Captain Action: The Original Super-Hero Action Figure

By Michael Eury

Book Overview

Captain Action, the original super-hero action figure, was introduced in 1966 in the wake of the Batman TV show craze, and later received his own DC comic book with art by Wally Wood and Gil Kane. Able to assume the identities of 13 famous super-heroes, his initial career was short-lived, but continuing interest in the hero has led to two different returns to toy-store shelves. Lavishly illustrated with over 200 toy photos, this second edition of the critically acclaimed volume by author Michael Eury chronicles the history of this quick-changing champion, including photos of virtually every Captain Action product ever released, spotlights on his allies Action Boy and the Super Queens and his arch enemy Dr. Evil, an examination of his comic-book appearances, and "Action facts" that even the most-diehard Captain Action fan won't know Features a foreword, cover image, and previously unseen package illustrations by Murphy Anderson, as well as historical anecdotes by the late Gil Kane, Jim Shooter, Stan Weston (co-creator of G.I. Joe, Captain Action, and Mego's World's Greatest Super-Heroes), and Larry Reiner and Larry O'Daly, formerly of Ideal Toys, plus never-before-published and classic Captain Action artwork by Gil Kane, Joe Staton, Carmine Infantino, Jerry Ordway, Paul Gulacy, Mark Sparacio, Ruben Procopio, and Tom Yeates. This revised second edition also includes behind-the-scenes material covering Captain Action's triumphant 2008 return to comics shelves in his new series from Moonstone Books, and spotlights on the new wave of Captain Action collectibles.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1605490172
• ISBN13: 9781605490175
• Release Date: August 2009
• Publisher: Two Morrows Publishing
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 9.0" x 11.0"

Customer Reviews

Including photos of nearly every Captain Action product ever released

Captain Action: The Original Super-Hero Action Figure has been newly expanded into a color hardcover and provides comics libraries with an excellent history of the comic book hero who was able to assume the identities of 13 fe4amous super-heroes. Two hundred photos pack a second updated edition offering a history and including photos of nearly every Captain Action product ever released.

Essential reading for Superhero toy collectors

A wealth of information, coupled with beautiful photographs, make this the definitive CA reference. If you collect comic book action figures, it all starts with the Captain. Let justice be done!

CAPTAIN ACTION IS THE BEST HOBBY BOOK EVER!!!

CAPTAIN ACTION IS THE BEST HOBBY BOOK EVER!!! Captain Action:The Original Super-Hero Action Figure by Michael Eury is a beautiful book about Captain Action, the action figure of the 1960s that could be transformed into a variety of superhero characters through the unique use of available costumes, like Superman, Spiderman, The Green Hornet, Flash Gordon, The Phantom, and the Lone Ranger. From spectacular front cover to spectacular back cover it's one of the best written, best photographed, and best researched books I've ever seen, and that doesn't just mean for hobby books, but of all the books I've ever read!Michael Eury does it all with this book--he talks about his own experiences as a child when from the time he got his first Captain Action figure--with two left hands!--and then he goes through all sorts of details about the creation of Captain Action in the 1960s, the accessories, the stories behind the characters used for his costumes--like Superman, Batman, Flash Gordon, and all the rest, and the failed line of Super Queens, female action figures designed as a companion line for Captain Action--and well, there's really nothing like this I've ever seen before:a book where the writer covers everything!But Michael Eury keeps right on going, to the Captain Action comic book of the 1960s, and into the future with the resurrection of a smaller Captain Action in the 1990s, to the customized versions of Captain Action suits by fans to create new characters never used by the manufacturers, like Green Lantern and Dr. Doom.If there's a flaw in the book, it's that Eury doesn't do enough analysis about why Captain Action failed, not once, but twice, probably due to poor design the first time--despite all the great costumes and marketing, CAPTAIN ACTION HIMSELF NEVER LOOKED LIKE A SUPERHERO!!!--and probably because he was smaller and weaker looking when he was reproduced in the 1990s!!!But even so, MICHAEL EURY'S CAPTAIN ACTION IS THE BEST HOBBY BOOK EVER!!!Chari Krishnan RESEARCHKING

Not just a GI Joe knockoff

Captain Action represented an enigma to me, as I have vague memories of Batman and Superman costumes in boxes high on store shelves but never knew what they were all about. It was only much later (as an adult) that I learned the odd - but irresistable - concept behind this strange plastic hero.Michael Eury presents the story of Captain Action in an impeccably researched, illustration-packed book that presents the information collectors want ("silver shirt variations," etc.) without crowding out the intriguing tale detailing the toy's journey from toy shelves to comic pages (a short 5-issue run with art by Wally Wood and Gil Kane), then on to oblivion and back.HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for fans of pop culture.- JOHN MICHLIG, author of IT CAME FROM BOB'S BASEMENT, GI JOE: THE COMPLETE STORY OF AMERICA'S FAVORITE MAN OF ACTION, and creator of THE GI JOE MASTERPIECE EDITION