Nazi undersea invasion! Stan "The Man" himself chronicles the historic first meeting of the USA heroes!
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  1. Part of Series
    USA Comics (1941-1945)
  2. Print length
    278 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    Not Enabled
  5. Publisher
    Marvel
  6. Publication date
    March 28, 2007
  7. Grade level
    Preschool and up
  8. File size
    1064143 KB
  9. Page Flip
    Not Enabled
  10. Word Wise
    Not Enabled
  11. Enhanced typesetting
    Not Enabled
  12. See all details
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B079GMMK3F
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Marvel; Reprint edition (March 28, 2007)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 28, 2007
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1064143 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Not enabled
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 278 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 29 ratings

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Michael J. Vassallo

Michael J. Vassallo

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
29 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Michael D.
5.0 out of 5 stars USA #1 is an "all-winner"!
Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2007
Verified Purchase
Like many of the early Timely Comic titles, among them Daring Mystery, USA at first has no regular line-up of strips appearing issue to issue. Many appearances were one-shots. USA Comics was one of those in its earliest days, so the issues presented here give the reader a chance to get a rare peak of what worked for Timely and what didn't. Some heroes were not well written or thought out, but were more or less "a stab in the dark," some catching on, many not. That is what makes this volume a MUST HAVE and MUST READ by the Golden Age comics fan, and by the Marvel reader of today. Every company "had its roots," so to speak, and to appreciate Marvel's heroes of today [for good or bad], one must know of the past and see what has come before. This volume is a great way of doing this....being able to see MORE than just the Torch, Capt. America and the Sub-Mariner, the main-stays for the company down through the years. Seeing is believing, and you'll dig this great tome.
18 people found this helpful
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Rich M.
5.0 out of 5 stars Great golden age stories!
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2013
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Excellent reprint of some interesting golden age characters. Reading the Marvel Masterworks for many of their golden age titles has shown me that while they were dominated by Captain America. The Torch and the Sub-Mariner. Timely/Marvel had afairly good stable of characters, many of which we didn't see Roy Thomas touch upon in the seventies.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2017
Verified Purchase
I love this book. I bought a graded copy which I can not open up (because it's sealed) so I bought this MARVEL MASTERWORKS so I could read the comic book. Thank you again.
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Roy Bonario
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2016
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Excellent service! Love these comics!
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Vittorio Fabi
5.0 out of 5 stars The OTHER heroes!
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2007
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A very funny cavalcade that share with us the now-almost-forgotten other heroes of Timely-Atlas-Marvel!

A must-have for all the Golden Age fans!
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Alison
3.0 out of 5 stars A Look at Some Forgotten Marvel WWII Heroes
Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2013
Who hasn't thrilled to the golden age adventures of Rockman, Young Avenger, Major Liberty, and Captain Terror? What's that you say, you haven't? Or you? Or you? Therein lies both the interest in this collection of golden age comics and the explanation for why it falls short.

This collection reprints issues 1-4 of U.S.A. Comics, which began publication in 1941. Timely (now Marvel) Comics had a huge hit on their hands with Captain America and hoped to capitalize on Cap's success with an entire comic's worth of patriotic superheroes. Unfortunately, just slapping a red, white, and blue outfit on someone and sending him out to punch Nazis without the backstory and care given to Captain America made for lackluster stories and clearly forgettable heroes.

The collection begins with the Defender, the worst of the Cap knock-offs. While his name doesn't shout patriotism the way Cap's does, his red, white, and blue uniform (with "USA" printed down the front in the first adventure) leaves no doubt. Captain America hides his identity by posing as a low ranking solider in the Army? The Defender hides his identity by posing as a low ranking solider in the Marines. Captain America has a costumed kid sidekick named Bucky? The Defender has a costumed kid sidekick named Rusty. This would perhaps be forgivable if the stories were stellar or even better than average, but they are poorly plotted and, in the case of the Defender, the most racist golden age stories I have yet read (which given the sad standards of the golden age is really saying something).

The Young Avenger story in the first issue (his first and last comic book appearance) is a useable example of how poorly these stories are written. The story begins in the den of Nazi agents plotting to blow up key American industrial centers, but what's this? A shadow overhears them! The shadow then flits to the Young Avenger's apartment, wakes him up with a warning of what the Nazis are up to, and then Young Avenger is off to stop them. Who or what is this mysterious shadow? No idea, as it isn't seen again after Young Avenger suits up and heads out to fight Nazis. Do shadows report to the Young Avenger as part of his powers? Does this one shadow just really hate Nazis so it legged it over to Young Avenger of its own accord? If you'd like to know, you're asking too much; the plot here being "give Young Avenger a reason to punch Nazis and then Young Avenger punches Nazis." This throwaway storytelling, prevalent throughout this collection, explains why these superheroes have mostly been forgotten and why this collection isn't going to appeal to the average comic book fan, even those with an interest in golden age tales.

There are some redeeming elements here, however. The Jack Frost story in the first issue was written by Stan Lee, one of his first comic book credits. Rockman has an interesting concept (though the stories are formulaic), and I genuinely enjoyed the stories of the Vagabond, a hero who hides his true identity by dressing up as a hobo. Also, Major Liberty's super power (forgotten in two of his four stories in which he is just a Captain America knockoff dressed Revolutionary War style) is to call forth patriotic ghosts to help him battle Nazis, and as a native Vermonter, I was amused to see the ghosts of Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys kick some Nazi keister.

The only two heroes appearing in these four issues that I had heard of before were Jack Frost (who Roy Thomas used in the Liberty Legion in the 1970s) and the Whizzer, Marvel's answer for the Flash, who became the only hero in this book (despite a truly unfortunate name) to find at least a smidgen of golden age success (with stories appearing in All Winners Comics alongside stories of Captain America, the Sub-Mariner, and the Human Torch). The first issue here contains his first appearance, however, and he is even given an origin story, albeit it a lame one: he gained his super speed when his father injected him with mongoose blood (don't try this at home kids!).

In a nutshell, I wouldn't recommend this to the average modern comic reader--whose taste for even the best of golden age stories may be limited--but I also wouldn't recommend this to someone who regularly reads golden age stories, as the ones here really are subpar. However, if you're a big fan of golden age superheroes and want to fill in your collection with some tales of forgotten heroes you are unlikely to come across anywhere else then this may be for you. It is a hardcover book with glossy color pages, though, so the accompanying retail price may scare off all but the most determined of golden age fans. I was fortunate enough to get my copy for more than half off the retail price. Otherwise this isn't something I would have picked up.
9 people found this helpful
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GangstaLawya
1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible printing
Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2007
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The printing is terrible. Why can't Marvel take the time to produce quality reprints like D.C.? The artwork looks blotchy.
8 people found this helpful
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Adam Graham
3.0 out of 5 stars Marvel's Lesser Heroes
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2013
Marvel already had Marvel Mystery Magazine, and solo titles for Sub-Mariner, Captain America, and the Golden Age Human Torch. Narvel comics honcho Martin Goodman was never one to settle for good enough and so USA comics was yet another one of the comics and this book collects Issues 1-4, each containing multiple stories.

It was home to a lot of second tier material and characters and at least in a couple of places, , but the book was not without its charm. The first three issues featured long stories of nearly twenty pages, a rare thing in the golden age, allowing for complex plots. So let's dig into the highlights and lowlights of this book:

1) Rockman: This is a cool hero who really could have been developed further. Rockman was leader of an underground kingdom who surfaced (ha ha) when learning about the dangers of the coming war. The design and powers of the characters were cool. With a better creative team, this could have emerged. It's not quite the Destroyer, but still a great little feature.

2) The Whizzer: Marvel's golden age speedster superhero acquired his power after getting injected by mongoose blood. The character was really one of the best of Marvel's second tier golden age characters and his origin story (silly as it is) is here.

3) Captain Terror: This character appeared only in Issues 2-4, but was memorable. In his true life identity Dan Kane, he was not allowed to join the Navy due to his heart troubles and is persistently turned down when trying to help the country. However as Captain Terror, he's able to take on the enemies of America and be a heroic figure. The character is just inspiring and I can't help but wonder if in the back of his mind, Stan Lee wasn't inspired by this character when he created his own hero with heart problems, Iron Man. Lee was a young man at the time, working for Marvel and even wrote a couple stories in this book.

4) Corporal Dix: This feature only appeared in Issue 4 but was actually pretty well-done and endearing. Dix is a tough soldier on furlough and spending time with his little brother whose falling in with a bad crowd. It's a sweet, moving, and patriotic tale. I've read that there's more about him in the 2nd volume of USA comics which gives him a promotion to Sergeant.

5) Jack Frost: This is where I become a little less positive. Frost was a decent enough character and his ice powers were fun to watch, and the story in Issue 4 was particularly good, but really he seemed to be like an ice version of the sub-mariner with a very similar personality.

6) The Vagabond: A story about law enforcement officer who disguises himself as a hobo, and often the disguise just doesn't make any sense. It seems a little dumb.

7) The Defender: His story was actually a 19-page cover in USA comics #1 and was a prime example of Marvel ripping off itself. The Defender was dressed in a red, white, and blue costume and fought evil alongside a boy sidekick who looked almost identical (except for hair color) to Bucky. In addition, the costume is just atrociously designed. Red and white striped pants aren't patriotic. The thought behind this seemed, "To be a hero like Captain America except in the Marines, without the super soldier serum, and in a poorly designed costume." The scripts were weaker versions of Captain America stories. The only good thing I can say for the book is that it really made me appreciate the elegance and timelessness of Jack Kirby's design for Captain America even more.

And the one-shot features, "The Young Avenger" and "Powers of the Press" are both forgettable.

Overall, the collection has some good points such as Captain Terror and the Whizzer's origin that make it a decent book, but certainly not one that's worth its retail price.
8 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Bogart
5.0 out of 5 stars a fascinating and highly entertaining read!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 15, 2010
Verified Purchase
Collecting USA Comics # 1-4 (published quarterly 1941/1942) this is a collection of some of "Marvels" earliest comics issued during the revered "Golden Age".
Featured are the adventures of little known heroes and masked vigilantes like "The Defender", "Major Liberty", "The Vagabond", "The Whizzer" and "Jack Frost". While the stories are often roughly plotted, there is no doubting the fascinating charm and historical interest of these stories, many featuring either a villainous cast of evil Nazis, "Fifth Columnists", or ordinary racketeers and gangsters.
There are a few text-only stories written by none other than a young Stan Lee(!).
It is testament to the rarity of these comics (and how lucky we are to be given these reprint editions)that when Roy Thomas brought back a few of these characters as "The Liberty Legion" during his Invaders run during the 70's, that he actually got the name of Major Liberty wrong (Roys character was called "The Spirit of '76" who was actually Major Liberty's sidekick as can be seen in this book!). The comics are stunningly reproduced and are a highly recommended read, and i cant wait to read more of Marvels Golden Age in the other Golden Age Masterworks volumes.
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