Captain America

In Captain America #25 Steve Rogers was killed. This information leaked the the mainstream media before the issue even hit the stands. I read about it on the internet at work. I was sad about this. I felt like a world with out Captain America was just a little worse than one with him. I know he's just a fictional character, that's why I say just a little. I sat down to read my copy of Captain America #25 with a heavy heart. I knew what would happen, though, so the issue lacked punch. It was more an exercise than an experience. I know why Marvel 'leaked' this news to the media. Cap 25 sold like crazy, because people knew. Over the years many people have tried to elevate comics as an art form, but just like TV or movies, in the end it always comes down to the bottom dollar. How can they (the publishers) wring the most money out of every issue.
This brings us to the Captain America: Reborn miniseries. At first the series was cloaked in mystery. It was solicited under the title Reborn. The creative team was announced with Ed Brubaker, current Captain America writer handling the scripts, but the rest of the solicitation was 'Classified', including the cover art. Then Marvel announced with great fanfare the actual title, Captain America: Reborn, and that it would feature the return of Steve Rogers to the Marvel Universe. Many fans had already guessed this even before the house ads appeared featuring a white star on a black field.
A six issue miniseries explicitly advertised as the return of Captain America is, in my mind, the worst possible way to bring the character back. The Captain America series has continued to run despite the lack of Steve Rogers. Initially it focused on his supporting cast and how they dealt with Steve's death, then later Cap's former sidekick Bucky assumed the guise of Captain America. Ideally Steve Rogers would return unannounced on the last page of an issue of the regular Captain America series. Fans like my self, if caught by surprise by such a development would more than likely be beside themselves with excitement. However, this doesn't give Marvel the opportunity to market the book to those who don't regularly read the Captain America series. The 6 issue miniseries lends itself ideally to this type of marketing. Regular comic book buyers can collect the series in single issue form without having to commit themselves to an ongoing series, while casual fans can wait for the inevitable trade paperback collection of the miniseries, or even spring for the handsome hardcover collection. The major flaw in this format is the pacing. Even the best comic book writer, and I consider Ed Brubaker to be one of the best in the business, can only do so much with a resurrection story. Six issues gives the reader plenty of time to dwell on the improbability and convenience of it all. It's much like removing a band aid. If it was all gotten over with in a page or two and the story moved on the damage would be far less significant than if the story was slowly peeled back to reveal each and every detail.
In the end, though, despite the arguments I just laid out, Captain America: Reborn is on my pull list. Thus it becomes a win-win for Marvel. Casual fans can collect the story in one of three formats and long-term Cap fans will collect the book, wart and all, because how can we possibly miss this?

I deleted all my old posts with the intention of repurposing this blog as a comic reviews site. I've since lost the initiative to review comics. I had a couple of comics-related thoughts I felt like blogging about though, so here they are.

I'm apparently the Yorick Brown of comic book land, because I'm the last man on Earth who doesn't want to read Umbrella Academy or hear about Gerard Way, mainly because he's in My Chemical Romance. I have a special distaste for My Chemical Romance ever since I went to see Batman Begins with Josh. I was a fan of Bane at the time and Josh said to me, "Hey remember that song by Bane . . . ?" I don't remember what song it was anymore, by the by. Anyway, some hoser in a My Chemical Romance t-shirt came up to us and started bitching about how all the scene kids love Bane even though they suck.

I feel like it's time to evaluate my comics subscriptions and see what's what.

Strong titles: These are the books I look forward to reading every month.
All Star Superman-- There's only one issue left of this book, and I'm sure it's going to be awesome. Issue 10 was one of the best issues I've read in a long time. Issue 11 would probably have been greate if it hadn't come right after 10.
Astonishing X-Men-- It's kind of sad to say, but I'm actually glad Joss Whedon's run on this title is over. It was an enjoyable run, but now I'll hopefully be able to read new issues more frequently than quarterly. While Warren Ellis's first issue didn't exactly thrill me & I don't really care for Simone Bianchi's style, I still think this is the best of the X-books & I remain mildly exicted about it.
Buffy-- Unlike the show, a weak story doesn't just consume one episode, it consumes 6 issues. I didn't love Drew Goddard's arc, but I'm pretty excited about the Fray arc.
Captain America-- I don't actually get as excited about reading the latest issue of this book as some of the other titles on this list, but it's always a good read. 40 issues in and the story that started in the first issue is still unfolding. That's part of what makes each issue so enjoyable.
Daredevil-- I loved Brubaker's first arc on this title, but the second one didn't thrill me that much. Every issue after that second arc seems to get better and better, though. This is definitely one of the books I look forward to the most each month.
Fantastic Four-- Marvel tried to sell this book based on the fact that it reunited the creative team from the Ultimates, but I decided to pick it up because I enjoyed Mark Millar's run on Ultimate Fantastic Four & I ran out of Essential Fantastic Four volumes to read. The first arc of Millar's run on Fantastic Four was kind of disappointing, but the first issue of the second arc has me excited that better things are in store.
Final Crisis-- After an all-setup first issue, most of the reviews I read said the second issue had better be dynamite. Most of the reviewers agreed that it was. It didn't really deliver the goods for me, but it did give me enough to make me say, "If the third issue really delivers, this will be great."
Justice Society of America-- Month in and month out, this is one of the most consistently good reads. The current storyline about Gog has really piqued my interest, though. My only complaint is that the cast is too large, so my favorite characters never get enough panel time.
New Avengers-- After the first issue of Secret Invasion came out, I couldn't wait to read the next issue of New Avengers, because it ties directly into Secret Invasion. After a few issues that are only loosely related to one another and have little to do with the New Avengers, I'm not as excited as I was at the start, but I'm still looking forward to seeing how it all comes out in the end.
Runaways-- Once again, I'm glad Joss Whedon is off this book. I wish Brian Vaughan was still writing it, but I'm cautiously optimistic about Terry Moore taking a turn at the book. I'm not looking forward to suffering through Humberto Ramos's art, though.
Secret Invasion-- The first issue started the series off with a bang, but the following issues have felt quite a bit less meaty. Despite that, I'm excited to see how it all shakes out.
Spike-- I only have one issue to judge the series on, but I it was surprising how enjoyable it was.
Thor-- This book is always enjoyable, but every issue seems too short. It never seems like quite enough happens.

Strange titles: These are books I have mixed feelings on.
Angel-- I look forward to this book the least of all the Buffyverse titles, but I think it probably would have made the 'strong' list if it had better art.
Batman-- I really feel I should be enjoying this book, but I just can't quite figure it out.
Criminal -- I don't know what it is about this book. It's inevitably an enjoyable read, but I just don't get excited about it. Maybe it's the lack of tights and capes, or maybe it's because it's not written for the monthly format. Sure, you only get to read the backmatter if you buy the monthlies, but I think the stories probably read better in trades.
Iron Man-- The first arc by Warren Ellis was awesome. When the Knaufs took over, I wasn't that into it at first, but I stuck with the book anyway and they really started to impress me. Now I'm in the middle of a fill-in arc by Stuart Moore that hasn't impressed me much. After his run is over Christos Gage does a Secret Invasion tie-in arc starring War Machine. I've liked what I've read by Gage in the past, but I'd rather read an Iron Man book about Iron Man than War Machine. Are the Knaufs coming back or are they just on Eternals now? I don't know.
Legion of Super-Heroes-- Jim Shooter's latest run on the Legion just hasn't been developing fast enough. I don't remember how many issues in it is now, but it nothing has been resolved from the first issue.
The Twelve -- This book is a winning formula for me. What could be better than Golden Age characters or obscure characters that no one's ever heard of? How about a dozen characters that are both? This book started out strong, but the last few issues have meandered and so has my excitement level.
Ultimate Iron Man-- I forgot the was an issue left to go in this series. I thought this book had ended. That should tell you a little about how excited I am about it. The only thing keeping this off the 'bubble' list is how much I enjoyed the first series.

On the bubble: Books that I'm not enjoying as much as I should.
The Last Defenders-- I don't even remember what convinced me to pick up this miniseries anymore. It hasn't been a bad read, really, but it just doesn't excite me. With only one issue left to go, I'll stick it out until the end, but I find myself wishing I had passed on this one 5 months ago.
Project Superpowers-- The formula for this book is the same as the Twelve, obscure Golden Age superheroes, plus it has Alex Ross doing the cover art. The interior art isn't nearly as good, the plot wanders & the dialog is at times painful. Like the Defenders, I'm sticking it out till the end because it's a miniseries, but I'm looking forward to it being over.
Uncanny X-Men-- After the '60s arc, I was seriously considering dropping this book and having my remaining subscription issues transferred to another book. It's not a bad book, but it just hasn't been that great either. In the end I decided to stick my subsription out and see if the addition of co-writer Matt Fraction would improve the book at all. Fraction is all the rage lately although I haven't read enough of his stuff to say whether I like him or not. I'm a little biased against him, actually, just because everyone else seems to love him, but I'm still hoping he'll improve the book.

Recently dropped:
G.I. Joe-- I didn't really 'drop' the book since the Devil's Due series ended, but I'm not planning to pick it up again when the IDW series launches. First of all, since it's published by IDW that means a 50 cent per issue price hike. Second of all, it's a total reboot. Yes, it's a reboot written b Larry Hama, the godfather of G.I. Joe, but I love the Marvel series (that Devil's Due built their continuity on) too much to read another.

Now that that's done, I'm surprised by how few titles wound up on the bubble. It felt like there would be more. I'm also glad to see that my list of good reads outnumbers the so-so books. I was hoping this little exercise would help me come up with a few books to drop so I could try out a couple of new ones, though, which it didn't. Oh well.

Review--Captain America: The Chosen #1-6

This 6 issue miniseries was written by David Morrell, who is known for writing the books that the Rambo movies were based on, & pencilled by Mich Breitweiser. It is not based in regular Marvel continuity. It was not well received by any of the critics I generally read. My own feelings on it are mixed.

Issue 1, like most first issues, was mainly set up. The art was gorgeous, as it was in all 6 issues. I enjoyed the issue in general, but didn't feel like enough happened. In issue 1, a soldier fighting in Afganistan thinks he sees Cap helping him save some of his buddies, but no one else believes him.

Issues 2-5 felt like the 4 most pointless comics I'd ever read, when I first read them. An explosion traps soldier boy and his buddies in a cave after a firefight with some bad guys. This may have happened at the end of issue 1. It's hard to remember now. At the end of issue 5, soldier boy and co. are still trapped in the cave. He's spent the last 4 issues talking to Cap, who reveals that he is dying and projecting his mind into soldier boy's. Soldier boy repeatedly threatens to give up trying to find a way out of the cave and Cap continually encourages him by spouting corny rhetoric about duty and honor that would have sounded cheezy in 1941, when Cap made his debut.

Issue 6 opens with soldier boy still in the cave, but he's finally making his way out. As Cap continues to exposit on the nature of his own impending demise, the president arrives at the high security military hospital where Cap is being cared for. As the president approaches Cap, a bad guy who's disguised himself as a janitor comes at the president with a screwdriver. Despite being on the verge of a complete physical breakdown, Cap hurls himself between the president & his assailant. Just as soldier boy finally makes his way out of the cave, Cap expires ending his mental raport with soldier boy. At the same time, soldier boy stumbles into an ambush that's about to be sprung on the search and rescue team that just gave up on finding him and his buddies. As soldier boy leaps into battle with the bad guys, we see Cap's spirit fighting with him. As the scene ends, we move to a montage of hard working folks, and the narration explains that there's a little of Cap's spirit in every man, woman, & child who never gives up and always does the right thing, no matter the cost. It's schmaltzy, corny, & idealistic, but I was in tears for the last few pages. I'm sure part of the reason for that is that stress has made me more emotional than ususal, but I think even despite that I would have found the ending touching. It's corny, but there's something very 'Cap' about it.

So, does the ending make up for 4 issues of filler? Hard to say. I think it will take a re-reading to decide. I will say for sure that this would have read much better as a single oversized issue or a 2 or even 3 issue series. In one of those formats, it would have been easy for me to say this was at least a 3 star read.