On August 28, 2020 many were surprised and dismayed to hear about the passing of Chadwick Boseman, the actor perhaps best known for his portrayal of King T’Challa in Black Panther. Only a handful of close friends and family knew he was sick with colon cancer as he continued to work throughout his illness. Members of the U-C Comics Colloquium came together and submitted brief remembrances on his life and legacy.
Over a year into our colloquium and we finally dip our toes into the world of superhero comics. Captain America is one of the classic figures in American comics, first appearing in March 1941 (cover-date; first sold in December 1940) punching Hitler on the jaw, briefly resurrecting in 1950s in an ill-conceived anti-Communist title, and then being re-introduced in main Marvel continuity in 1963 by Stan Lee. In the nearly six decades since, Cap has consistently reckoned with America’s own problematic legacy on the national and world stage while forever remaining the “Man Out of Time.” The titles we read for our meeting, Truth: Red, White and Black (Robert Morales, 2003) and Winter in America (Ta-Nehisi Coates, 2018) both engage with Cap’s legacy in the twenty-first century.
