The main story in CAPTAIN AMERICA #700, by storytellers Mark Waid and Chris Samnee, colorist Matthew Wilson, and letterer Joe Caramagna, serves as a powerful culmination of this creative team’s run alongside the Sentinel of Liberty. But these all-star artists aren’t the only ones getting in on the landmark issue action! The Cap’s co-creator, Jack “King” Kirby himself, contributes to the action as well in a special bonus story written by Waid with colors by Wilson!

In the back of issue #700, Mark Waid took on the mammoth task of repurposing original Jack Kirby and Frank Giacoia art from TALES OF SUSPENSE with a brand-new Steve Rogers story. To get the all the details, we caught up with the writer to ask how he went about creating this cross-generational collaboration.

Marvel.com: How did you come up with the idea for this one-of-a-kind story?

Mark Waid: I’ve been wanting to do something like this for a long, long time. In the earliest days of the MARVEL ESSENTIALS black-and-white volumes, I came to realize just how many Silver Age and Bronze Age comics artists produced consistent and reliable work in an old-fashioned six-panel grid. To be honest, there weren’t that many who did huge, long, hundreds-of-pages uninterrupted runs in the 1960s and 1970s—John Buscema, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Gene Colan, a few others. But I’d always wondered what it would be like to redialogue their material to create new stories—especially if I could pick-and-choose specific panels to build brand-new pages.

Marvel.com: Can you tell us what your process was like?

Mark Waid: Way more complicated than you’d think.

STEP ONE: I had to pick a character, but that was a gimme seeing as how this was going to be for CAPTAIN AMERICA #700.

STEP TWO: Before I even began choosing the artwork, I had to settle on one and only one penciller/inker team for visual consistency. This immediately winnowed down the number of available Captain America pages pretty substantially—inkers like Syd Shores and Dick Ayers were fine craftsmen, but their work was either too sparse (comparatively) or too centered on very specific scenes (say, World War II battle scenes) that would be difficult to weave into a modern narrative. In the end, based on the volume of collaboration as much as anything, I opted to pull from the Jack Kirby and Frank Giacoia stories from TALES OF SUSPENSE.

STEP THREE: I had to narrow the available Kirby/Giacoia artwork down even further, in search of panels that had word balloons and captions that didn’t hide important background art and thus wouldn’t require much if any retouching by the production department. I didn’t want to simply “white out” existing balloons and replace that dialogue—that would mean having not only to write dialogue but then to fit it within specific spaces on the page, with almost no margin for error. What I’d already set out to do would be hard enough. Moreover, I needed panels that would fit into a Silver Age-style six-panel grid—panels of wildly differing sizes would be impossible to jigsaw-puzzle together.

STEP FOUR: I had to look over all the existing pages and, while making detailed notes, get a sense of what kind of story might be told with the artwork at hand. There were a lot of pages of Cap simply fighting modern-day villains in the streets and buildings of New York City. Suppose Cap were racing across Manhattan, facing some sort of gantlet put before him by the Red Skull? If so, why? There were some panels I could use of scientists in a lab. Perhaps Cap was struggling to get something to them? How would the menaces he’d face connect to be part of a cohesive story?

STEP FIVE: All of this left me with roughly 150 pages of artwork from which I could choose panels. I’m pretty versatile in Photoshop and could have begun cutting and pasting on the computer—but at this stage, it was just easier and faster to stay old-school. I printed every page out with my inkjet printer, got out scissors, X-Acto knives, and a cutting mat and built a deck of panels to play with, moving them around constantly in search of building some continuity.

STEP SIX: A rough narrative began to take shape. Here’s a good sequence with Cap fighting the Super-Adaptoid, but I can’t imagine a way to put that villain in the middle of a story and not see him defeated; out it goes. Here’s a run of panels showing Cap fighting a soldier with a raygun back in World War II—is there anything specific in the artwork that locked it into the 1940s? No? Can those panels be incorporated and juggled?

STEP SEVEN: The selection of potential panels grows smaller. Repetitive action poses? Out. Random gunmen just appearing and then disappearing? Out. But I’m finally zooming in on around 50 panels that could tell a story about Cap racing across New York to get to an injured S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in a lab. Hey, look! Here’s the only usable panel that might show such an agent. It’s from much later in the Captain America run, meaning the linework was a little bolder but not uncomfortably so, that’ll fit nicely. Huh—I have a dozen Red Skull panels here—which two or three would make him a presence in the story without having to have him confront Cap directly?

STEP EIGHT: The rough-draft paste-up was done with scissors and tape to arrange the panels into a Silver Age-style grid. I scanned the pages for the Marvel production offices to use as a guide, providing them also with identification as to where each and every panel came from, specifically.

STEP NINE: Production’s ten dialogue-and-caption-free pages come back for dialoguing, and I finally get to work with The King.

Overall, the project took about three days—one to go over the material, one to think up a story, and one to do the actual physical production. It was much more difficult to do than I’d dreamed—but with the right artist (Steve Ditko? Jim Aparo?), it might be fun to take another swing at it down the road.

Read the full story in CAPTAIN AMERICA #700, by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee—out today!

Sound the horns—it’s New Comic Book Day! Get ready for today’s new comics with Marvel’s The Pull List!

In this episode, Ryan and Tucker give you bite-sized previews of April 11’s new comic releases, including AVENGERS, CHAMPIONS, DARTH VADER, THANOS, and all the other books that are waiting for you in stores right now!

Here’s the full list of what’s available from Marvel this week:

MARVEL PRINT COMICS ON-SALE (4/11/18)

• AVENGERS #688
• BEN REILLY: SCARLET SPIDER #17
• CAPTAIN AMERICA #700
• CHAMPIONS #19
• DESPICABLE DEADPOOL #298
• DOCTOR STRANGE #388
• DOMINO #1
• EXILES #1
• FALCON #7
• OLD MAN LOGAN #38
• SPIDER-MAN/DEADPOOL #31
• STAR WARS: DARTH VADER #14
• STAR WARS: THRAWN #3
• THANOS #18
• UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #31
• VENOMIZED #2
• X-MEN BLUE #25
• X-MEN RED #3
  • TRUE BELIEVERS INFINITY GAUNTLET #1, $1.00
  • TRUE BELIEVERS THANOS RISING #1, $1.00

COLLECTIONS

• AMERICA VOLUME 2 FAST AND FUERTONA TP, $17.99
• AVENGERS EPIC COLLECTION VOLUME 7 THE AVENGERS DEFENDERS WAR TP, $39.99
• CABLE VOLUME 2 THE NEWER MUTANTS TP
• DEADPOOL VS OLD MAN LOGAN TP, $15.99
• ETERNALS BY NEIL GAIMAN TP (NEW PRINTING)
• JEAN GREY VOLUME 2 FINAL FIGHT TP, $15.99
• MARVEL MASTERWORKS THE AVENGERS VOLUME 18 HC, $75.00
• PETER PARKER THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN VOLUME 2 MOST WANTED TP, $17.99
• SPIDER-MAN DEADPOOL VOLUME 5 ARMS RACE TP, $17.99
• UNBELIEVABLE GWENPOOL VOLUME 5 LOST IN THE PLOT TP, $15.99

ON THE MARVEL APP

• MASTER OF KUNG FU (1979) #29-39
• WEB OF SPIDER-MAN (1985) #64-65
• PUNISHER (1987) #28-29

DIGITAL COLLECTIONS

• AVENGERS MASTERWORKS VOL. 18
• ATLAS ERA STRANGE TALES MASTERWORKS VOL. 4
• GOLDEN AGE ALL-WINNERS MASTERWORKS VOL. 4
• MARVEL POINT ONE
• SUB-MARINER MASTERWORKS VOL. 4
• VAMPIRE TALES VOL. 3

FRESHLY DIGITIZED COMICS ON MARVEL UNLIMITED

• ALL-NEW GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #11
• ASTONISHING X-MEN #4
• AVENGERS #672
• BLACK BOLT #6
• CEREBRO’S GUIDE TO THE X-MEN #1
• DARTH VADER #6
• HAWKEYE #11
• ICEMAN #6
• IRON FIST #73
• JESSICA JONES #13
• JOURNEY TO STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI – CAPTAIN PHASMA #3
• OLD MAN LOGAN #29
• ROYALS #9
• SPIDER-MAN #21
• SPIDER-MAN/DEADPOOL #22
• SPIRITS OF VENGEANCE #1
• STAR WARS #37
• THOR VS. HULK – CHAMPIONS OF THE UNIVERSE #3
• UNCANNY X-MEN/FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #1
• VENOM #155
• VENOMVERSE #5
• WOLVERINE #150-153, #156-158
• X-MEN #71-79
• X-MEN UNLIMITED #17
• X-MEN: GOLD #13
• X-MEN/DR. DOOM ANNUAL #1

Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, download the episode from Marvel.com/podcasts, or tune in on SoundCloud!

For more than 50 years, the Black Panther has stood at the forefront on the Marvel Universe. With T’Challa appearing on the big screen again this year in both Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther”and “Avengers: Infinity War,” take a look back at over five decades worth of comic book adventures for the King of Wakanda!

The Black Panther discovered something incredible in NEW AVENGERS #1: the incursion of an entire universe upon his own, and a woman named Black Swan who seemed to be facilitating the event.

New Avengers (2013) #1

• Published: January 02, 2013
• Added to Marvel Unlimited: July 08, 2013
• Writer: Jonathan Hickman
• Cover Artist: Jock

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What is Marvel Unlimited?

In NEW AVENGERS #2, T’Challa played host to members of the so-called “Illuminati,” high-profile heroes self-tasked to protect their world. He relayed his findings of the incursions to them, and they in turn suggested gathering the Infinity Stones to stop their progress. Despite his desire to kill Namor, a member of the Illuminati who was also responsible for past destruction in Wakanda, the Panther joined with his fellows to hunt for the Stones in NEW AVENGERS #3. Once assembled into the Infinity Gauntlet, Captain America used them to halt an incursion, and in doing so, shattered the Stones.

T’Challa and the others decided to seek more Infinity Stones in alternate universes in NEW AVENGERS #4, but ran afoul of a variant Galactus and his herald, Terrax. The Black Panther disagreed mightily with his companions in NEW AVENGERS #5 over their willingness to work with Black Swan, a decision that led them to Latveria to stop another incursion.

New Avengers (2013) #4

• Published: March 20, 2013
• Added to Marvel Unlimited: September 23, 2013
• Writer: Jonathan Hickman
• Cover Artist: Jock

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What is Marvel Unlimited?

Strange blue skies met the Illuminati in NEW AVENGERS #6, and T’Challa mourned the loss of the man he used to be as he himself pulled the trigger on the death of another universe. Back in Wakanda, Namor asked for peace between his Atlantis and the African nation in NEW AVENGERS #7, and T’Challa sought advice from his friend Reed Richards before his sister Shuri officially refused Namor’s entreaty and declared war.

In NEW AVENGERS #8, Wakanda attacked Atlantis, a preamble to the mad space tyrant Thanos’ invasion of Earth to find his lost son. While the main team of Avengers made plans to travel into outer space to stop an alien invasion in INFINITY #1, Black Panther helped his people fight off the Black Order’s invasion of his beloved country in NEW AVENGERS #9.

The Inhumans’ king, Black Bolt, summoned the Panther and the Illuminati to Attilan in INFINITY #2 to inform them of Thanos’ purpose on Earth. The heroes left to seek that individual in NEW AVENGERS #10, which put T’Challa on his trail at the Caalsberg Ridge. The quest continued in INFINITY #3, while Black Bolt tried to stop Thanos by himself.

New Avengers (2013) #10

• Published: September 18, 2013
• Added to Marvel Unlimited: March 17, 2014
• Writer: Jonathan Hickman
• Cover Artist: Mike Deodato

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What is Marvel Unlimited?

The Black Order returned to Wakanda in NEW AVENGERS #11, while the Illuminati met the Builders, an ancient race of aliens with designs on Earth. The Black Panther witnessed Wakanda in flames in INFINITY #5, a result of the Black Order’s attack, and joined with the Illuminati to defend Necropolis and its cache of incursion-stopping bombs from Thanos’ lust for power.

When Shuri believed T’Challa to be conspiring with Namor, Wakanda’s greatest enemy, she banished him to the Necropolis in NEW AVENGERS #12. Later, the Illuminati built a device to view incoming “incursions,” invasions by other universes, in NEW AVENGERS #13, and the Panther saw the death of two alternate versions of himself.

Armed with more information about The Black Swan, gleaned in NEW AVENGERS #15, T’Challa discovered a group of champions not unlike him and his fellow Illuminati in NEW AVENGERS #16. Called the Great Society, the Panther and Namor observed the team in NEW AVENGERS #17, and realized that fate intended them to meet. The Illuminati flew off to Egypt to confront the latest incursion in NEW AVENGERS #18, but Black Panther cautioned his comrades of the evil in destroying other heroes.

New Avengers (2013) #17

• Published: April 30, 2014
• Added to Marvel Unlimited: October 27, 2014
• Writer: Jonathan Hickman
• Cover Artist: Leinil Francis Yu

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What is Marvel Unlimited?

Upon the Illuminati meeting the Great Society in NEW AVENGERS #19, both groups debated their ability to work together to stop the clash of universes. Ultimately, the Society decided to battle the Illuminati, and T’Challa entered into combat with the hero called The Rider in NEW AVENGERS #20, while Doctor Strange cast a dark spell to summon a horrific creature. In the middle of it all, the ghost of the Panther’s father appeared in NEW AVENGERS #21 to urge his son to detonate the bomb to destroy the Great Society’s Earth, but when T’Challa refused, his father stripped him of his kingdom and status.

After Namor destroyed the alternate Earth, the Black Panther attacked The Sub-Mariner in NEW AVENGERS #22. Namor declared his action to be inevitable and also admitted he’d sent Thanos and his Black Order to Wakanda, which prompted T’Challa to promise to kill him. Just then, another incursion alert sounded, but the Illuminati would not rise to meet it. With the ultimate end for Earth approaching, the Panther visited his former queen Storm in NEW AVENGERS #23, but the time of incursion passed without incident, mystifying the heroes.

New Avengers (2013) #23

• Published: August 20, 2014
• Added to Marvel Unlimited: February 16, 2015
• Writer: Jonathan Hickman

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What is Marvel Unlimited?

A shadowy figure enlisted The Black Panther to follow a trail of clues identifying the Watcher’s murderer in ORIGINAL SIN #1. Together with other heroes, T’Challa tracked the mystery to chambers below the Earth and to a satellite in orbit. There he learned of Nick Fury’s involvement in the case in ORIGINAL SIN #5, and of a secret he and Doctor Strange vowed to keep in ORIGNAL SIN #8.

Namor freed the villains held captive by the Illuminati and joined with them in NEW AVENGERS #24 to block incursions. T’Challa and Shuri attempted to seize the Illuminati’s world-destroying bombs from the Necropolis, but when the Cabal stood in their way, the Panther reluctantly left his sister behind to face certain death at their hands. In their new hideout, the Illuminati welcomed T’Challa, but the Panther brought only the bad news of Wakanda’s fall to the villains.

New Avengers (2013) #28

• Published: December 24, 2014
• Added to Marvel Unlimited: June 29, 2015

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What is Marvel Unlimited?

Caught up in the impending incursions of entire universes with his own, The Black Panther and his fellow Illuminati clashed with Captain America in Spain in AVENGERS #39, but discovered it to be trap. Faced with multiple teams of Avengers, T’Challa and his comrades tried to fight their way out of the noose in NEW AVENGERS #28 until stopped by Sue Richards.

What wild adventure will Doreen Green, Nancy Whitehead, Tippy-Toe, and the rest of the UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL gang go on in issue #31? The answer is obvious: Doreen and Nancy get blasted into hypertime and fight crime at super speed, of course! On April 11, writer Ryan North and artist Erica Henderson tell the tale in UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #31!

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, A.K.A. Doreen Green, has had an action-packed history dating back to the early ‘90s, but she’s evolved significantly since then. We asked Ryan North to provide some commentary on the proceedings, but he suggested we go right to the super source herself! So let’s dive in!

One doesn’t just go throwing around the title “Unbeatable” without reason; Doreen Green has beaten the likes of Galactus, Thanos, Ultron, and more!

Squirrel Girl: Hey everyone, it’s me—Squirrel Girl! I hacked into this website (it was a simple SQL injection exploit, COME ON PEOPLE, it’s not 1997 anymore) and am using my incredible hacker powers for good—by adding some commentary to this as we go!

But her long and impressive history starts with her debut takedown: Doctor Doom.

Squirrel Girl: Hah! It sure does!

In her first ever appearance, Doreen Green (then a young super hero hopeful) came to Iron Man in an attempt to impress him with her powers. At first, Tony Stark was incredulous about her powers and persona, but it didn’t take long for Doreen to win the hero over after she rescued him from Doctor Doom by siccing an army of squirrels after the notorious villain.

Squirrel Girl: To be fair, this was just my first takedown published in illustrated comic documentary format. I’d actually defeated the Abomination before then. And it’s not even the first time I took down Doctor Doom, if you’re being strictly chronological! I’VE traveled through time to beat him up in the ’60s. IT WAS AMAZING. 

In these early days, Squirrel Girl had a furry, prehensile tail, buck teeth strong enough to chew through wood, superhuman strength and agility, the ability to speak to and understand squirrels, and sharply clawed fingers with retractable “knuckle spikes”!

Squirrel Girl: Those knuckle spikes came in handy when defeating Ultron, because bone doesn’t conduct electricity! A useful property when you’re fighting a robot. Other than that they have not been THAT useful, because, um—I don’t really go around stabbing people all the time?

Later, as Squirrel Girl teamed up with the Great Lakes Avengers, she started flying a gyrocopter called a “Squirrel-A-Gig” (which was a holiday gift from her teammate Big Bertha). Doreen first used the machine to infiltrate Doctor Doom’s castle!

Squirrel Girl: The best part was Doom just sighed and pointed me towards where I wanted to go, because he didn’t want to get into a fight with me. IT WAS THE RIGHT CALL, MY DUDE.

Doreen’s personality and powers were best established and honed in THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL after the series launched in 2015. The greatest revelation in this title is best explored in the first arc—which acts as a kind of thesis statement for the rest of the series—when Doreen Green is tasked with stopping Galactus from eating the Earth. Does she punch him into submission? Does she try to destroy him? No, Doreen realizes that wouldn’t work and, instead, converses with the cosmic being, convincing him to leave her home planet alone.

Squirrel Girl: Galactus isn’t such a bad guy! Take away his hunger and he’s just a chill pal. It’s not his fault he’s so enormous! If he were tinier a handful of nuts could satisfy him, but at his scale one’s appetites also get larger. Took a full PLANET of nuts, actually!

Doreen is notable for using her compassion as one of her greatest tools—and for using butt-kicking as a last resort. Sometimes people can forget that being a super hero isn’t always about flashy super powers! She might not necessarily have the craziest abilities on the scene, but the strongest weapons in the fight to eradicate evil can often be a good heart, a strong mind, and one or two close friends!

Squirrel Girl: Aw, this was a great article! Now I feel bad about hacking in to add commentary to it, but on the plus side, YOU get slightly more words to read, so I suppose it all worked out in the end! Eat nuts and kick butts, everyone!

Read THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #31, by Ryan North and Erica Henderson, tomorrow—April 11!