Captain Action – Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Gil Kane and Wallace Wood — Toys For The Holidays (Part 2)

December 29, 2020 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Captain Action #3, May 1969

Can lightning strike twice in the toy biz? Inventor Stan Weston thought so, and I for one, became proof of concept.

Weston had created the original 12” G.I. Joe “doll” for Hasbro in 1964 and younger baby boomers like myself quickly became obsessed with the figures and all their wonderfully detailed accessories.

Next up: Weston took his invention to Ideal Toys in 1966, and turned it into a superhero concept, capturing the zeitgeist of the era. Captain Action was born, and despite the goofy name, its dozen licensed superhero costumes were a terrific gimmick.

Kids could turn the good captain into a number of well-known characters including Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Captain America and Aquaman.

And the best part? The costumes and accessories worked just fine with existing G.I. Joes, so any crafty kid (we were all crafty, FYI) could create a multiverse Justice League without buying multiple Captain Action figures.

The toy line burned brightly, but briefly, and by 1968/69, the product was heading to the closeout racks. That apparently didn’t concern DC, which licensed the character for yet another brief comic book series.

Fortunately, visual storytelling chores were handled by Gil Kane and Wally Wood, making for some great original art. (Wood drew issue #1 solo, and then inked Gil on issues #2, #3 and #5. Gil scripted, penciled and inked issue #4.)

This cool page features the origin of “Dr. Evil,” main nemesis to the good Captain. Remember when I said the Captain Action name was goofy? I have no words for naming a villain “Dr. Evil.”

Gil Kane — Face of Evil

October 20, 2020 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Captain Action #4, April 1969

Our ode to Halloween and the creatures of the comic books continues…

Dr. Evil — a good looking villain with a terribly cheesy name, even by the standards of the 1960s.

The character was the antagonist in the Captain Action “doll” product line, which launched in 1966. (More on that in a future post.)

DC adapted the toys into a short-lived series and Kane drew much of it. Ironically, the toy sales themselves were rapidly waning by the time the comic series launched in late 1968.

In this specific issue, Gil writes, pencils and inks the entire story — a first for him for either of the “big two” publishers.

And speaking of cheesy and the 60s: That amulet. The Nehru jacket. Those sandals. It just doesn’t get any better than this.

One very fashionably mod alien.