Although I’m sure Namor takes great offense to this claim (and I can hear Jim Hammond’s fan shouting at me from an undisclosed location), Captain America is easily the most relevant character from Marvel’s Golden Age, debuting in the early part of the 1940’s. Very few Marvel characters can claim the lengthy history of Steve Rogers, meaning his full comics chronology is more on par with Superman or Batman than anyone in the Marvel canon.
Below you’ll find a complete guide to Captain America comics from the 1940’s to 2000. This reading order was requested by a Comic Book Herald supporter on Patreon. To get priority requests of CBH reading orders, check out the Patreon page. I’ve marked my personal favorites in the order below with the Comic Book Herald logo next to the series title.
Related Reading Orders:
Captain America in the Golden Age!
Golden Age Captain America Omnibus Volume 1
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Collects: Captain America Comics 1-12
The 1940’s debut of Captain America from creators Joe Simon and Jack Kirby!
Captain America In The 1960’s
Captain America Omnibus, Vol. 1
Collects: Tales Of Suspense 59-99, Captain America 100-113, Not Brand Echh 3
The 1960’s Silver Age return of Steve Rogers by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby! Includes the return of the Red Skull and the introduction of Cap mainstays like A.I.M., MODOK, and the cosmic cube!
Captain America Epic Collection: Captain America Lives Again
Collects: Tales Of Suspense (1959) 58-96, Avengers (1963) 4, Strange Tales (1951) 114
Collects: Tales Of Suspense (1959) 97-99; Captain America (1968) 100-119; Material From Not Brand Echh (1967) 3, 12
The debut of Sam Wilson, the Falcon, and his battle with Steve Rogers against a cosmic cube wielding Red Skull! Includes one of my absolute favorite Captain America issues with #113, featuring stunning artwork by Jim Steranko!
Captain America Omnibus Vol. 2
Collects: Captain America (1968) 114-148
Captain America Epic Collection: Bucky Reborn
Collects: Captain America (1968) 120-138
Captain America Epic Collection: Hero or Hoax?
Collects: Captain America (1968) 139-159
Captain America in the 1970’s
Captain America Masterworks Vol. 8
Collects: Captain America (1968) #160-175
Includes Secret Empire
Captain America Masterworks Vol. 9
Collects: Captain America (1968) #176-192 And Material From Foom (1973) #8
Includes Nomad
Collects: Captain America #193-214, Annual #3-4; Captain America’s Bicentennial Battles
Jack Kirby returns to the pages of Captain America, to both write and draw the character.
Captain America Masterworks Vol. 10
Collects: Captain America (1968) #193-200, Annual (1971) #3
Captain America by Jack Kirby: Bicentennial Battles
Collects: Captain America (1968) #201-205 And Captain America’S Bicentennial Battles #1
Captain America Epic Collection, Vol. 9, No. 1: Dawn’s Early Light
Collects: Captain America (1968) #247-266 And Captain America Annual #5
Captain America In The 1980’s
Collects: Captain America (1968) #290-301
The “Death” of the Skull by writer J.M. Dematteis is one of the more underrated Cap stories from this era.
Captain America Epic Collection: Society of Serpents
Collects: Captain America (1968) #302-317 And Material From Marvel Fanfare(1982) #18
Captain America Epic Collection: Justice is Served
Collects: Captain America (1968) 318-332, Annual 8; Amazing Spider-Man (1963) 278; Material From Marvel Fanfare (1982) 29, 31-32; Scourge Subplot Pages
Collects: Captain America (1968) #332-350, Iron Man (1968) #228
For my money, the peak of writer Mark Gruenwald’s lengthy run on Captain America.
Captain America Epic Collection: The Bloodstone Hunt
Collects: Captain America (1968) 351-371
Captain America Epic Collection: Streets of Poison
Collects: Captain America 372-386, Captain America Annual 9-10
Captain America Epic Collection: The Superia Stratagem
Collects: Captain America (1968) #387-397, Adventures Of Captain America #1-4
Captain America in the 1990’s
Collects: Captain America (1968) #402-408
Cap-Wolf. Love it or hate it, you have to read it to explore this piece of Marvel history.
Captain America: Fighting Chance – Denial
Collects: Captain America (1968) #425-#430
Captain America: Fighting Chance – Acceptance
Collects: Captain America (1968) #431-437
Captain America Epic Collection: Man Without a Country
Collects: Captain America 444-454, Thor 496, Iron Man 326, Avengers 396
Heroes Reborn: Captain America
Collects: Heroes Reborn: Captain America #1-12
Rob Liefield, aka “The Rob,” takes on the Re-born-booted Cap!
Collects: Captain America (1968) 444-454; Captain America (1998) 1-23; Iron Man/Captain America Annual ’98; Captain America: Sentinel Of Liberty 1-12, Rough Cut; Material From Captain America: The Legend; Captain America: Red, White & Blue
Next: Modern Captain America reading order
View Comments (2)
Thanks a lot for this!
I've seen a lot of writers do Captain America right: Ed Brubaker for the political side, Tahesi Coates for political division, and Mark Waid for the ideals of America: https://gutternaut.net/2019/04/mark-waid-legacies-divisions/