Mini-Run Review: "Captain America," #1-#8

Back in 2014 I wrote about how J. Michael Straczynski had written a chunk of awful comics, some mediocre ones, and a single incredible series I adored--"Supreme Power," under the then-relatively-new (at the time he wrote for it) Marvel Max line. He gave us 18 amazing issues and then it all fell apart. JMS dabbled in other comic series for some time, but he came back to Marvel recently for a new run of, "Captain America.". I was concerned I'd be disappointed going into the series but so far it has been...good?

JMS' take on, "Captain America," has started strong, but a lot of his comics do that and then get incredibly messy. He seems to be avoiding that, however, but letting this series be a bit messy from the start but in a charming manner. He's added a supernatural element of demons, the human embodiment of life (as well as death) and it is a bit weird but has still somehow managed to work. I have concerns with how heavily JMS has changed the continuity of Steve Roger's past (basically, he teamed up with some Jewish and Italian mobsters to stop some local Nazis before he even became superpowered, it's a little quirky), yet, between that and the introduction of some demons and vaguely angelic figures we're clearly getting a more out-there take on Captain American than before, but one which manages to have some nice grounded moments too.

In this day and age, it is alarming how Nazi-related ideas seem to be rearing their ugly head again. JMS touches upon that plenty within these first eight issues and even with a lot of more magical story elements emphasizes the humanity of Steve Rogers and the people he fights to protect as Captain America. JMS gives us some fun bits of dialogue too, be it a Stakeout-gone-wrong with Spider-Man that results in awkward apologies or a bit where Steve and Sam Wilson watch a movie about heroes and crack jokes about the overreliance on CGI these days (JMS has got jokes about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, clearly). Now, all of this interesting writing would matter little without some stellar art, and Jesús Saiz thankfully provides stupendous work.

Whether we're witnessing the past with everything looking impressively period-set or in the present as Captain America fights threats of a human or demonic nature, Saiz illustrates the Hell (no pun intended) out of every page. Quiet silly moments such as Captain America interacting with a Dr. Strange doll used by Stephen Strange to astroproject are as pitch-perfect as eerie scenes of Nazi-sympathetic Americans filling Central Park for a disturbing rally. Saiz is at the top of his game and gives us the mundane and realistic just as well as he portrays the supernatural stuff.

J. Michael Straczynski has a tendency to start a story like a pro but then loves to either abandon it in the middle of his telling the tale or to just utterly shit the bed (figuratively) at a narrative's conclusion. Would I be foolish to get my hopes up and think JMS might actually stick the landing with his run on, "Captain America," at whatever point it finishes? Perhaps, but I'm ready to be ever-so-slightly optimistic with my usual caution. Plus, whether JMS does his usual thing of driving the metaphorical train off the tracks or not, at least everything should continue to look good with Jesús Saiz providing art. Time will tell if the story wraps well eventually, but for now, I'm having fun!

4.5 out of 5 stars.

J. Michael Straczynski is Returning to Marvel to Write a, "Captain America," Comic

J. Michael Straczynski is a writer I have mixed feelings about. I've written before about how I found a lot of his work terrible but then sometimes he'd create an absolute masterpiece like (some of), "Supreme Power." He also did a God-awful run on, "Superman," shit the bed when he concluded, "The Twelve," had, a misfire of, "Thor," and his, "Amazing Spider-Man," run started with promise. Still, it fell apart when (and it wasn't totally his fault, there was editorial interference) it concluded as Mephisto undid the marriage of Peter Parker and Mary Jane. Yeah, that happened. Straczynski hadn't done anything with Marvel after the Spidey fiasco so it's been years since he was there (instead there has been work with DC and other publishers). However, he's returning to Marvel for the latest relaunch of, "Captain America," and it sounds...kind of interesting?

Straczynski does this thing where he starts a story strong and it just ends terribly. Even though I liked a lot of, "Supreme Power," for example, it was never finished by him (other writers had to wrap it up and then the lead-up to, "Secret Wars," literally obliterated the Universe it took place in back in 2014/2015 or so). His take on, "Captain America," apparently is going to feature an examination of Steve Roger's life after his parents died but before he became Captain America and will look at the rise of the Nazi party in America pre-WWII (before we officially fought the Nazis many Americans actually were big supporters of them) and how there are alarming parallels to today as white nationalism gains an dangerous foothold in our Country. 

Looking both at the past and how it is disturbingly reflected in the present with a prominent living symbol of our nation, Captain America himself, sounds fascinating. Will Straczynski screw it all up 3/4 of the way through, however? I'm hesitant to give him yet another chance, but I kind of want to see where this goes. Plus, with Jesús Saiz as the artist, it will at least look great.

Marvel Went and Changed the Punisher's Logo for Obvious Reasons

The Punisher and his logo have had a problematic history as of late. It used to just be a cool-looking skull symbol worn by someone everyone agreed was basically a bad guy who killed even worse people (in his mind, at least). If folks had a Punisher logo they just maybe liked the comics. Then the logo started being sported by people like military members, police, and others who you would hope don't draw inspiration from a murderous vigilante. In an effort to be able to use the Punisher in comics and essentially reclaim the character, Marvel is going to be doing a new Punisher comic with a different logo going upon his chest. Frank Castle will be working with the assassin's guild known as The Hand (for some reason) and his insignia will morph into something a bit devilish in appearance. It's gonna be a 13 issue maxi-series simply called, "Punisher."

I'm a little wary of Marvel trying to reinvent the Punisher in any drastic way because that's been done before and we got a Punisher who shot heavenly bullets at demons (it was weird). That said, the writer of the upcoming maxi-series is Jason Aaron. I either love or hate a lot of Aaron's stuff, but his work on Punisher under the Max label was really solid--and he had the unenviable task of doing it after a long Garth Ennis run but still managed to create something quite good. Art will be done by Jesús Saiz and Paul Azaceta--they'll be alternating duties depending on if a scene is set in the present or past.

I'm cautiously optimistic this might be an interesting run on, "Punisher," especially if it doesn't hesitate to lean into all the controversy surrounding Frank Castle and his skull insignia. As this is a corporate comic from the House of Mouse (Disney, of course, owns Marvel) I won't hold my breath for anything too edgy, but we shall see!