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.
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.
posted by rob at 9:30 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home