Captain America: The First Avenger director
Joe Johnston is no stranger to retro comic book styling. His 1991 film
The Rocketeer had a magnificent
art deco ad campaign that perfectly captured the essence of that films 1930s setting. With the highly anticipated Marvel Studios new Cap movie, Johnston has employed the services of comic book artist
Paulo Rivera to deliver a stunning retro styled poster for his summer blockbuster. Revealed last Friday on
Riveras own blog, the poster was commissioned as a gift to the films crew. With around 100 copies produced, the posters recipients included the legendary
Stan Lee. Rivera designed the poster after being presented with a vast collection of production stills from the film. The most surprising and intriguing image is that of Captain America punching out Adolf Hitler, something that has so far not been revealed in any other marketing for the film. Along with the all the films key characters making an appearance on the poster I particularly like the inclusion of The Howling Commandos. The elite group of US army rangers that include Sgt. Nick Fury (
Samuel L. Jackson) and Dum Dum Dugan (
Neal McDonough) among their ranks. If the film proves a success there is a strong chance they could get their own spin-off feature.
Unfortunately it is unlikely the poster will be used as part of the films wider ad campaign but it is refreshing to see a more traditional poster in the current photoshop heavy industry. Tell us what you think. Captain America: The First Avenger is coming July 22nd (U.S.) and July 29th (UK)