Captain America – Page 12

September 15, 2011September 14, 2011

Marvel Masterworks volume 14: Captain America from Tales of Suspense 59-81

By Stan Lee, Jack Kirby & various (Marvel)
ISBN: 0-87135-630-9Â Â second edition 978-0-7851-1176-4

During the earliest days of Marvel Comics Stan Lee and Jack Kirby emulated the same strategy which had worked so tellingly for National Periodicals/DC, but with mixed results. Julie Schwartz had achieved incredible success with his revised versions of DC’s Golden Age greats, so it was only natural to try and revive characters who had dominated the ailing new kids of Timely/Atlas in those halcyon days of yore. A completely new Human Torch had premiered as part of the revolutionary Fantastic Four and in the fourth issue of that title Sub-Mariner resurfaced after a twenty year amnesiac hiatus (everyone concerned had apparently forgotten the initial abortive attempt to revive the superheroes in the mid-1950s).

Torrid Teen Johnny Storm was promptly given his own solo feature in Strange Tales from issue #101 (as collected in Essential Human Torch volume1) where, in #114 the flaming kid fought a malevolent acrobat pretending to be a revived Captain America. An unabashed test-run, the tales was soon eclipsed when the real McCoy promptly surfaced in Avengers #4. After a captivating and centre-stage hogging run in that title the Sentinel of Liberty was quickly awarded his own series as half of the â€œsplit-bookâ€ Tales of Suspense, beginning with #59 (after another impostor battled titular star Iron Man in the previous issue).

This magnificent full-colour hardback stirringly re-presents those early short sagas which span the period cover-dated November 1964-September 1966), opening with the initial outing ‘Captain America’, scripted by Stan Lee and illustrated by the staggeringly perfect team of Jack Kirby & Chic Stone: an unapologetic all-action romp wherein an army of thugs invades Avengers Mansion since only the one without superpowers is at homeâ€¦ The next issue held more of the same, when ‘The Army of Assassins Strikes!’, this time attempting to overwhelm the inexhaustible human fighting machine at the behest of arch foe Baron Zemo, whilst ‘The Strength of the Sumo!’ was insufficient when Cap invaded Viet Nam to rescue a captured US airman, after which he took on an entire prison’s population to stop the ‘Break-out in Cell Block 10!’

After these gloriously simplistic romps the series took an abrupt turn and began telling tales set in World War II. ‘The Origin of Captain America’, by Lee, Kirby & Frank Ray (AKA Frank Giacoia – one of an increasing wave of DC stalwarts anonymously moonlighting at the House of Ideas) recounted, recapitulated and expanded the way physical wreck Steve Rogers was selected to be the guinea pig for a new super-soldier serum only to have the scientist responsible die in his arms, cut down by a Nazi bullet.

Now forever unique, Rogers was became a living fighting symbol and guardian of America, based as a regular soldier in a boot camp.

It was there he was unmasked by Camp Mascot Bucky Barnes, who blackmailed the hero into making the boy his sidekick. The next issue (Tales of Suspense #64) kicked off a string of spectacular thrillers as the heroes defeated the spies Sando and Omar in ‘Among Us, Wreckers Dwell!’ before Chic Stone returned for the next tale ‘The Red Skull Strikes!’ in which the daring duo foiled the Nazi mastermind’s sabotage plans in America.

‘The Fantastic Origin of the Red Skull!’ saw the series swing into high gear and switch settings to Europe as sub-plots and characterisation were added to the all-out action and spectacle. ‘Lest Tyranny Triumph!’ and ‘The Sentinel and the Spy!’ (both inked by Giacoia) combined espionage and mad science in a plot to murder the head of Allied Command after which the heroic duo stayed in England for ‘Midnight in Greymoor Castle!’ (with art by Dick Ayers over Kirby’s layouts – rough pencils sketches that break down the story elements on a page). The second part ‘If This be Treason!’ had Golden Age veteran and Buck Rogers newspaper strip artist George Tuska perform the same function. The final part (and the last wartime adventure) was ‘When You Lie Down with Dogsâ€¦!’ which added Joe Sinnott inks to the mix for a rousing conclusion to this frantic tale of traitors, madmen and terror weaponsâ€¦

It was back to the present for Tales of Suspense #72 and Lee, Kirby & Tuska revealed that Cap had been telling war stories to his fellow Avengers for the last nine months. ‘The Sleeper Shall Awake!’ began a spectacular contemporary adventure as a Nazi super-robot was activated twenty years after Germany’s defeat to exact a world-shattering vengeance. Continuing its rampage across Europe in ‘Where Walks the Sleeper!’ before concluding in ‘The Final Sleep!’ this masterpiece of tension and suspense perfectly demonstrated the indomitable nature of the ultimate American hero.

Dick Ayers returned with John Tartaglione inking ‘30 Minutes to Live!’ which introduced both Batroc the Leaper and a mysterious girl who would eventually become Cap’s long-term girl-friend, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Sharon Carter, in a taut 2-part countdown to disaster ending with ‘The Gladiator, The Girl and the Glory’, illustrated by John Romita (Senior). This was the first tale which had no artistic input from Jack Kirby, but he laid out the next issue (TOS #77) for Romita & Giacoia. ‘If a Hostage Should Die!’ again returned to WWII and hinted at both a lost romance and tragedy to come.

‘Them!’ returned Kirby to full pencils and Giacoia to the regular inks-spot as Cap teamed with Nick Fury in the first of the Star-Spangled Avenger’s many adventures as a (more-or-less) Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. It was followed by ‘The Red Skull Lives!’ as his arch nemesis returned from the grave to menace the Free World again. He was initially aided by the subversive technology group AIM, but stole their ultimate weapon in ‘He Who Holds the Cosmic Cube!’ (inked by Don Heck) – a device which could rewrite reality with but a whimâ€¦

This staggeringly fast-paced, rollercoaster collection climaxes with a classic confrontation in ‘The Red Skull Supreme!’ and concludes with one last breathtaking Cap pin-up by Kirby & Ayers.

These are tales of dauntless courage and unmatchable adventure, addictive and superbly illustrated, which rightly returned Captain America to heights his Golden Age compatriots the Torch and the Sub-Mariner never regained – pure escapist magic.

Great, great stuff for the eternally young at heart, perfectly presented in a sturdy deluxe hardcover edition.
Â© 1963, 1964, 1965, 1990 Marvel Characters, Inc. All rights reserved.

July 30, 2011July 31, 2011

Essential Captain America volume 5

By Jack Kirby, Frank Robbins, Frank Giacoia & various (Marvel)
ISBN: 978-0-7851-4535-6

Created by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby in an era of frantic patriotic fervour, Captain America was a dynamic and highly visible response to the horrors of Nazism and the threat of Liberty’s loss. He faded during the post-war reconstruction but briefly reappeared after the Korean War: a harder, darker sentinel ferreting out monsters, subversives and the â€œcommiesâ€ who lurked under every American bed. Then he vanished once more until the burgeoning Marvel Age resurrected him just in time to experience turbulent, culturally divisive 1960s.

This fifth Essential collection features the spectacular return of â€œThe Kingâ€, as Jack Kirby took over writing, drawing and editing the Sentinel of Liberty in the year of the country’s two hundredth birthday. This stunning black and white compendium reprints issues #187-205 (July 1975-January 1977) of the monthly comicbook and includes Captain America Annual #3 and the magnificent commemorative tabloid Captain America’s Bicentennial Battles.

At the end of the previous volume the Red Skull had returned in all his gory glory and, after a staggeringly effective campaign of terror, revealed that the high-flying Falcon had been his unwitting secret weapon for years: a cheap gangster named Sam â€œSnapâ€ Wilson reprogrammed by the Cosmic Cube into the perfect partner for Captain America and a tantalising, ticking time bomb waiting to explodeâ€¦

Captain America and the Falcon #187 opens the show here with ‘The Madness Maze!’ (by John Warner, Frank Robbins & Frank Chiaramonte) with the Skull fled and the now-comatose Falcon in the custody of super-spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D. Suddenly the Star-Spangled Avenger was abducted by a mysterious flying saucer and attacked by alchemical androids employed by a rival espionage outfit , culminating in a ‘Druid-War’ (Warner, Sal Buscema & Vince Colletta), before Tony Isabella, Robbins & Chiaramonte put Cap into an ‘Arena For a Fallen Hero!’ where psychological warfare and unarmed combat combined into a radical therapy to kill or cure the mind-locked sidekick.

Just as the radical cure kicked in an old foe took over S.H.I.E.L.D.’s flying HQ in ‘Nightshade is Deadlier the Second Time Around!’ (Isabella, Robbins & Colletta), after which the crimes of forcibly-reformed Snap Wilson were examined and judged in the climactic wrap-up ‘The Trial of the Falcon!’ (Isabella, Bill Mantlo, Robbins & D. Bruce Berry) with a predictable court ruling, a clutch of heroic cameos and a bombastic battle against the sinister Stilt-Man.

With the narrative decks cleared, Captain America and the Falcon #192 featured an ingenious, entertaining filler written by outgoing editor Marv Wolfman, illustrated by Robbins & Berry, wherein Cap hopped on to a commercial plane and found himself battling Dr. Faustus and a contingent of gang-bosses on a ‘Mad-Flight!’ thousands of feet above New York.

In 1976 Kirby exploded back into the Marvel Universe with a slew of new creations (2001: a Space Odyssey, Machine Man, The Eternals, Devil Dinosaur) and assumed control of established characters Captain America and latterly the Black Panther. His return was much hyped at the time but swiftly became controversial. His new work quickly found friends, but his tenure on his earlier inventions divided the fan base.

Kirby was never slavishly wedded to tight continuity and preferred, in many ways, to treat his stints on Cap and the Panther as a kind of creative â€œDay Oneâ€.

Captain America Annual #3 was a feature- length science fiction shocker which eschewed the convoluted back-story and cultural soul searching of the recent past and simply confronted the valiant hero with a cosmic vampire in ‘The Thing From the Black Hole Star!’; a riot of rampaging action and end-of-the-world wonderment featuring a fallible but fiercely determined fighting man free of doubt and determined to defend the world at all costsâ€¦

Kirby had big plans for the nation’s premiere comicbook patriotic symbol. Captain America’s Bicentennial Battles was released to commemorate the USA’s two hundredth year in Marvel’s tabloid Treasury Format (80+ pages of 338 x 258mm dimensions) and featured the Sentinel of Liberty on an incredible excursion through the key eras and areas of American history.

A vast, expansive, panoramic and iconic celebration of the memory and the myth of the nation, this almost abstracted and heavily symbolic 84 page extravaganza perfectly survives the surrender of colour and reduction to standard comic dimensions, following Captain America when cosmic savant Mister Buda propelled the querulous Avenger into successive significant segments of history: encountering lost partner Bucky during WWII, meeting Benjamin Franklin in Revolutionary Philadelphia and revisiting the mobster-ridden depression era of Steve Roger’s childhood.

Cap met Geronimo during the Indian Wars, suffered the horrors of a mine cave-in, survived a dogfight with a German WWI fighter ace, battled bare-knuckle boxer John L. Sullivan, resisted slavers with abolitionist John Brown, observed the detonation of the first Atom Bomb, saw the great Chicago Fire and even slipped into America’s futureâ€¦

He experienced the glory days of Hollywood, the simple joys of rural homesteading and the harshest modern ghetto, before drawing strength from the nation’s hopeful childrenâ€¦

Inked by such luminaries as Barry Windsor-Smith, John Romita Sr. and Herb Trimpe the book-length bonanza is peppered with a glorious selection of pulsating pin-ups.

After absorbing the worth of a nation Captain America and the Falcon #193 concentrated on saving it with the opening salvo in an epic storyline leading up the immortal super-soldier’s own 200^th issue.

Inked by fellow veteran Frank Giacoia ‘The Madbomb’ revealed a ‘Screamer in the Brain!’ when a tiny new weapon was triggered by unknown terrorists, reducing an entire city block to rubble by driving the populace into a mass psychotic frenzy. Experiencing the madness at close hand Cap and the Falcon were seconded by the government to find the culprits and the full scale device hidden somewhere in Americaâ€¦

‘The Trojan Horde’ introduced plutocratic mastermind William Taurey who intended to unmake the American Revolution and restore an aristocracy. Using inestimable wealth, a cadre of similarly disgruntled millionaire elitists, an army of mercenaries, slaves transformed into genetic freaks and other cutting edge super-science atrocities, the maniac intended to forever destroy the Republic.

Moreover, when he was in charge, the first thing Taurey intended was to hunt down the last descendent of Colonial hero Steven Rogers, who had killed Taurey’s Monarchist ancestor and allowed Washington to win the War of Independence.

Little did he suspect the subject of his wrath had already infiltrated his secret army…

In ‘It’s 1984!’ (inked by D. Bruce Berry) Cap and Falcon got a first-hand look at the kind of world Taurey advocated, battling their way through monsters, mercenaries and a mob fuelled by modern mind-control and Bread and Circuses, before ultra-spoiled elitist Cheer Chadwick took then under her bored and privileged wingâ€¦

Even she couldn’t keep her new pets from being sucked into the bloody, brutal Circus section of the New Society as the heroes were forced to fight for their lives in ‘Kill-Derby’ and as the US army raided the secret base in ‘The Rocks are Burning!’ (Giacoia inks) the heroes realised it was all for nought since the colossal Mad-Bomb was still active and lost somewhere in their vast Home of the Brave.

The offbeat ‘Captain America’s Love Story’ took a decidedly different and desperate track as the Bastion of Freedom was forced to romance a sick woman to get to her father – who had invented the deadly device – after which ‘The Man Who Sold the United States’ returned to all-out action as the Cap and Falcon raced a countdown to national disaster as the Bomb was finally triggered by ‘Dawn’s Early Light!’ in a spectacular showdown climax which surpassed every expectation.

With Captain America and the Falcon #201, the pace shifted to malevolent moodiness and uncanny mystery with ‘The Night People!’: a street-full of mutants and maniacs who periodically phased into and out of New York City, creating terror and chaos every evening. When Falcon and Leila were abducted by the eerie encroachers there were soon converted to their crazed cause by the ‘Mad, Mad Dimension!’ they inhabited during daylight hours, leaving Captain America and new associate Texas Jack Muldoon hopelessly outgunned when their last-ditch rescue attempt left them all battling an invasion of berserkers beasts in ‘Alamo II!’

On bludgeoning, bombastic top-form, the Star-Spangled Avenger saved the day once more, but no sooner were the erstwhile inhabitants of Zero Street safely ensconced on Earth than ‘The Unburied One!’ pitted the indefatigable champions against a corpse which wouldn’t play dead. The concluding chapter and last tale in this blockbusting tome revealed the cadaver had become home to an energy being from the far future when ‘Agron Walks the Earth!’ but not even its blistering power and rage could long baulk the indomitable spirit and ability of America’s Ultimate Fighting Man.

This supremely thrilling collection also has room for a selection of Kirby cover roughs and un-inked pencils that will delight art fans and aficionados. The King’s commitment to wholesome adventure, breakneck action and breathless wonderment, combined with his absolute mastery of the comic page and unceasing quest for the Next Big Thrill, always make for a captivating read and this stuff is as good as any of his post Fourth World stuff.

However, it does make this book a bit of a double-edged treat. Engaging and impressive as the first half-dozen stories in this volume are, they are worlds away in style, form and content from the perfect imaginative maelstrom of Kirby at his creative peak.

Not better but very, very different.

You can hate one and love the other, but perhaps it’s better to try to appreciate each era on its own meritsâ€¦

Fast-paced, action-packed, totally engrossing fights ‘n’ tights masterpieces no fan should ignore and above all else, fabulously fun tales of a true American Dreamâ€¦

July 20, 2011July 19, 2011

Revenge of the Living Monolith – Marvel Graphic Novel #17

By David Michelinie, Mark Silvestri, Geoff Isherwood & many various (Marvel)
ISBN: 0-87135-083-1

Marvel don’t generally publish original material graphic novel these days but once they were market leader in the field with a range of â€œbig storiesâ€ told on larger pages emulating the long-established European Album (285 x 220mm rather than the standard 258 x 168mm of today’s books) featuring not only proprietary characters in out-of-the-ordinary adventures but also licensed assets like Conan, creator-owned properties like Alien Legion and new character debuts.

This extended experiment with big-ticket storytelling in the 1980s and 1990s produced some exciting results that the company has never come close to repeating since. Many of the stories still stand out today – or would if they were still in print.

Released in 1985, Revenge of the Living Monolith is a conventional but highly enjoyable Fights ‘n’ Tights thriller paying glorious homage to those long-gone blockbuster movies with colossal monsters stomping urban population centres into kindling, yet still finds room to add some impressive character gloss to one of Marvel’s most uninspired villains.

Conceived and concocted by Editor Jim Owsley, scripted by David Michelinie and illustrated by Mark Silvestri & Geoff Isherwood (with nearly 4 dozen additional last-minute contributors!) this bombastic yarn is delightfully accessible to all but the most green reader of comics delivering action, tension and winning character byplay to both the faithful readership which made Marvel the premier US comics publisher for such a long time and even the newest kid on the blockâ€¦.

The plot itself is simple and effective: when young Ahmet Abdol was growing up in Cairo, he was bullied and abused for his intellect and imagination. Only the love and devotion of the lovely Filene kept him sane during the years of struggle until he became Egypt’s most respected historian.

However his â€œsacrilegiousâ€ twin discoveries that the ancient Pharaohs were super-powered mutants and that he shared their ancient bloodline brought only scorn, mob violence and shattering tragedy to Abdol and especially to his beloved wife and baby daughter. When his own cosmic powers manifested in the wake of the bloody incident, Abdol was abducted and deified by an ancient cult who saw him as their Living Pharaoh.

After battling the X-Men, Thor and Spider-Man in his mountainous, monstrous incarnation of the Living Monolith the defeated Last God-King was imprisoned in Egypt where he festered and schemedâ€¦

After years in forgotten isolation Abdol finally frees himself and begins an incredible plot to remove all his enemies and transform himself into a Cosmic-powered God, beginning by capturing the Fantastic Four and making them his living batteries. Unfortunately even at the point of his apotheosis Abdol is not beyond further heartbreak and a tragedy of his own making provokes him into an agonising rampage of destruction through New York City, with only She-Hulk, Captain America and Spider-Man on hand to combat the swathe of destructionâ€¦

Including last-minute cameos from most of Marvel’s costumed pantheon, this spectacular superhero saga is a perfect, if brief, distraction from the world’s woes for every fan of mainstream comics mayhem.
â„¢ & Â© 1985 Marvel Comics Group/Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

July 13, 2011July 14, 2011

Marvel Platinum: the Definitive Captain America

By Joe Simon, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee & various (Marvel/Panini UK)
ISBN: 978-1-84653-483-6

As a primer or introductory collection for readers unfamiliar with the immortal Sentinel of Liberty this book has a lot to recommend it. In the past I’ve berated previous editions of the â€œdefinitiveâ€ line from Marvel because of the editorial selections, but this volume, compiled to support the impending cinema release, has a sensible selection of pertinent classics balanced by a few generally forgotten gems, so well done this time, chaps.

Captain America was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby at the end of 1940, and launched in his own Timely Comics’ (Marvel’s earliest iteration) title. Captain America Comics, #1 was cover-dated March 1941 and was a monster smash-hit. Cap was the absolute and undisputed star of Timely’sÂ â€œBig Threeâ€ – the other two being the Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner – and one of very the first to fall from popularity at the end of the Golden Age.

When the Korean War and Communist aggression dominated the American psyche in the early 1950s Cap was briefly revived – as were his two fellow superstars – in 1953 before they all sank once more into obscurity until a resurgent Marvel Comics once more needed them. When the Stars and Stripes Centurion finally reappeared he finally managed to find a devoted following who stuck with him through thick and thin.

After taking over the Avengers he won his own series and, eventually, title. Cap waxed and waned through the most turbulent period of social change in US history but always struggled to find an ideological place and stable footing in the modern world, plagued by the trauma of his greatest failure: the death of his boy partner Bucky.

With another Captain America film about to launch around the world, Marvel has, quite understandably, released a batch of tie-in books and trade paperback collections to maximise exposure and cater for movie fans wanting to follow up with a comics experience. This celebratory compilation collects a selection of obvious and less well knownÂ epics under their Marvel Platinum/Definitive Editions umbrella, focusing on various versions of the Star-Spangled Avenger’s origin and first cases, combined with a canny collection of clashes against arch-foe and supreme villain the Red Skull.

This treasury of tales reprints the obvious landmarks from Captain America Comics #1, Avengers volume 1, #4, Tales of Suspense #80-81, Captain America volume 1, #143, 253-255, Marvel Fanfare volume 1, #18, Captain America volume 5, #25 and Captain America volume 1, #601 which, whilst not perhaps the absolute â€œdefinitiveâ€ sagas, come pretty damn closeâ€¦

This career retrospective kicks off the only way it can: with two stories from the groundbreaking first issue of Captain America Comics (March 1941) by Simon & Kirby with inks by Al Liederman. Here we first see how scrawny, enfeebled young patriot Steven Rogers was continually rejected by the US Army until the Secret Service, desperate to counter a wave of Nazi-sympathizing espionage and sabotage, invited the passionate young man to become part of a clandestine experiment intended to create physically perfect super-soldiers.

When a Nazi agent infiltrated the project and murdered its key scientist, Rogers became the only successful graduate and America’s not-so-secret weapon. Sent undercover as a simple private he soon encountered James Buchanan Barnes: a headstrong, orphaned Army Brat who became his sidekick and costumed confidante â€œBuckyâ€. All of that was perfectly packaged into mere seven-and-a-half pages for ‘Meet Captain America’ whilst the Red, White and Blue Duo took a full 14 to first meet and defeat their greatest enemy whilst solving ‘The Riddle of the Red Skull’ – a thrill-packed, horror-drenched master-class in comics excitement.

During the Marvel Renaissance of the early 1960’s Stan Lee and Jack Kirby aped the tactic which had worked so tellingly for DC Comics, but with mixed results. Julie Schwartz had incredible success with revised and modernised versions of the company’s Golden Age greats, so it seemed natural to try and revive the characters that had dominated Timely/Atlas in those halcyon days.

A new Human Torch had premiered as part of the revolutionary Fantastic Four, and in the fourth issue of that title Sub-Mariner resurfaced after a twenty year amnesiac hiatus (everyone concerned had apparently forgotten the first abortive attempt to revive their superhero line in the mid 1950s).

The teenaged Torch was promptly given his own solo feature in Strange Tales (see Essential Human Torch vol.1) and in #114 the flaming teen fought an acrobat pretending to be Captain America; an unashamed test-run to see if the new readership had a taste for an old heroâ€¦

The real thing promptly resurfaced in Avengers #4 (March 1964): a true landmark of the genre as Marvel’s greatest Golden Age sensation was revived. ‘Captain America Joins the Avengers!’ has everything that made the company’s early tales so fresh and vital. The majesty of a legendary warrior (that most of the readers had never heard of!) returned in our time of greatest need, stark tragedy in the loss of his boon companion Bucky, aliens, gangsters, Sub-Mariner and even wry social commentary. This story by Stan Lee, Kirby & George Roussos just cannot get old.

Eight months later Cap started solo adventures in the split-book Tales of Suspense #59 (sharing with fellow Avenger Iron Man) and went from strength to strength in stories set both in the modern world and WWII. From Tales of Suspense #80-81 (August and September 1966), comes a spectacular saga as the resurrected embodiment of Nazism, aided by subversive technology group AIM, threatened the entire universe after purloining a reality-warping ultimate weapon in ‘He Who Holds the Cosmic Cube!’ (Lee, Kirby & Don Heck). Happily the valiant Cap saved the day in the astounding climax ‘The Red Skull Supreme!’(inked by Frank Giacoia).

Cap soldiered on in ToS until #99, after which the title was changed to Captain America with the 100^th issue. Now an established hit of the Marvel universe the Star-Spangled Avenger went from strength to strength, but hit a shaky conceptual patch once the turbulent social changes wracking the country began to seep into and inform the comicbook stories.

By the time of Captain America volume 1, #143 (November 1971 by Gary Friedrich & John Romita Sr.) Steve Rogers had a love interest in the form of spy Sharon Carter, a new costumed partner in The Falcon, worked as a volunteer agent of Nick Fury’s S.H.I.E.L.D. agency and had a job as a New York City beat copâ€¦

The Falcon, in his civilian identity of social worker Sam Wilson, had been trying to get friendly with â€œBlack Powerâ€ activist Leila Taylor and at last a long-running subplot about racial tensions in Harlem boiled overâ€¦ ‘Power to the People’ and ‘Burn, Whitey, Burn!’ (the issue was a giant-sized special) saw riots finally erupt with Cap and Falcon caught in the middle, but copped out in the final chapter by taking a painfully parochial and patronising stance and revealing that the unrest amongst the ghetto underclass was instigated by a rabble-rousing super-villain in ‘Red Skull in the Morningâ€¦ Cap Take Warning!’

What a difference a decade makes. By the time of Captain America volume 1, #253-255 (January – March 1981 and part of an epochal run by Roger Stern, John Byrne & Joe Rubinstein collected in full in Captain America: War & Remembrance) the Sentinel of Liberty was once more a firmly entrenched establishment figure – almost running for president – concerned with saving the nation from extreme ulterior threats and sedition but not too concerned with social debate.

A grave peril from the past resurfaced in â€œShould Old Acquaintance Be Forgotâ€ wherein Cap was called to England and the deathbed of old comrade Lord Falsworth who battled Nazis as the legendary Union Jack in the WWII Allied superteam The Invaders. Steve found a brooding menace, family turmoil and an undying supernatural horror in the concluding â€œBlood on the Moorsâ€, which saw the return of vampiric villain Baron Blood, the birth of a new patriotic hero and even now is still one of the very best handled Heroic Death stories in comics history. This sinister saga is followed by ‘The Living Legend’ from #255, as Stern, Byrne & Rubinstein reinterpret the Simon & Kirby origin tale with extra-added detail and enhanced dramaâ€¦

Captain America has always been held up as a mirror of the American people and ‘Home Fires!’ by Stern, Frank Miller & Rubinstein (from Marvel Fanfare volume 1, #18, January 1985), tragically depicted how the hero’s faith and resolve could be turned against him when a devastating campaign of inner-city arson attacks led to the most unexpected of culprits with the vilest of motives, after which this chronicle leaps to the now classic ‘Death of the Dream’ by Ed Brubaker & Steve Epting from Captain America volume 5, #25 (April 2007).

This infamous issue depicted the startling events leading up to the murder of Steve Rogers after he surrendered to the US government at the conclusion of the Civil War which had tragically divided the country’s metahuman community. Interested parties requiring the full story should also track down Captain America: Reborn.

After years of killing and re-launching the series Captain America resumed its original numbering with volume 5, #50, being followed by volume 1, #600. From #601 (September 2009) comes one last impressive WWII yarn to close the comics part of this impressive tome as veteran Cap illustrator Gene Colan (assisted by colour artist Dean White), renders in his inimitable painting with pencil style, an eerie epic of the undead scripted by Brubaker wherein Captain America and Bucky stalk the bloody frontlines of Bastogne in 1945, stalking a bloodsucking assassin turning G.I.’s into vampires in ‘Red, White and Blue-Blood’â€¦

The book is rounded out with a tribute to Gene Colan, cover reproductions, â€œtechnical secretsâ€ and a comprehensive history of Cap’s seven-decade career and capabilities, ‘The True Origin of Captain America’ by historian Mike Conroy as well a fascinating postscript from Joe Simon’s Bulletin Board.

This book is one of the very best of these perennial supplements to cinema spectacle, but more importantly it is a supremely well-tailored device to turn curious movie-goers into fans of the comic incarnation too. If there’s a movie sequel, I’m sure Marvel has plans for much of the masterful material – by a vast range of creators – necessarily omitted here, but at least we have a superb selection to entice newcomers and charm the veteran American Dreamers.

July 9, 2011July 10, 2011

Essential Captain America volume 4

By Steve Englehart, Sal Buscema, Frank Robbins & various (Marvel)
ISBN: 978-0-7851-2770-3

By the time of this fourth Essential collection, reprinting issues #157-186 (January 1973-June 1975) of his monthly comicbook the once convinced and confirmed Sentinel of Liberty had become the unhappy, uncomfortable symbol of a divided nation, but was looking to make the best of things and carve himself a new place in the Land of the Free. Real world events were about to put paid to that American dreamâ€¦

After meeting and defeating an ugly past in the form of the Captain America and Bucky of the 1950s, Steve Rogers hoped for less troublesome times when ‘Veni, Vidi, Vici: Viper!’ (written by Steve Englehart, Steve Gerber, Sal Buscema & John Verpoorten) began an epic, engrossing storyline by introducing a despicable advertising executive-turned snaky super-villain ostensibly working for a enigmatic boss named the Cowled Commander.

It transpired that corrupt connections at the Precinct where Rogers worked as a policeman had been stirred into murderous action by our hero’s presence, leading to good cops being framed, bombs in offices and the Viper taking out survivors with lethally poisonous dartsâ€¦

When social worker Sam Wilson, in the guise of the Falcon, came to investigate both he and Cap succumbed to the deadly venom until ‘The Crime Wave Breaks!’ (Englehart, Buscema & Verpoorten) saw a last-second escape from death, a ramping up of criminal activity and Rogers’ abduction, leading to a ‘Turning Point!’ wherein super-scum-for-hire Porcupine, Scarecrow, Plantman and the Eel’s ill-conceived attack gave the game away and uncovered the hidden mastermind in their midst.

‘Enter: Solarr!’ (inked by Frank McLaughlin) presented an old-fashioned clash with a super-powered maniac as the main attraction, but the real meat was the start of twin sub-plots that would shape the next half-dozen adventures, as the Star-Spangled Avenger’s newfound super-strength increasingly made Falcon feel like a junior and inferior partner, whilst Steve’s long-time romantic interest Sharon Carter stole away in the night without leaving a word of explanationâ€¦

Captain America and the Falcon #161 saw the tension between Steve and Sam intensify as the heroes went searching for Sharon in ‘â€¦If he Loseth His Soul!’, finding a connection to the girl Cap loved and lost in World War II and a deadly psycho-drama overseen by criminal shrink Dr. Faustus, culminating in a singular lesson in extreme therapy which only proved ‘This Way Lies Madness!’

‘Beware of Serpents!’ saw the returning Viper and Eel combine with the Cobra to form a Serpent Squad as the vengeful ad-man began a campaign to destroy the Sentinel of Liberty with the â€œBig Lieâ€ weapons and tactics of Madison Avenue. Although the instigator quickly fell, the scheme rumbled on with slow but certain consequencesâ€¦

Issue #164 was a stunningly scary episode illustrated by Alan Lee Weiss, introducing minx-ish mad scientist Deadly Nightshade, a ‘Queen of the Werewolves!’ who infected Falcon with her chemical lycanthropy as an audition to enlist with one of the planet’s greatest menacesâ€¦

The full horror of the situation was revealed when ‘The Yellow Claw Strikes’ (Englehart, Buscema & McLaughlin), renewing a campaign of terror begun in the 1950s, but this time attacking his former Chinese Communist sponsors and the USA indiscriminately. Giant bugs, deadly slave assassins and reanimated mummies were bad enough, but when the Arcane Oriental’s formidable mind-control duped Cap into almost beating S.H.I.E.L.D. supremo Nick Fury to death during the ‘Night of the Lurking Dead!’ the blistering final battle could only result in further tragedy when an old ally perished in the Frank Giacoia inked ‘Ashes to Ashes’.

One of the Star-Spangled Avengers most durable enemies sort-of resurfaced in the tense thriller ‘â€¦And a Phoenix Shall Arise!’ (inked by John Tartaglione & George Roussos) before the Viper’s long-laid plans began to finally bear bitter fruit in #169’s ‘When a Legend Dies!’ (additional scripting from Mike Friedrich) as anti Captain America TV spots made people doubt the honesty and sanity of the nation’s greatest hero. As the Falcon and his â€œBlack Powerâ€ activist girlfriend Leila Taylor left for the super-scientific African nation of Wakanda in search of increased powers, Cap battled third-rate villain the Tumbler.

In the heat of battle the Sentinel of Liberty seemed to go too far and the thug diedâ€¦

‘J’Accuse!’ (Englehart, Friedrich, Buscema & Vince Colletta) saw Cap beaten and arrested by too-good-to-be-true neophyte crusader Moonstone, whilst in Africa Leila was kidnapped by Harlem hood Stone-Face: far from home and hungry for some familiar foxy friendshipâ€¦ ‘Bust-Out!’ in #171 found Cap forcibly sprung from jail by a mysterious pack of â€œsupportersâ€ as Black Panther and the newly flying Falcon crushed Stone-Face preparatory to a quick dash back to America and a reunion with Cap.

‘Believe it or Not: The Banshee!’ began with Captain America and the Falcon beaten by but narrowly escaping Moonstone and his obscurely occluded masters, after which the hard-luck heroes followed a lead to Nashville, encountered the fugitive mutant Master of Sound, and stumbled into a secret pogrom.

For long months mutants had been disappearing unnoticed, but now the last remaining X-Men – Cyclops, Marvel Girl and Professor X – had tracked them down only to discover that Captain America’s problems also stemmed from ‘The Sins of the Secret Empire!’ whose ultimate goal was the conquest of the USA.

Eluding capture by S.H.I.E.L.D. Steve and Sam infiltrate the clandestine Empire, only to be exposed and confined in ‘It’s Always Darkest!’ before turning the tables and saving the day in #175’s ‘â€¦Before the Dawn!’ wherein the grand plan is revealed, the mutants liberated and the culprits captured. In a shocking final scene the ultimate instigator is unmasked and shockingly dispatched within the Whitehouse itselfâ€¦

At this time America was a nation reeling from a loss of idealism caused by Vietnam, Watergate and the partial exposure of President Nixon’s crimes. The general loss of idealism and painful public revelations that politicians are generally unpleasant – and even possibly ruthless, wicked exploiters – kicked the props out of most Americans who had an incomprehensibly rosy view of their leaders, so a conspiracy that reached into the halls and backrooms of government was extremely controversial yet oddly attractive in those distant, simpler daysâ€¦

Shocked and stunned, Steve Rogers searched his soul and realised he could not be the symbol of such a country. Despite the arguments and advice of his Avenging allies he decided that ‘Captain America Must Die!’ Unable to convince him otherwise Sam Wilson carried on alone, tackling an invasion by a body-snatching old X-Men foe in ‘Lucifer be thy Name’ and wrapping up the threat in ‘If the Falcon Should Fallâ€¦!’ Meanwhile, as Steve Rogers settled into an uncomfortable retirement, a few painfully unqualified civilians began trying to fill the crimson boots of Captain America with dire resultsâ€¦

Captain America and the Falcon #179 saw Rogers hunted by a mysterious Golden Archer whose ‘Slings and Arrows!’ convinced the ex-hero that even if he couldn’t be Captain America, neither could he abandon the role of do-gooder; leading to a life-changing decision and ‘The Coming of the Nomad!’ in #180. The Serpent Squad turned up again with Princess Python in tow and maniac nihilist Madame Hydra assuming the suddenly vacant role of the Viper.

When â€œthe Man Without a Countryâ€ tackled the ophidian villains he came off second best but did stumble across a sinister scheme by the Squad and Sub-Mariner’s arch-nemesis Warlord Krang to raise a sunken continent and restore an ancient civilisation in ‘The Mark of Madness!’ At the same time Falcon was ignoring his better judgement and agreeing to train a determined young man as the next celebrated Captain Americaâ€¦

An era ended when Sal Buscema surrendered Captain America and newspaper-strip creator Frank Robbins came aboard for a controversial run beginning with ‘Inferno!’ (inked by Joe Giella). Whilst Nomad successfully mopped up the Serpent Squad despite well-meaning police interference, Sam and Captain America’s substitute had encountered the Sentinel of Liberty’s greatest enemy with fatal consequencesâ€¦

‘Nomad: No More!’ (inked by Giacoia) found the grief-stricken Steve Rogers once more take up his stars and stripes as the murderous Red Skull began simultaneously attacking the hero’s loved ones and destroying America’s economy by defiling the banks and slaughtering the financial wizards who ran them, beginning in the chillingly evocative ‘Cap’s Back!’ (Herb Trimpe, Giacoia & Mike Esposito), rampaging through the utterly shocking ‘Scream of the Scarlet Skull!’ (art by Buscema, Robbins & Giacoia) and climaxing in ‘Mindcage!’ (with additional scripting from John Warner and art by Robbins & Esposito) wherein our titular hero’s greatest friend was apparently revealed as the Skull’s stooge and slave.

And on that staggering cliffhanger note this epic collection concludesâ€¦

Despite the odd cringe-worthy moment (I specifically omitted the part where Cap battles three chicken-themed villains, for example, and still wince at some of the dialogue from this era of â€œblacksploitationâ€ and ethnic awareness) these tales of matchless courage and indomitable heroism are fast-paced, action-packed, totally engrossing fights ‘n’ tights that no comics fan will care to miss, and joking aside, the cultural significance of these tales were crucial in informing the political consciences of the youngest members of post-Watergate generationâ€¦

Above all else ‘though, these are fabulously fun tales of a true American Dreamâ€¦

June 28, 2011July 2, 2011

Ultimate Comics Captain America

By Jason Aaron & Ron Garney (Marvel/Panini UK)
ISBN: 978-1-84653-489-8

In 2000, when Marvel hived off portions of their established continuity into a separate, darker, grittier universe more relevant to the video game-playing, movie-watching 21^st century readers than the 1960s Lee/Kirby/Ditko ongoing monolith, they started with the most popular characters – Spider-Man and the X-Men – only gradually adding analogues for the remaining characters and trademarks.

Even when the Mighty Avengers finally appeared, renamed the Ultimates in 2002, readers were only sparingly brought up to speed on the assorted back-stories of the alternative heroes and villains – including a remarkably familiar yet staggeringly different â€œLiving Legend of World War IIâ€.

Frail Steve Rogers still underwent radical experimentation to become America’s first super-soldier and after a brief stellar career as the living symbol of his war-beleaguered nation, disappeared in a blazing explosion. He was resurrected from a block of ice in modern times and re-assumed his place at the forefront of masked heroes. However, this Sentinel of Liberty was no costumed boy-scout, but rather a deadly and remorseless warrior: a master strategist and supremely skilled street-fighter always ready to apply the ultimate sanction. In short: a conscienceless killer.

In Ultimate Comics Captain America the eternal soldier is on the trail of rogue states seeking to duplicate the super-soldier serum which created him at the behest of his new government masters, when he is captured and subjected to horrendous torture and indoctrination by a living ghostâ€¦

Whilst Steve Rogers slept in the ice, America continued its march to global dominance and when the Vietnam conflict escalated the Military sought to recreate Captain America by transforming starry-eyed patriotic kid Frank Simpson into a living embodiment of the American war machineâ€¦

Tragically Vietnam was a different kind of war and Simpson (an iteration of the deeply troubled villain Nuke created by Frank Miller & David Mazzucchelli in Daredevil: Born Again) broke under the weight of the dirty jobs and corrupt missions he was assigned to carry out. One day he walked into the jungle and was never seen againâ€¦

Now Simpson is back and has clearly discovered how to duplicate the serum that empowers him; selling it to North Korea, Iran and anybody else dedicated to the downfall of the â€œthe Land of the Freeâ€â€¦

Ignoring official orders to stand down, Steve Rogers hunts his successor – who has already thoroughly defeated him once – only to stumble on the USA’s greatest nightmare. Overmatched, outfought and easily captured by Simpson, Rogers is subjected to a terrifying re-education program that opens his eyes to what his country became whilst he slept and the kind of nation Captain America now stands forâ€¦

The stark, savage and nihilistically modern Ultimates Comic universe is well-stocked with dark-and-gritty doppelgangers of the gleaming pantheon crafted by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, but since its inception at the turn of the century, the imprint has resolved into something which can easily stand on its own merits, as seen in this wonderful tale (originally published as Ultimate Comics Captain America #1-4).

With the impending imminent release of the latest Captain America movie, a large number of graphic novel collections starring the Sentinel of Liberty have been commissioned and this brutal, beautiful fable of frustrated idealism and corrupted patriotism is one of the very best of recent vintage, in this, that or any other universe.

Written by Jason (Scalped) Aaron, revisiting the source material of his Vertigo classic The Other Side and stunningly illustrated by Ron Garney, whose art on the mainstream hero (see Captain America: Operation Rebirth) returned the Star-Spangled Avenger to dizzying heights of popularity after decades in the doldrums, Ultimate Comics Captain America is a breathtaking, thought-provoking examination of duty and honour and a fabulously entertaining rollercoaster ride of action and adventure for older readers. It’s also a gloriously accessible tale for anybody approaching the character for the very first timeâ€¦

Tense, compelling, morally challenging and explosively cathartic, this saga of conjoined yet eternally antagonistic ideologies in savage confrontation is absolute comics gold of the very highest quality: challenging, compelling and wildly satisfying.

June 16, 2011June 18, 2011

Captain America: Hail Hydra

By Jonathan Maberry, Sergio Cariello, Tom Scioli, Phil Winslade, Kyle Hotz & Graham Nolan (Marvel/Panini UK)
ISBN: 978-1-84653-488-1

Everything changed for a little company called Marvel when, in issue #4 of the Avengers, the assembled heroes recovered the body of US Army Private Steve Rogers floating in a block of ice and consequently resurrected World War II hero Captain America. With this act bridging the years to Timely and Atlas Comics (which had in fact begun with the revival of Sub-Mariner in Fantastic Four #4), Marvel instantly acquired a comforting longevity and potential-packed pre-history: lending an enticing sense of mythic continuance to the fledgling company that instantly gave it the same cachet and enduring grandeur of market leader National/DC.

In 2010, after years of conflicting continuity (and with a movie in the offing), Marvel updated those pivotal events and early future-shocked days in the contemporary world with the stunning re-interpretation Captain America: Man Out of Time before repeating the operation with another generational miniseries: this time following the returned Sentinel of Liberty as he fought an extended campaign against a fearsome and undying foe.

Captain America: Hail Hydra! focuses on five crucial skirmishes fought over the Red, White and true Blue hero’s long years of valiant service wherein the he continually clashed with an organisation of insidious evil and astounding ambition,Â with each issue illustrated by a different artist in a pastiche of the relevant time.

The action, illustrated Sergio Cariello, begins in 1944 as Captain America and teen partner Bucky helped German anti-Nazi freedom fighter Trude Lohn smash a plot by the baroquely bonkers, certifiably mad Doctor Geist, who had discovered how to reanimate the dead. During the apocalyptic struggle Cap was injected with the unholy serum and although the triumphant trio succeeded in depriving Hitler of an undead army they had no idea of the sinister scientist’s greater scheme, the ancient society he belonged to or what effect his devil drugs would have on America’s greatest warriorâ€¦

Tom Scioli pictured the second instalment in tribute to Jack Kirby, wherein more hints into the history of the cult that would become Hydra were interspersed with Cap’s first days as an Avenger following his half-century enforced hibernation. After reuniting with the now geriatric Trude, he and his new comrades clashed with ex-Nazi Baron Strucker and Geist’s unliving army only to be thoroughly overmatched and outmanoeuvred. The deranged doctor seemed more interested in gathering blood samples from Cap and Thor than winning the battle he had instigatedâ€¦

A few years later the plan becomes clearer when the Sentinel of Liberty, partner in crime-fighting the Falcon, and African Avenger Black Panther were attacked by an army of zombies attempting to steal the fabled Elixir of Life from a hidden Wakandan repository of knowledge called the Grotto of Solomon. Lavishly rendered by Phil Winslade, the spectacular clash was also lightly dusted with further glimpses of the order’s historic attempts to gather arcane knowledge and artefacts pertaining to their mysterious millennial goalâ€¦

For a brief period the US government replaced the Star-Spangled Avenger with a less independent agent and Steve Rogers took the identity of â€œThe Captainâ€. Kyle Hotz delineates an adventure from those turbulent times as the unencumbered hero tackled Geist’s latest monstrosity and worked with Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. to get one step ahead of Hydra.

After thwarting a terrifying attack on the heart and soul of America Rogers is forced to consider not only what Geist is truly after but also what his devilish serum might have made of Captain America that fateful night in 1944â€¦

Graham Nolan closes the saga in captivating style as Rogers, now Director of the Avengers, and old partner Bucky (the current Captain America) enlist a garrison of guest stars as they home in on Strucker and Geist just as their incredible seven-thousand year scheme comes to a shocking culmination. Even the World’s Mightiest Heroes would be hard-pressed to overcome the incredible beings Hydra has finally birthedâ€¦

This book does have a few niggling plot flaws but nothing so flagrant that it disrupts the overall flow of action and delicious flavour of nostalgia; so unless you’re a dedicated, nit-picking devotee the striking art and rollicking rollercoaster thrills and chills should carry the day nicely, providing a solid dose of immortal, enticing entertainment

Fast-paced, full-on spectacle and clever infilling of the established canon makes Captain America: Hail Hydra! a striking saga that should serve to make many fresh fans for Marvel’s eternally evergreen old soldier.

May 26, 2011May 26, 2011

Captain America: Man out of Time

By Mark Waid, Jorge Molina, Karl Kesel & Scott Hanna (Marvel/Panini UK)
ISBN: 978-1-84653-487-4

One of the pivotal moments in Marvel Comics history occurred when the Mighty Avengers recovered a tattered body floating in a block of ice (issue #4, March 1964) and resurrected the World War II hero Captain America. With this act bridging the years to Timely and Atlas Comics begun with the return of the Sub-Mariner in Fantastic Four #4, Marvel confirmed and consolidated a solid, concrete, potential-packed history and created an enticing sense of mythic continuance for the fledgling company that instantly gave it the same cachet and enduring grandeur of market leader National/DC

In 2010, after years of conflicting continuity (and with a movie in the offing) Marvel tasked fan-favourite writer Mark Waid (see Captain America: Operation Rebirth) with updating those pivotal events and early future-shocked days in the contemporary world. Of course that modern milieu is the year 2000, not 1964â€¦

This captivating re-interpretation and updating (collecting the 5 issue miniseries Captain America: Man Out of Time from November 2010-April 2011) opens in the dying days of the war as Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes are sent from the European frontline to England and an appointment with doom-laden destiny, before seamlessly segueing into the Sentinel of Liberty’s stunned awakening in tomorrow’s world and a meeting with the World’s Mightiest Heroes.

Waid, perfectly complimented by artists Jorge Molina, Karl Kesel & Scott Hanna, wisely leaves the classic adventures largely unchanged, to concentrate on the missing, contemplative moments and personal crises confronting the uncomprehending Steve Rogers, which means that readers completely unaware of the character’s history and exploits might experience a little confusion in places. However, the narrative, although superficially disjointed, is clear-cut enough to counter this and interested new fans can easily fill in the gaps by perusing one of the many available reprint collections, such as Essential Avengers volume 1, which covers the entire period featured hereâ€¦

In chapter 2 the reeling hero meets ex- Hulk sidekick Rick Jones (an absurdly close double for the departed Bucky), gets a rapid reality check on his new home and finally accepts that there’s no way home for this Old Soldierâ€¦

But that’s not strictly trueâ€¦

Among the many technological miracles his new allies introduce him to is the embryonic science of time-travel and even while battling such threats as the Lava Men and Masters of Evil the unhappy warrior can only think of returning to his proper place and saving his best friend from deathâ€¦

The old adage â€œbe careful what you wish forâ€ never proved more true than when the time-ravaging Kang the Conqueror attacks: utterly overwhelming the 21^st century heroes and casually dispatching Captain America back to 1945. However, his sense of duty, the threat to his new allies and the unpalatable things he had forgotten about â€œthe Good Old Daysâ€ prompt Cap into brilliantly escaping his honeyed time-trap and returning to the place where he is most needed before once more saving the dayâ€¦

Resolved and ready to tackle his Brave New World Captain America is now ready to carve out a whole new legendâ€¦

I’m generally less than sanguine about updates and reboots of classic comics material but I will admit that such things are a necessary evil as the years go by, so when the deed is done with sensitivity and imagination (not to mention dynamic, bravura flamboyance) I can only applaud and commend the effort.

Thrilling, superbly entertaining, compelling and genuinely moving Captain America: Man out of Time is a wonderful confection that will delight old aficionados, impress new readers and should serve to make many fresh fans for the immortal Star-Spangled Avenger.

May 5, 2011May 8, 2011

Avengers Prime

By Brian Michael Bendis, Alan Davis & Mark Farmer (Marvel/Panini UK)
ISBN: 978-1-84653-480-5

There’s a wealth of Marvel material around starring Thor at the moment and this impressive fantasy fable (originally released as a 5 part miniseries) is one of the very best modern contributions, featuring as it does two of his most popular companions and a full-on foray to the fabled land of Asgard for the founding fathers of the Earth’s Mightiest Heroesâ€¦

The story begins just seconds after the conclusion of Siege wherein Norman Osborn, America’s Security Czar, instigated a deadly war against the Norse gods currently trapped on Earth (see also Thor and Secret Invasion: Thor) in Broxton, Oklahoma. The incident served to reunite heroes divided by the Civil War orchestrated by Osborn when he was working to become the nation’ s Chief of Homeland Security.

Now in the aftermath of the colossal battle old friends on opposite sides of the political divide are counting their losses and almost rekindling old animosities amidst the ruins of Asgard â€“ now lying scattered across the Oklahoma landscape when a magical vortex sucks Cap, Shellhead and Thor into a magical wonderland in crisisâ€¦

In cosmological terms Asgard was the centre of Nine mystical and conjoined Realms and its displacement and fall has destabilised the whole. Now the Sentinel of Liberty has fallen among hostile Elves, Thor has been drawn into empty Vanaheim to battle the Enchantress and her army of brutal trolls, whilst Iron Man has been dumped amidst dragons and Giants with his super-scientific armour barely able to generate a sparkâ€¦

Moreover Hela, Goddess of Death believes the time has finally come for her to end all Life foreverâ€¦

The fractured friendship of these primal heroes is re-forged in a spectacular, bombastic and wildly entertaining Saves-The-Day-Saga by Brian Michael Bendis, Alan Davis & Mark Farmer, packed with action, suspense and fabulous frantic fantasy that will equally delight new readers and faithful fuddy-duddies of my ilk.

Frantic, fast-paced fun to enchant every Fights ‘n’ Tights aficionado, and a graphic novel must-have item…

April 18, 2011April 16, 2011

Essential Captain America volume 3

By Stan Lee, Gary Friedrich, Steve Englehart, Gene Colan, John Romita, Gil Kane, Sal Buscema & various (Marvel)
ISBN: 978-0-7851-2166-8

Created by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby in an era of frantic patriotic fervour, Captain America was a dynamic and highly visible response to the horrors of Nazism and the threat of Liberty’s loss. He faded during the post-war reconstruction and briefly reappeared after the Korean War – a harder, darker sentinel ferreting out monsters, subversives and the â€œcommiesâ€ who lurked under every brave American kid’s bed. Then he vanished once more until the burgeoning Marvel Age resurrected him just in time for the turbulent, culturally divisive 1960s.

By the time of this third Essential chronicle, gathering issues #127-156 of his monthly comicbook and reprinting the covers to the first two Annuals, the Star-Spangled Avenger had become a uncomfortable symbol of a troubled, divided society, split along age lines and with many of the hero’s fans apparently rooting for the wrong sideâ€¦

Nevertheless the action begins here with the Sentinel of Liberty still working for super-scientific government spy-agency S.H.I.E.L.D. (which back then stood for Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-enforcement Division) in ‘Who Calls Me Traitor?’ (#127, July 1970, by Stan Lee, Gene Colan & Wally Wood), which saw the veteran hero framed and manipulated by friend and foe alike in the search for a double agent in the ranks, after which the embittered avenger dropped out and decided to â€œdiscover Americaâ€ – as so many kids were doing – on the back of a freewheeling motorcycle.

‘Mission: Stamp Out Satan’s Angels!’ (inked by Dick Ayers) saw him barely clear the city limits before encountering a nasty gang of bikers terrorising a small-town rock festival, after which his oldest enemy resurfaced to exact ‘The Vengeance ofâ€¦ the Red Skull’ as a by-product of attempting to begin a Middle East war.

Issue #130 found Cap ‘Up Against the Wall!’ as old foe Batroc the Leaper led Porcupine and Whirlwind in an fully paid-for ambush whilst the Sentinel of Liberty was busy defusing a college riot. The mysterious contractor then resorted to a far subtler tactic: launching a psychological assault in ‘Bucky Reborn!’

With the mystery villain revealed, the tragic true story behind the resurrected sidekick came out in ‘The Fearful Secret of Bucky Barnes!’ – a powerful, complex drama involving ruthless science brokers A.I.M., their murderous master Modok and even Doctor Doom.

Back in New York Advanced Idea Mechanics promptly returned in #133 as Modok attempted to stir racial unrest by sending a killer cyborg to create ‘Madness in the Slums!’ allowing Cap to reunite with his protÃ©gÃ© The Falcon – whose name even began appearing in the title from the next issue.

Now a full-fledged partnership Captain America and the Falcon #134 found the pair battling ghetto gangsters in ‘They Call Himâ€¦ Stone-Face!’, before the Avenger introduced his new main man to S.H.I.E.L.D. in the chilling ‘More Monster than Man!’ (inked by Tom Palmer) wherein a love-struck scientist turned himself into an awesome anthropoid to steal riches, only to end up in ‘The World Below’ (with the legendary Bill Everett applying his brilliant inks to Colan’s moody pencils) as a collateral casualty of the Mole Man’s battle with Cap.

With the Falcon coming to the rescue the Star-Spangled Avenger was on hand when his new partner opted ‘To Stalk the Spider-Man’ – a typical all-action Marvel misunderstanding that was forestalled just in time for Stone-Face to return in #138’s ‘It Happens in Harlem!’ as John Romita the elder returned to the art chores for the beginning of a lengthy and direction-changing sagaâ€¦

For years Captain America had been the only expression of Steve Rogers’ life, but with this issue the man went undercover as a police officer to solve a series of disappearances and subsequently regained a personal life which would have long-term repercussions. After Spidey, Falcon and Cap trounced Stone-Face, the Red, White and Blue was subsumed by plain Rookie Blues in ‘The Badge and the Betrayal!’ as Steve found himself on a Manhattan beat as the latest raw recruit to be bawled out by veteran cop Sergeant Muldoonâ€¦

Meanwhile police officers were still disappearing and Rogers was getting into more fights on the beat than in costumeâ€¦ Issue #140 revealed the plot’s perpetrator ‘In the Grip of Gargoyle!’ as the tale took a frankly bizarre turn with moody urban mystery inexplicably becoming super-spy fantasy as the Grey Gargoyle stole a mega-explosive from S.H.I.E.L.D. in ‘The Unholy Alliance!’ (with Joe Sinnott inks).

Spectacular but painfully confusing until now, the epic was dumped on new writer Gary Friedrich to wrap up, beginning with ‘And in the Endâ€¦’ (Captain America and the Falcon #142) wherein Cap, renewed love interest Sharon Carter, Falcon and Nick Fury attempted to save the world from the Gargoyle and ultimate explosive Element Xâ€¦

All this time the Falcon, in his civilian identity of social worker Sam Wilson, had been trying to get friendly with â€œBlack Powerâ€ activist Leila Taylor and, with the sci fi shenanigans over, a long-running subplot about racial tensions in Harlem boiled overâ€¦

‘Power to the People’ and ‘Burn, Whitey, Burn!’ (both from giant-sized #143 with Romita inking his own pencils) saw the riots finally erupt with Cap and Falcon caught in the middle, but copped out with the final chapter by taking a painfully parochial and patronising stance and revealing that the unrest amongst the ghetto underclass was instigated by a rabble-rousing super-villain in ‘Red Skull in the Morningâ€¦ Cap Take Warning!’

Nevertheless Friedrich had made some telling and relevant points – and continued to do so in #144’s first story ‘Hydra Over All!’ (illustrated by Romita) with the creation of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s all-woman attack squad Femme Force One (stop squirming – at least they were trying to be egalitarian and inclusiveâ€¦).

The issue also featured a solo back-up tale ‘The Falcon Fights Alone!’ (drawn by the great Gray Morrow) wherein the street vigilante got a new uniform and rededicated himself to tackling the real problems on his turf; drug-dealers and thugs endangering the weakest, poorest members of societyâ€¦

Captain America and the Falcon #145 continued the hydra storyline with ‘Skyjacked’ (stunningly illustrated by Gil Kane & Romita) as the terrorists kidnapped Cap’s new team in mid-air, after which Sal Buscema began his long tenure on the series with ‘Mission: Destroy the Femme Force!’ and ‘Holocaust in the Halls of Hydra!’ (inked by John Verpoorten) wherein the devious dealings are uncovered before Falcon comes to the rescue of the severely embattled and outgunned heroes, culminating in the unmasking of the power behind the villainous throne in #147’s ‘And Behind the Hordes of Hydraâ€¦’ and a staggering battle royale in Las Vegas as the power behind the power reveals himself in Friedrich’s swansong ‘The Big Sleep!’

Gerry Conway assumed the writing chores for issues #149-152, an uncharacteristically uninspired run that began with ‘All the Colorsâ€¦ of Evil!’ (inked by Jim Mooney) wherein Gallic mercenary Batroc resurfaced, kidnapping ghetto kids for an unidentified client who turned out to be the alien Stranger (or at least his parallel universe incarnation) who intervened personally in ‘Mirror, Mirrorâ€¦!’ (Verpoorten inks) but was still defeated far too easily.

‘Panic on Park Avenue’ (Buscema & Vince Colletta) pitted Cap against pale imitations of Cobra, Mr. Hyde and the Scorpion as Conway sought to retroactively include Captain America in his ambitious Mr. Kline Saga (for which see Essential Iron Man and Essential Daredevil volumes 4) climaxing with ‘Terror in the Night!’ (inked by Frank Giacoia) featuringÂ bombastic battles and new plot-complications for officer Steve Rogers and Sgt. Muldoonâ€¦

Captain America and the Falcon #153 heralded a renaissance and magical return to form for the Star-Spangled Avenger as writer Steve Englehart came aboard and hit the ground running with a landmark epic which rewrote Marvel history and captivated the die-hard fans simultaneously.

The wonderment began with ‘Captain Americaâ€¦ Hero or Hoax?‘ (inked by Mooney) as Falcon, Sharon and Cap had an acrimonious confrontation with Nick Fury and decided to take a break from S.H.I.E.L.D.

Sam Wilson went back to Harlem whilst Steve and Sharon booked a holiday in the Bahamas, but it wasn’t long before the Falcon caught Captain America committing racist attacks in New York. Enraged, Falcon tracked him down but was easily beaten since the Sentinel of Liberty had somehow acquired super-strength and a resurrected Bucky Barnesâ€¦

In ‘The Falcon Fights Alone!’ (Verpoorten inks) the maniac impostors claimed to be â€œrealâ€ American heroes and revealed what they wanted – a confrontation with the lily-livered, pinko wannabe who had replaced and disgraced them. Even after torturing their captive they were frustrated in their plans until the faux Cap tricked the information out of the Avengers.

Battered and bruised, Falcon headed to the holiday refuge but was too late to prevent an ambush wherein Steve Rogers learned ‘The Incredible Origin of the Other Captain America!’ (Frank McLaughlin inks) – a brilliant piece of literary sleight-of-hand that tied up the Golden Age, fifties revival and Silver Age iterations of the character in a clear, simple, devilishly clever manner and led to an unbelievably affecting conclusion, which perfectly wraps up this glorious black and white compendium in the fabulously gratifying ‘Two into One Won’t Go!’

Any retrospective or historical re-reading is going to turn up a few cringe-worthy moments, but these tales of matchless courage and indomitable heroism are fast-paced, action-packed and illustrated by some of the greatest artists and storytellers American comics has ever produced. Captain America was finally discovering his proper place in a new era and would once more become unmissable, controversial comicbook reading, as we shall see when I get around to reviewing the next volumeâ€¦

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