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CAPTAIN AMERICA #601 & #602
("Two America's" PARTS 1 & 2) |
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Comic Review by:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet |
Writer:
Ed Brubaker |
Artist's:
Luke Ross and Butch Guice |
Shipped on:
Cap #601-012010
Cap #602-021710 |
Publisher:
Marvel Comics |
MSRP:
$3.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!) |
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“A book about a man who wears an American flag while fighting crime SHOULD touch
on current political situations, no matter how volatile they appear to be.”
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You know, there’s a saying, something along the
lines of ‘There’s no such thing as bad press.’ That being said, I think its kind
of strange that my mother called me up the other day asking if I’d heard about
the controversy surrounding the latest issue of ‘Captain America’, and to make
sure I picked up a copy for her. My mother has spent more time trying to tell me
that I’ve been wasting the formative years of my life reading, bagging, and
boarding my funny-books than anything else, so I couldn’t help but find a bit of
humor in her requesting a copy of this “controversial” issue.
All in all, I think everyone is making a big fuss about nothing, but in case you
haven’t heard, there’s a panel, a single panel, in which a protest scene is
being staged, and one of the protesters is displaying a sign which reads: “Tea
Bag the Libs before They Tea Bag You!” Marvel Editorial has gone out of its way
to distance themselves from any political stance, and Joe Quesada has gone on
the record as saying something along the lines of “Marvel Comics…isn’t anyone’s
soap box”, which is pretty much what I’d expect from a guy who’s company just
got purchased by Disney.
The story contained within the now-infamous issue has NOTHING to do with Tea
Bagging, the Tea Party, or anything of the sort. “Two Americas” simply follows
up on threads that Brubaker established at the beginning of his now-legendary
run, where a near-perfect copy of Steve Rogers helms a new team of Watchdogs,
intent on returning America to the good old days of prosperity, racial
hostility, and small government.. Bucky who is still Captain America despite
Steve (the real Steve) having returned from his trip through time, and Sam
Wilson, Steve’s long-time partner and friend, the Falcon, plot a way into the
new group of ‘Watchdogs’, which also drew some heat from bloggers, especially
Sam’s comment about “…angry white folks.” But hey, they were white, and they
were angry…it’s not like he referred to them as “cracker-ass crackers”, right?
I think as far as a Captain America story is concerned, this was pretty awesome.
As far as political commentary, as well as Ed Brubaker’s habit of wearing his
heart on his sleeve by way of his Twitter page (which is what the site is there
for, right?), it’s pretty clear that this media $#!T-storm wasn’t the author’s
intention. A book about a man who wears an American flag while fighting crime
SHOULD touch on current political situations, no matter how volatile they appear
to be. If the ‘Tea Party’ is so concerned with being lumped in amongst comic
book villains (which never happened in this comic or any other) then maybe they
should take a look at the current ‘catastrophe’ from a different perspective,
and reevaluate the way they’re viewed by the public.
In the following issue, #603, Brubaker is able to up the ante for everyone
involved. Psycho-Cap is aware of Bucky’s plan to infiltrate the Watchdogs, even
as Bucky and Sam set their plan in motion. There’s a great deal of subterfuge,
and ultimately all the good guys end up in a really tight spot. It would appear
that the leftover-Cap has plans of his own, and they include Bucky and Falcon
(or at least his holographic projection wings). Readers are left wondering how
their heroes are going to make it out of this jam, as well as ‘If 50’s Cap is
stronger than Steve Rogers, why didn’t Sam’s head pop off like a dandelion when
he got hit with the shield?’ Or maybe I’m the only one wondering that.
Anyway, if you’re into Captain America, whether the original or the new one, you
should check this out. I’m glad that Marvel has given Brubaker a chance to
stretch his legs with Bucky in the driver’s seat, as opposed to Steve; there’s
no doubt that, ultimately, Steve will end up under the mask again, but these
stories featuring Bucky really feel like anything is possible. Butch Guice was
just named artist of the ongoing series after “Siege”, and considering he’s been
a part of the book, as well as “Cap: Reborn”, fans should already be somewhat
used to his style. For the meanwhile, Luke Ross does a phenomenal job of
breathing life into Bru’s work, and knowing that Guice is the new series
penciller, I’m curious where Ross is going to end up.
The only real problem I had with the books is the co-feature, which is just so
completely off the mark in comparison to Brubaker’s style, and what the title,
as a whole, feels like. Sean McKeever writes a contrived, boring story that
belongs in some crappy anthology of kid’s comics. This is a title about
espionage and intrigue, not teenage girls and their menstrual cycles. I’m just
kidding, but seriously, it wasn’t very good. I could see an “Arana” title
featuring a Nomad back-up, or even a book that worked the other way around, but
I can’t support the attachment of a child’s story to a book of this magnitude. |
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All Books/Characters pictured herein are © Copyright 2010 by their respective
owners. No rights given or implied by Alternate Reality, Incorporated.
Reviews © 2010 Alternate Reality, Inc.
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