Captain America, G.I. Joe, Fighting American and more among patriotic weekend comic-book reviews

This illustration provided by Marvel Comics shows the cover of the first issue of Captain America, created in 1941 to incarnate patriotic feeling during World War II. In the latest issue, which hits the stands Wednesday, March 7, 2007, Captain America is shot down by a sniper as he leaves a courthouse. (AP Photo/Marvel Comics) **NO SALES** ORG XMIT: NYR101

With the July 4 weekend upon us, here are some patriotic comic-books to check out and celebrate the United States of America.

Captain America Comics 1 (1941)
This Joe Simon/Jack Kirby creation shows a ton of energy and excitement, as the origin of Captain America is revealed for the first time.   This issue also has the first appearance of the Red Skull, who in this issue is a traitorous American industrialist.

American Dream 1-5 (2008 Marvel)
American Dream is a young woman who takes on an adapted costume of Captain America in the “MC2″ universe, the Marvel Universe of a few years in the future.    This 5-issue miniseries by Tom DeFalco and Todd Nauck is reminiscent of Silver Age Marvel Comics, as Shannon Carter deals with balancing her personal and superheroic lives.  The five-issue miniseries was collected in the “American Dream: Beyond Courage” trade paperback.

Fighting American 1-7 (Prize); Harvey series 1-2