Captain America #1-6
Review by Everest
Story:
Art:

Written by John Ney Reiber
Art by John Cassaday
Colors by Dave Stewart
Lettering by Richard Starking and ComiCraft’s Wes Abbott

Published by Marvel.
Price: $2.99 each.
My verdict: If you can afford it, pick up the individual issues; if not, pick up the trade as soon as it comes out!

The premise: Historically, by which I mean the past twenty years or so (leaving the Silver Age and Golden Age Cap out of it), Cap’s adventures have tended to be big battles with other costumed, and often somewhat comical, types: super villains or organizations like Flagsmasher, the Serpent Society, Hydra, AIM, Baron Zemo, and the famous “Justice Is Served” killer, Scourge (a good storyline, truth be told). Nothing separated this book particularly from any other superhero book that Marvel was putting out at the time; Cap had just about the same humor/melancholy mix that Spider-Man has always had. Some things do change, however. Now, in his latest incarnation, Captain America is a serious character again. He is taking on terrorists and battling fascists, protecting America and living up to the American ideal. Every issue of this book has a serious tone: no cheap one-liners, no wisecracks, just lots of intrigue and action. Steve Rogers is transformed into the ultimate soldier, the defender of democracy, the paragon of freedom: Captain America. The first story arc deals with al Tariq, a terrorist who is holding a small town in the American heartland hostage on Easter Sunday morning. Cap is called in to save the day. The ending of this story--well, I won’t ruin it for you--let’s just say it’s very revealing.

The writing: John Ney Reiber’s scripts aren’t for everyone (as evidenced by the somewhat weak sales on this book) but the story has been great. While not every issue is stellar, there is certainly an epic sensibility to this title. The story, somewhat confusingly told on occasion--like a movie that cuts between scenes too often or at inexplicable times--is, despite the occasional glitch, well worth reading. I’ve not read a disappointing issue yet.

The art: John Cassaday’s pencils are superb. They’re clear and direct, with clean lines and crisp delivery, perfectly suited to the cleancut boy in blue. The action sequences are top notch...except for one panel in #6 where Cap is doing some peculiar--read impossible--standing-splits kick with his legs at such an emasculatory angle that even Jean Claude van Damme in his heydey would have winced. That one flub aside (and one flub in six issues isn’t bad), Cap certainly looks like America’s hero.

To sum up: If you like good writing and great art stirred together with a superhero as American as apple pie, then this is the book for you. This book smacks of patriotism, but doesn’t preach blind devotion to an often-corrupt government. It draws on the events of 9/11, but without coming across as exploitative or pandering. This latest chapter in the life of Captain America is well worth reading and well worth the bucks it takes to own it.