“Homeland, part two”
Writer: Robert Morales
Artist: Chris Bachalo (p), Tim Townsend (i)
Publisher: Marvel Knights
Plot:
Cap is recruited to “sit on a secret military tribunal convening on the possible treason of Iranian-born historian Fernand Hedayat.” Once in Guantanamo Bay, Cap meets the troops, finds fault with a Colonel, and witnesses what I assume will be the beginning of a brutal series of murders. Oh, and he gets a call from his new maybe girlfriend.
Comments:
First, a word on the art. There are many people out there who don’t like Bachalo’s work in the least. This is unfortunate, because I personally think that it’s kind of cool. I like the angles, the funny haircuts, and cartoony-yet-serious characterizations. Art is subjective that way. I wouldn’t begin to dismiss someone’s opinion because they don’t like the artwork. Since I don’t know too much about art, I tend to just stick to whether or not I can follow the story and whether or not the style of art seems to suit the story. For example, the artwork on Fantastic Four seems kind of distracting to me, since the storyline has been so serious and disturbed of late. Here, Bachalo’s style seems more stylized than cartoon-like for me, and it works with the way the story is being told. But I’ve always been fond of the weird art books.
If the art is keeping you from trying out this new storyline by Bachalo and Morales, then that’s a shame, because this is the best Captain America comic I’ve read in years. It wouldn’t hurt to eventually see bad guys like MODOK or AIM or The Red Skull or even a return of The Cosmic Cube. I loved all that stuff back in the day. Hell, I was reading Captain America back when it was Captain America and The Falcon, and Kirby drew them fighting the Mad Bomb or whatever. Those stories were imaginative and innovative, breaking new ground in storytelling, even if I was only eight or nine years old at the time. There was an energy and an excitement to them. Steve Rogers was a character that dealt with the issues of the time and at the same time played around with fantastic elements without rehashing old clichés and boring simplistic science fiction mumbo jumbo. The point was that the character was alive and believable, not just some cardboard cutout of a superhero. He had pathos and personality. He wasn’t just a Nazi fighting cypher with no depth.
Morales, when interviewed before taking on this title, said that his version of Cap would be more like Steve McQueen than the brooding, self-doubting character he had become in recent years. At first I wasn’t sure about that. I mean, surely the man who wrote The Truth would be making Cap a bitter distrustful token of hostility to the current real-life administration, right? Then I thought about The Truth, and remembered that there was nothing like that going on there. The Truth was a very well thought out, well written piece of work that really stands as a piece of thoughtful African American fiction. Really. Go read it again, and try not to be so sensitive.
Then I re-watched The Great Escape. Man I hadn’t seen that movie in years. I almost cried when Charles Bronson appeared onscreen. I miss him. Anyway, I paid special attention to Steve McQueen’s character and tried to imagine this guy playing Cap. I miss McQueen, too. I really respect and admire his work and though I don’t really know anything about his personal life, found a lot to be admired in his screen persona. This guy could have been Captain America. So I decided to stick around on the title after that GOD-AWFUL CAP LIVES STORY!!! A low water mark in the series’ history if ever there was one. And I thought that Chuck Austen storyline before it was as bad as it could get.
Morales’ Steve Rogers is as good as I can remember. Like the Cap of old, he is a man with a personality. He is a man who can talk to people and get his points across without being arrogant or condescending. He is a man with a wit, and a man with brains. He leaps into action on a moment’s notice, but is always thinking. This is Captain America to me. He might not be fighting super villains at the moment, but Morales is crafting a nicely paced mystery and there doesn’t seem to be much on the page that doesn’t have something to do with the story. A good example of this is the art exhibit at the beginning of this issue. At first I thought that it was just a way of getting these characters, Steve and Rebecca (an actual female character with opinions and a life outside of the superhero element of the book! Excellent!), out on a date and talking. However, as we see at the end of this chapter, the artwork (a rather hostile to superheroes exhibit called the “Ultimate Trademarks” show) isn’t just a strange piece of shock value. It is foreshadowing events to come, and I for one and curious to see what the connection is. Kudos to everyone involved in this story so far.
Final Word:
Two issues in to the new creative team and so far so good. So very good. I’ve very nearly forgotten the wasted nearly two years that have come before (although those Cassaday stories sure were pretty, weren’t they?). Finally, Steve Rogers is a character as well written as Captain America, and hopefully things will stay this way. An enticing murder mystery has begun and I’m very interested in what happens. Dang. I didn’t even mention the excellent portrayals of the soldiers and nice way Morales gives voice to various political opinions without simplifying and condescending to any of them. Nice work all around.
What did you think of this book?
Have your say at the Line of Fire Forum!