Pop Culture Chronicles

The New 52 Review

The rebooting of the DC universe has so far been a huge success. DC Comics released 52 new first issues in a massive relaunch last September. In a prior post I had mentioned my reservations along with some enthusiasm for the new direction.  Now that we're five months into the new 52, here are my reflections:

Superman - I've always thought of George Perez as an artist and he is one of the best. But this book proves that he can also be an awesome writer. I like the fact that there is a lot of dialog. It takes me longer to read this title than any other, so I feel I'm getting more than just a picture book. It's deep and not fluffy. With the Daily Planet being purchased by Morgan Edge and the Planet staff adjusting to the mass media market, including Lois' promotion, it strikes a chord of reality with so many that have to constantly change with the times in the workplace. Characters, like Lois, must make hard ethical decisions in this book. The Clark and Lois relationship is back to its traditional formula. Clark likes Lois, but he doesn't seem to be on her radar, except as a co-worker. The exceptional art also makes this book worthwhile.

Action Comics - While relaunching Superman, in some respects Grant Morrison actually returns the Man of Steel to his roots. A younger and less experienced Superman whose alter ego, Clark Kent, is working for the rival publisher of the Daily Planet while getting to know Lois and Jimmy. I'll keep the Superman titles.

Supergirl- They haven't ruined Kara after all. The stories are great and you can sympathize with the character. I do wish she had a more modest costume though, especially in light of this character being a minor.     

Batman - With at least four relaunched Bat books and at least that many more Batman-family titles, I had to be financially responsible about which titles made my pull list. I began with Batman, Batman and Robin, Detective Comics, and Batgirl. I have so far dropped Batman and Robin and Detective Comics. I found both titles too gratuitously violent. I dropped All-Star Western for the same reason after just one issue. I don't mind some action in my comics, but with people being hanged, skinned alive, and knifed in the first couple of issues I'd had enough. I felt that this was gore for the sake of gore. Agreeing with several online reviewers, I don't think it was just me. If more of us simply stop purchasing when the product isn't doing it for us, maybe DC will get the message. Comics are too expensive for us readers to purchase anything that is short of awesome. 

As for the Batman title, I have been enjoying it up to the fifth issue which I did not feel moved the plot forward at all. It was good, however, to see Robin show up at the end and find out that maybe the little cuss has a heart in there after all and is concerned with his senior partner. The different format for the panels on several pages was also a nice touch, helping us to experience Bruce's surrealism along with him. 

Batgirl - I still think that if they were going to take Barbara out of the wheel chair that they should have done a hard reboot of the entire universe, wiping the slate totally clean. But so far the stories have been really good. I look forward to each issue because I wonder what's going to happen. I actually care about the character. This is how comics should be written. I'd heard about the great writing Gail Simone does and I am convinced. The art by Ardian Syaf is very good. And Barbara Gordon actually has a personal life. I like that.

Justice League - I love almost everything about this book--especially the team of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee. The witty dialog, the humor, the way characters are drawn and introduced, the plot itself. This book has everything going for it. If I could only read one DC comic a month, this would be it. 

The Wild Wild West

I love introducing my kids to stuff I grew up watching. Sometimes they rate my old TV favorites as awesome and other times they find them cheesy. All four seasons of the TV series The Wild Wild West are on DVD, so we recently watched the first four episodes of season two. I started with season two since it was the first color season. 

The same plot formula was used in the first three episodes. An evil maniacal genius wants to take over the world (or a part of it). His henchmen are mostly silent bafoons. There is a damsel in distress, but James West isn't sure he can trust her. The sets, colors, and costumes are outlandishly over-the-top. The villains were played by such notables as Victor Buono (King Tut on Batman), Boris Karloff, and Michael Dunn as Dr. Loveless, a recurring character who is an evil dwarf and West's arch nemesis. He is instantly my teen-aged son's favorite villain, as he was mine when I was a kid. My 11-year-old daughter says West's pants are too tight, so she attributes his fighting abilities to "spandex power."

The fourth episode was a little less formula with Ida Lupino as a kind-of female Dr. Frankenstein who resurrects cadavers and disguises them as government agents to carry out assassinations. West and Gordon are both kidnapped and locked in her dungeon one dark and stormy night. The episode is notable for being the only one in which Robert Conrad gets less screen time than Ross Martin whose Artie Gordon character is a bit more developed and gets to fall in love and to demonstrate his fencing prowess. It's definitely the best episode of the four. 

For the uninitiated, The Wild Wild West was far from being a conventional western. It was about two secret service agents, James West and Artemus Gordon who worked under President Grant and traveled by private train car. While West was typically the fighter and the ladies' man, Gordon was a master of disguise and inventor of gadgets. West was created to be a James Bond on horseback.

I hear that the third season was slightly more conventionally western which makes me want to watch it and refresh my memory. I was excited to get home from school on weekday afternoons at four o'clock during the 70s to watch this series in syndication. I later watched it on Saturday nights at nine on an independent TV channel out of Texas.

The series combined the western, spy, and sci-fi genres. It was popular enough to be a comic book with seven issues published in 1969, the final year of the TV series run. The final season saw little of Ross Martin who was recovering from a heart attack throughout most of filming. He and Conrad were reunited in 1979 and 1980 for two made-for-TV movie sequels. A James West Limited Edition Action Figure in the likeness of Conrad was produced in 1997.

The theatrical Wild Wild West with Will Smith bears little resemblance to the TV series and is best forgotten. But rumor has it that the man who revived Battlestar Galactica will soon be pitching a revived Wild Wild West to the TV networks. We shall see.        

Batman: Robin Origins

Not as famous as Batman: Year One was Batman: Year Three. The story unfolded over Batman # 436-439 (1989), written by Marv Wolfman with pencils by Pat Broderick. The origin of Robin (Dick Grayson) is retold in flashbacks, while the then-current continuity explored Batman's psychological burden since the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin. Batman is pursued by Grayson's current alter ego, Nightwing, as the two solve the mystery of who is slaying the gang bosses of Gotham. This all takes place as Boss Zucco, the murderer of Grayson's parents is being paroled from prison. Alfred refreshingly plays a key role in the story. 

Following this arc was "A Lonely Place of Dying" in Batman # 440-442 (parts 1, 3, & 5) and The New Titans # 60-61 (parts 2 & 4). The pencils in Batman were done by Jim Aparo and in Titans by George Perez. Here is the origin of yet a third Robin, Tim Drake. He actually appeared in the previous Batman arc, "Year Three," but the reader isn't clued in until "A Lonely Place of Dying." Drake doesn't make his first appearance as Robin until the concluding chapter in Batman # 442. 

Wolfman's writing has always been consistently good. I was especially struck by dated references to what was going on in the real world. As Two-Face contemplates his next crime in Batman 441, he considers blowing up the twin towers. This seems a bit eerie now. Although it was the Gotham twin towers, this fictional city was for many years considered the analogue to New York City in the DC Universe. Two-Face then considers stealing a double diamond pendant from Princess Diana which calls to mind yet another eerie tragedy. There is also mention of President Bush in issue # 440. Long as we're noting details, there appears to be a lettering blooper on page 14 of Batman 441 where Dick calls Tim "Jeff."   

This cross-continuity between Batman and the New Titans occured during the era in which Wolfman and Perez had made the Titans one DC's most popular properties. After the New Teen Titans had run successfully for four years (1980-1984) and forty issues, their new adventures were renumbered starting with issue 1 in a deluxe format, higher price, higher paper quality, direct-sale-only publication with the same title. The word "teen" was dropped from the title with issue # 50.

Meanwhile, the numbering of the former New Teen Titans series continued in a series called "Tales of the Teen Titans" (# 41-91) which reprinted the deluxe format editions for the newsstand crowd who couldn't afford the big bucks. Are you confused yet? It turns out that renumbering and relaunching is really nothing new.

Of course the Teen Titans have since been relaunched again for a series from 1996-1998 and again for a series that began in 2003. Drake has been the most recent Robin in the Teen Titans which will again be relaunched in late September. Since Damien Wayne is now the fourth Robin, Tim Drake is now "Red Robin" who will be fighting alongside Wonder Girl and Kid Flash.            

Batman: Year One

I collected a good number of the Batman titles from 1983 through 2003. I stopped reading, however, in about 1987. So now I'm catching up. Here are some of my impressions:

Batman: Year One - (Batman # 404-407, 1987). This story by Frank Miller with art by David Mazzuchelli redefined the Batman mythos. Here is the definitive post-crisis origin tale confirming Batman as the Dark Knight, distancing him further from the campy 1960s TV series and the 1950s sci-fi era. It's fairly consistent with Dennis O'Neil's run as Batman writer in the 70s and O'Neil just happened to be serving as editor during Miller's four-parter.

I can see where this story influenced the movie Batman Begins. We have police lieutenant James Gordon, before he was Commissioner, a good cop fighting corruption in a big city police department. Bruce Wayne has just returned after twelve years abroad preparing himself as the supreme crime-fighter and vigilante of Gotham. Also, like the movie, the police surround Batman in an abandoned building where he uses special technology to summon the bat population.

The gritty realism is what I've always liked about Batman since the O'Neil days. I prefer to see him fighting gangsters as opposed to members of his rogues gallery. In this story a highly trained, yet inexperienced Batman struggles his way through. The human element comes through in Gordon's relationship with his wife and his detective partner.  

This story, since reprinted in hardcover and various trade paperback editions, is one of the best Batman stories ever. I felt as if I was watching a movie while reading this truly suspenseful comic. I love Batman in any incarnation, but the Dark Avenger of the Night is how he was meant to be from the start. 

Now here is some good news. Batman: Year One is going to be a made-for-DVD animated movie released later this year.    

Pull List / Reviews July 2011, part 2

My previous post listed the DC comics on my current pull list. Here is what I'm reading from Marvel:

Marvel 

All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes # 1-2- This 8-part limited series is set in World War II, so it's right up my retro alley. A group of super-powered heroes join the army and are led into battle by Captain America. These include Timely heroes The Young Avenger, Invisible Man, Merzah the Mystic, and others.

Even Slow Motion Jones returns. He was the African-American sidekick of the Whizzer back in the Golden Age. He previously appeared in the first issues of USA Comics and All Winners Comics in 1941. In those days Slo-Mo was a racial caricature, but is now re-introduced as an intelligent super-speedster, faster than the Whizzer himself. His re-introduction is handled much like that of Whitewash Jones, renamed "Washington Carver Jones" in The Young Allies 70th Anniversary Special published in 2009. The Golden Age appearances of these African-American heroes are explained as the fictitious comic portrayals they really were, effectively striking the earlier versions from Marvel continuity. 

The new All-Winners story is told in retrospect by the alter ego of the Young Avenger, now in his 90s. He explains how Timely Comics was employed by the U.S. military to write fictional propaganda about his army buddies. The latest issue has a scene taking place in Martin Goodman's office as he sends for his nephew, Stanley. So cool! I love this series.  

FF # 1-6- I heard great things about Jonathan Hickman's run on the Fantastic Four, but I didn't want to jump into the middle of something I knew nothing about. So with the first issue of FF I thought this might be a good jumping on place. I wasn't completely up to speed with the threads that had apparently carried over from the Fantastic Four series, but I was piecing things together through the first five issues. I was especially sold on the Steve Epting art in the first three issues. I love it when artists draw people who look real. Epting's versions of Spiderman and Susan Richards is how these characters should always be drawn. By the fourth issue, however, it seemed that Barry Kitson had taken over the art chores. I wasn't as crazy about his art, but it's been growing on me. 

So along comes issue number 6. What? The FF doesn't even appear in this issue. It centers on an alien race called the Krees and the Inhumans who descend from a segment of the primitve homo sapien population of earth gentically engineered by the Krees. When the Inhuman city Attilan was attacked by the Krees, led by Ronan the Accuser, the Krees were defeated by Inhuman leader, Black Bolt who subsequently became ruler of the Krees. Black Bolt has since died, but FF # 6 is the precursor to his return. 

What this has to do with the current storyline is that Attilan is one of the four cities among whom four Reed Richards of alternate earths are trying to incite war which will (somehow) enable them to return to their own dimensions. The Future Foundation (FF) has assembled the most intelligent of the Fantastic Four's enemies in an effort to stop the Reeds.  

Issue 6 has yet another artist, Greg Tocchini. I wish this series would settle on an artist for the sake of consistency. According to Marvel's website, I can look forward to Steve Epting's return in issue # 8, but only for one issue since # 9 lists Daniel Acuna as the artist. The revolving door of artists is driving me crazy, as did the major departure of storyline in issue # 6. But I'm giving this title every chance before I give up and drop it. The characterization and dialogue are indeed above average.                     

Pull List / Reviews July 2011

Here is what I'm reading these days:

DC

Flashpoint # 3- I'm behind on this, but just read the latest issue. I was determined to stay away from any more big events, but I learned that this series will be the transitional point into the altered DC Universe. Here is where (I think) the changes in the time-stream will be explained. This issue by Geoff Johns was (not surprisingly) well written with good characterization, suspense, action, and witty dialogue. It was well drawn by Andy Kubert and Sandra Hope. It seems that the Flash is working to undo some changes in the time-stream due to events that were altered by the Reverse Flash. So Flash is in some alternate reality with Thomas Wayne, who is Batman, who did not die at the hands of a mugger, and whose son never became Batman. The two team up with Cyborg to release the captive survivor of a doomed planet whose rocket-ship was never discovered by the Kents, but landed in Metropolis doing fatal damage. The survivor was then taken into custody by the government who is conducting a "Project: Superman." Okay, I'm hooked. 

Justice Society of America # 52 - So we still don't know how Mr. Terrific lost his intellect, but now we know whodunit. Two issues to go before Mr. Terrific's own series is launched and the Justice Society is cancelled. I understand that in the realigned universe, characters who made up the JSA will still exist. But there will be no JSA. Superman will again be the first super hero in this altered continuity, which in a sense goes back to DC's roots. But it seems that the Golden Age of heroes is being retconned out of existence. The JSA has so often got the shaft when it comes to these reboots, relaunches, or whatever you want to call them. Following the orginal "Crisis on Infinite Earths" Golden Age heroes who had modern doppelgangers were retconned out of existence. The remaining JSA was banished to another dimension. So what happens to the JSA now? Will the earlier careers of originals like Jay Garrick and Alan Scott never have existed? Will the original Flash and Green Lantern ever have existed? We'll see. 

One plot in the current JSA arc that intrigues me grows out of one of Jay and Alan's WWII adventures. Will a retro guy like me ever be able to accept a JSA without the Golden Age backstory? I do hope the multiverse will play more of a role in the altered universe. I'd love to see the "Justice Society Infinity" team from "Justice Society of America Annual" # 1 return, with Superman and Batman of Earth 2 alive and well. Maybe they could have annual team-ups with the new JLA. Who knows?  

I'll review what I'm reading from Marvel soon.     

Superman in the 90s

I collected most Superman and Batman titles throughout the 90s. I hardly read any of them since there just wasn't time during that phase in my life. So for the last two years I've been catching up on reading the Superman titles from that era. I got the first few issues of the second Superman series when it began in 1987, but then dropped it until Superman died in issue # 75. From that issue, dated January 1993, I collected the title until Spring of 1999. I've been able to fill most missing issues from bargain bins at comic shops.

Throughout most of the 90s fans could get weekly installments of Superman's adventures with cross-continuity across four regular titles including:

• Superman
• Adventures of Superman
• Action Comics
• Superman: The Man of Steel

Right now I'm up to 1995 in my reading. Having gone from 1993 to 1995 with these four Superman titles, I've been through the Funeral For a Friend, Reign of the Supermen, Resurrection, and Dead Again story arcs. I've just finished Superman # 100 which began the "Death of Clark Kent" storyline. The Superman titles were characterized by the following features at this time:

• The engagement of Clark and Lois
• Perry & Alice White's adoption of an African-American youth
• Metropolis P.D. officers Maggy Sawyer and Dan Turpin
• Superman's mullet phase
• Comics Code approved

The creative teams included Dan Jurgens who did both story and pencils for Superman until after issue # 100 when the pencils were handed to others. Brett Breeding's inks were a nice compliment to Jurgen's pencils making them one of my favorite 90s Superman teams. This was during Superman's long-hair (or mullet) phase which lasted until about 1997. Jurgens and Breeding didn't overdo the long flowing mane thing like some others did, which in retrospect looks so ridiculous and dated. 

By the mid-90s Adventures of Superman was written by Karl Kesel who did a decent job, but I was not overly impressed by the art of Immomen and Marzan. They were quite good with human anatomy, female facial features, and city scapes. But the way they drew Superman just didn't do it for me. The hair was too long and the face too weak (if that makes any sense). In the team-up issue 522, Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman are done quite well.

Action Comics had the team of Michelinie, Guice, and Rodier. The writing was okay, but the art team for this title was some of the best for this era in Superman's history. Superman's hair was a bit wild though.

Louise Simonson did the writing for Superman: The Man of Steel. The art team was Bogdanove and Janke. This title includes some of my favorite writing and least favorite art from this era. 

DC will soon be paying homage to the Superman of the 90s with the series of DC Retroactive one-shots in September. One of the titles will be Superman-the 90s which reunites Simonson and Bogdanove. 

I'll write more about Superman in the 90s as I continue to read through it. I'll eventually get around to the Batman titles.  

DCU Relaunch or DCU Deconstruction?

Everybody is talking about it so I'm finally going to weigh in with my thoughts regarding the DC Universe relaunch set to take off in September. In case you've been in Limbo or some alternate universe, DC is relaunching its entire line in September with fifty-two new first issues. Even the old staples like Action Comics, Detective, Superman, and Batman will start the numbering over with issue number one.

As more information is released some of my initial assumptions have been proved innaccurate. I thought maybe the whole universe was going to be rebooted like after Crisis on Infinite Earths, but not so. I thought maybe the whole DC Universe history would start over again from the very beginnning with new origins and the whole bit. That was also incorrect. 

But some things are definately going to change. In addition to the relaunch of some titles, others will be cancelled, and some new ones will start. There will be changes to a number of characters. I'm thinking these changes might result from alterations in the timestream brought about by events in the Flashpoint limited series, which I have not been reading, but now wish I had been. After Final Crisis I was sick to death of universe-altering cross-over events. But now my curiosity has got the best of me thanks to yet another DC marketing ploy.

In regard to the changes occurring, Supergirl is described as an unpredictable teenager who does not share Superman's love for the people of earth. It sounds to me like they are ruining the Kara we all know and love. She was recently rebooted in a Superman/Batman story arc which returned her to her roots. I hate to see her messed up again.

Dick Grayson will be going back to being Nightwing with a new issue number 1. He made such a good Batman that I thought the new Batman, Inc. series would allow him to retain the cowl. Too bad that doesn't seem to be the case. Was this Bruce's idea and is Dick happy about it? Bruce will be the only Batman and Damian will remain Robin in a relaunched Batman And Robin # 1. This has some potential.

I hear that Barbara Gordon will return to her role as Batgirl with a new first issue. I'm not sure I like that since as Oracle she was DC's only disabled hero and a strong one at that. If they must do this, I almost hope the time-stream is altered so that she was never shot by the Joker as opposed to some miraculous healing or technology that allows her to swing above the streets of Gotham. I do wonder if the avatar design Bruce Wayne handed her in the one-shot Batman: The Return is some kind of clue. As to where this might leave Stephanie Brown, Bruce assigned her to finishing school in England, which makes me wonder if she might be the U.K. Batgirl when Batman, Inc. begins next year.

The Birds of Prey roster will undergo drastic revision including the absence of Oracle. A new number one issue is in store here as well. So it is with Catwoman who returns to her roots as a jewel thief with another new number one. I hate that. I'd rather see a progression of the Bruce/Selina relationship similar to the Elseworlds story, Justice League: The Nail.

As with Oracle, I wonder if the changes to Catwoman will result from an alteration to the universe or an alteration to her life in the current continuity. If an alteration to the universe, I would love to see a reboot of several other characters in which a lot of the tragedy never occured. I'd like to see a Hal Jordan who never became a killer and a Roy Harper who still has his arm. If DC really rebooted, why not a Barbara Gordon who was never shot, or a Selina who never reformed as opposed to some lame explanations for their changing back to how they were?       

Many of the heroes will have new or altered costumes, including Superman, Black Canary, Mr. Terrific, and Supergirl. I typically love Jim Lee's art, which I enjoyed in Batman: Hush and All-Star Batman and Robin. But as far as the new costume designs go, I'm debating as to which term more adequately describes my feelings: hate, despise, or loathe. It reminds me of those horrible redesigns of the 80s which now look so stupid and dated. But if it doesn't work, DC can always change things back.

A couple of other things make the relaunch less exciting. So many of these titles were just recently relaunched or re-relaunched, including Wonder Woman, Flash, Supergirl, Green Lantern, Justice League, Legion of Super-Heroes, Blue Beetle, Birds of Prey, and others. How many relaunches do we have to endure? 

Well, the debate with me is now about which new number ones to pick up. I've occasionally picked up the first issue of relaunches in the past just to check things out. But I cannot afford to buy fifty-two issues at once! I think DC is making a huge mistake releasing them all at once since so many fans are on limited budgets in this ailing economy, not to mention the fact that comics are already woefully overpriced. So which books do I want to check out? Here are my first through third tier options: 

First tier:

Justice League - The team of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee make this appealing. They are first tier creators even if the new costume designs stink. 

Batman; Detective Comics; Batman and Robin - Since Batman is my favorite fictional character and the one who got me into comics, I may be checking into these just to see where the character is going. I'll stick only to the titles that really grab me.

Batgirl - I'd like to see how they explain Barbara's return to this role and if it's too stupid I can drop it.  

Superman; Action Comics - I'd be crazy to pass up a first issue of Action Comics even though it will never be worth anything. With Grant Morrison writing one book and George Perez the other, I'm interested. I'm usually not a Morrison fan, but he did a great job with All-Star Superman. So I'd like to see how the Man of Tomorrow is relaunched. I'm curious to see if the marriage of Clark and Lois ever happened in this altered reality.

Second Tier:

Supergirl- Just how big a brat will she be, anyway?

All-Star Western - Jonah Hex lead story with other western back-up stories. The 3.99 price gives me pause, but the first issue has Hex in Gotham City, which I thought was on the Eastern Seaboard.

DC Universe Presents - Sounds like a relaunch of the latest Brave and the Bold.

Third Tier: 

Legion of Super Heroes - Another relaunch? How much more confusing could it be?   

Animal Man - I learned to love this character in 52 and Countdown to Adventure.

I won't be buying all of these, not even all the number ones. But these are my thoughts today. I do wonder if the Justice Society, Power Girl, or the multiverse will have any future in this altered universe.                    

Free Comic Book Day 2011

Saturday, May 7 was this year's annual Free Comic Book Day. Publishers provide dealers with free promotional comics to give away. This allows readers to sample various companies, characters, and titles before deciding where to invest their entertainment dollars.

Some of the free books offered are simply glorified commercials without any real story or just a partial story that is continued to the regular comic series. But each year there are a few books that provide a decent self-contained story along with the commercial. This year's Captain America/Thor team-up was especially good as the two were thrown back in time to Camelot. I wonder why Marvel chose Captain America and Thor? Could that have anything to do with this year's movie offerings? Marvel is still the greatest when it comes to All Ages stories that are really for all ages and not simply juvenile. DC's Young Justice/Batman: Brave and the Bold also had some decent self-contained stories. The Batman story was a good short story teaming Batman with Flash as the opinions of society's upper crust are contrasted with the real Bruce Wayne.

The comic shop we patronized for FCBD this year really went all out. There were people in costume (most notably Green Lantern & Batwoman), a sketch artist, and photographs with the life-size Spiderman statue. A long table with free super-hero buttons and numerous FCBD offerings allowed patrons to choose up to five titles each. And this comic shop did not stamp the covers with their store name, although there is a place for it. I love it when the covers aren't stamped. Every serious collector knows better than to desecrate a comic in that manner. This shop even had a sidewalk sale with dollar comics and free coffee. I'm impressed! It was like a mini-convention.

In addition to my five free titles (which also included Green Lantern, The Misadventures of Adam West, and Amazing Spiderman) I also had to raid the dollar boxes resulting in a fairly good stack. These included one-shots of Batman and Captain America, the Superman: Last Family of Krypton series, and the Amazing Spiderman issues with the "One Moment in Time" story arc. So FCBD was a real event for our family this year. Thanks to those comic shop proprietors who go the extra mile.       

Captain America Adventure Serial

I just bought a VHS of the old Captain America adventure serial for $1.00 at a garage sale. I watched the first episode last night. I had seen several episodes as a child when our local PBS affiliate would air old adventure serials on Saturday nights. I didn't remember much about it though.

Captain America was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby for Timely (now Marvel) comics in 1940. Weakling Steve Rogers volunteers for an experimental super serum which transforms him into the powerful and muscular Captain America. He spends the war fighting Nazis. The first issue of Captain America Comics, while dated 1941, was actually published one year before America entered World War II. Cap was retired by Marvel when super heroes went out of vogue, but he was revived in the 60s when Rogers, who had been in suspended animation, was thawed out. 

The serial was the first time a Marvel/Timely superhero had appeared in any medium outside the comics. It is good for nostalgia and maybe one of the best serials of its era. But it is glaringly inconsistent with the comic version. Absent from the movie is Cap's trademark shield. Instead he carries a gun, which seems very odd. The origin story and alter ego is also changed. Cap is a district attorney named Grant Gardner in the serial. While the serial was released during the war (1944) Cap strangely enough doesn't fight any Nazis. 

Of course the forthcoming Captain America: The First Avenger will be more true to the comic origin. Other live action versions have included two 1979 and 1980 TV movies starring Reb Brown. The 1990 movie was the most faithful to the comics in many respects, but was panned by critics. I still haven't got around to that one, but I am looking forward to the latest movie incarnation of Captain America.