Captain America #191: Cap, Falcon vs Stilt-Man battle cover!

They don't make covers like this any more. A great pick up!

Classic Captain America cover! Gorgeous work by Sal Buscema and Frank Giacoia! Great pick-up!

Nice!  You have to watch out for those villains who can grab stuff off the top shelf!

Stilt-Man is bottom shelf material. The arts nice though.

Excellent!  Nice time in the run.

Fantastic action!

Wonderful cover, great congratulations

Sal Buscema's cover are quite rare, at least compared to his enormous body of work.  Great find!

Really nice cover West!

I really dig the dynamic, Captain America action pose and I've always really loved covers with Stilt-Man on them, as he always seems to provide a nice visual treat!

Sal Buscema is responsible for some of the most memorable art runs in the Bronze Age.  His long term stints on The Defenders and Hulk are two of my absolute favorite runs ever.  And his glorious stint on Captain America is nothing short of legendary.  This is a fantastic example from that era, with a spectacular shot of Cap.  Just love how much action he was able to squeeze into the very limited image area provided by covers from this time period.

Amazing cover and love the Stilt Man conversation. Such a great piece. 

What an amazing pickup!!! I sat on this one too long and it looks like you beat me to it! I really love these classic Buscema covers from this era! Great addition to your collection and congrats!!!

Fantastic cover West!

Sal Buscema was one of my favorite Captain America artists. It killed me when Frank Robbins replaced him starting issue #184. Gil Kane was doing the covers for the Robbins books. When I saw this book on the newstand I rejoiced! "Sal is back!" Only to open the comic and discover no. It is Robbins interiors......

Mona Lisa Vito: The stilts that made these two, equal-length ink marks had battle action. You can't make Sal’s marks without battle action, which was not available until issue 191 of Captain America!

Vinny Gambini: And why not? What is battle action?

Mona Lisa Vito: It's a limited Sal original which distributes power equally to both the right and left stilts. Earlier Cap covers had a cover original, which, anyone who's been stuck in the mud in Alabama knows, you try to buy, one mouth flaps, the other dealer does nothing.

Juror #1: That's right.

Vinny Gambini: Is that it?

Mona Lisa Vito: No, there's more! You see? When the Sal pencil marks goes up on the board and the bright background stays flat and even? Well, Sal Buscema had a solid inker, Giacoia, so then Falcon would fly up like a bird, then Captain America would tilt out and run along its edge.  And that really happens here. The stilt marks don't stay flat and even.  Stilt-Man has a dynamic rear suspension.  Now, in the '60s, there were only two other creators that made Cap before Sal Buscema, and you would see them at conventions, with enough power to make these marks. One was brother John, which could never be confused with the John Romita. The other drew the same body length, height, width, weight, stilt base, and wheel track as the '64 Jack Kirby, and that was in the 1963 Tales of Suspense.

Vinny Gambini: And because both Cap comics were made by Marvel, were both comics available in metallic spinner rack?

Mona Lisa Vito: They were!

Vinny Gambini: Thank you, Ms. Vito. No more questions. Thank you very, very much.

Vinny Gambini: You've been a lovely, lovely witness.

Now all I can think about is how Aunt May's biological clock (stamp, stamp, stamp) is ticking. 

"Thanks for the save, Steve. I thought Pugilucci would've done more than squeal. I mean, he did introduce himself to me as The Public Defender."

What a fantastic and energy-charged cover scene!  How cool that Stlit-Man is crashing through the window of a building so high up that the cars below look tiny.  And then as total mayhem ensues in the courtroom, you get Cap in a fantastic running pose as  Falcon is being grabbed by the bad guy.  AMAZING pick-up!!

Never fails, huh. Well except to Daredevil, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Black Widow, Captain America, Daredevil again, Thor, and finally the Punisher - who killed Stilt-Man by blowing off his legs with a rocket launcher. But it's comics; he got better. Can't let a little thing like death keep such a A-lister villain down. 

I believe you were laughing so much remembering how many had beaten him up that you accidentally typed A rather than B lister, or were you poking some fun at the guy who reaches for the heights and falls as he fails? Is he a metaphor for the American Dream for so many? Its still a great cover.

Classic Cap and Falcon cover,nice piece of history here!

Another masterpiece!  Superb!!!

A classic full of Marvel action. Big congrats!

Beutifully designed cover with a great perspective.  Now I have to look back at Daredevil back issues and see, if indeed, Stilt-Man never failed.  Great addition!

One of the faves from my childhood! Great cover!!!!!

He could make some sweet moolah as a window cleaner. Never Fails Window Cleaners! We'll clean your windows in 30 minutes...or Cap dies!! Gua-ron-teeeed! I love Sal bronze covers. The energy and action are always off the charts, and never any skimp on the backgrounds. Nice inks by Giacoia, too. Excellent piece! Winner

Bronze age beauty...congrats!

Love these Bronze Age Marvel covers....hige congrats my friend.

Stilt-Man...They don't stand a chance against the lamest of villains. Nice cover.

A big before my time but I've really grown to dig a lot of the Cap and Falcon covers, including this one!  Straight action shot with 2 vs the baddie - can't beat it.  Congrats!

This is Amazing!!!

Utterlu superb! So dynamic from Sal. Wonderful cover!