From The Ashes!

Captain America is the original World War II hero and despite being created by two young Jewish men and owned by a Jewish family never battled the infamous threat of the death camps directly, though he mowed down many a Nazi in his time. Taking on the "Holocaust" would have to wait until the Bronze Age of comics and issue #237 of the second Captain America series. The talents who bring Cap face to face with the final solution are writers Chris Claremont and Roger McKenzie and artists Sal Buscema and Don Perlin. 

It happens that Cap had just put down the threat of the National Force led by a former Captain America the racist Cap from the 1950's. After the seeming death of Sharon Carter he's looking for a new direction (something Cap did a lot alas) and seeks to back away from his hero identity and find some solace as a private citizen named Steve Rogers. To that end he moves into a new apartment building, one owned by Anna Kapplebaum a survivor of the camps and in particular one which Cap himself had helped liberate. So we finally get to see the Living Legend battle the Nazis on the ground on which they murdered countless numbers. 

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The Whole Kitten Kaboodle!

I knew I wanted this collection the moment I was aware of it. This is the very kind of trade collection I adore, one which pulls together stories from across the broad expanse of time and space and gathers them into a handsome single package for easy perusal. Tigra is one of those characters in the Marvel Universe who has wandered around hither and beyond looking for a place to land. She began as a simple superhero named The Cat, part of a feminist offensive Marvel touted in the early 70's. Beware! The Claws of The Cat joined Shanna The She-Devil and Night Nurse as part of a trio of new titles featuring female leads and featuring female creative talent. Alas none of them got past five issues as I recollect and The Cat only made it to four. But all four are here. The first is a  tour d' force by Wally Wood over Marie Severin layouts. Later Bill Everett, Jim Starlin, Alan Weiss and more would draw her as each issue is very different from the one which preceded it. And then came Tigra.

In the pages of Giant-Size Creatures #1 (and only) Tigra leaps out alongside the Werewolf by Night. Greer Nelson is seems is not just a superhero, but the progeny of an ancient race of cat people and ends up by the finish of this issue transformed into one them sort of. And just like that she's popped into another fad -- the horror genre which for a brief time swallowed the Marvel Universe.

After a brief stopover in Monsters Unleashed, Tigra eventually finds a home in an oddity named Marvel Chillers (taking over the title from Modred the Magician...remember him...I didn't think so.) And just like her run in The Cat it seems each issue is drawn by someone else making the series doomed to early cancellation. But we gets some good stuff with Will Meugniot, George Tuska, and an up and coming John Byrne taking a try.

And once that series wrapped Tigra became just part of the sprawling Marvel Universe. Patsy Walker took up her Cat guise, becoming Hellcat and Greer Nelson becomes a sleek and ready character waiting for someone to come up with some nifty stories for her. She's an Avenger for a while, but those stories will not be found here in this collection.

This volume closes with a really  handsome four issue limited series from the part of this century. I cannot say that much of the modern stuff speaks to me, but I do like this run. Mike Deodato's artwork, which can leave me cold at times, is in idea form here.

It might be a few weeks or months before I can tear into these stories again, but I'm eager to do so.

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