I'm also thinking about doing a(weekly)post where I just post scores for the back issues I read throughout the week. It wouldn't be a full review or anything like that(there's only so many hours in the day!), it would be the score and MAYBE a few words about said comic(s). Maybe I'd mention some book you guys might want to comment about, and viola, instant comic book conversation! Anyway, that's more or less just a stray thought, so I'd definitely appreciate any feedback as to whether or not that would be worth trying. OK, introduction over, let's get to the review, which I've altered slightly, so let me know what you think.
Captain America #604: Writer: Ed Brubaker. Pencils: Luke Ross.
Last Issue: 8 1/2 out of 10.
Review: This issue begins with Bucky having just been captured by Bad Cap and his Watchdogs last issue. Bad Cap(the 1950's Captain America for those of you not in the loop)tells Bucky that he wants him to dress up in his old 1940's Bucky outfit and serve as Bad Cap's sidekick, or else Bad Cap would give the order to have the Falcon(who was captured last issue as well)executed. With no real recourse, Bucky reluctantly does as he's told. While Bad Cap is forcing Bucky to play dress up, Falcon wakes up on a train, with his hands bound behind him while two Watchdog goons keep an eye on him. Using his mental link to his bird, Redwing, Falcon manages to distract and then defeat the two hapless goons. Falcon proceeds to untie himself and heads towards the conductor's car, beating up Watchdogs as he goes. After reaching the conductor's car, Falcon defeats the final conscious Watchdog aboard the train and learns from the conductor(who was being forced to drive the train at gunpoint)that #1, there was no way to stop the progress of the train, thanks to the Watchdogs destroying the controls, and #2, that the train was packed full of explosives and was headed for a corporate lobbyist conference in Las Vegas. The conductor then goes on to warn Falcon that he had heard that the explosion at the conference was actually only a distraction for something even worse... What could be worse then that you ask? This issue ends with Bad Cap bringing Bucky to the Hoover Dam and announcing to him that he intended to blow it up with the hopes that other crazy anti-government militia types would follow his lead.
What I Thought: As usual, this was a very strong issue of Captain America. Most of this issue revolved around Falcon fighting his way through the Watchdog train, which was nice, because it served to remind everybody that he's not just some guy who can fly and talk to birds, he's a highly trained fighter(he WAS trained by Steve Rogers!), and his single-handed defeat of all of those goons aboard the train definitely reestablished that. As for the Bucky/Bad Cap stuff, it was well done and has me looking forward to the inevitable showdown between Bad Cap and Bucky atop the Hoover Dam next issue. While this isn't going to go down as one of my favorite Captain America storyarcs, it's STILL better then like 85% of the other comics on the market today.
Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.
I love how Bad Cap is ALWAYS smiling!
Two things have given me more of acceptance of Barry Allen: Darwyn Cooke's New Frontier comic (and DVD), and the old 90's Flash TV show reruns. Funny how those don't feature the in-continuity Barry, but they embrace the essence of the character pretty well.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to some day catching up on Daredevil. I keep reading about this Shadowland thing they have coming up and it sounds cool.
And unfortunately, I had to skip your Cap review, because I'm waiting for the trade. I flat out refuse to buy the singles if they're going to feature the Nomad backup.
I think the short scores sound good, because when it comes to back issues, sometimes the less said the better.
I read the New Frontier mini a while back, but it was before Barry came back, so I don't think I was paying all that much attention to him. Strangely, my sister, who's a huge Wally West fan(even more so then me)has been telling me to give Barry a chance, which is really out of character for her... She got a few old Barry Flash comics from eBay that she really seems to have enjoyed... Go figure!
ReplyDeleteDD's been really good, which is amazing considering Brubaker left the series a few issues back. I was expecting the quality to really fall off, but Andy Diggle has taken all of the stuff Ed set up and taken off with it.
I haven't read a single one of those Nomad comics. I'm sorry, but that girl IS NOT Nomad to me.
Cool, thanks for the input Kello. I figure after I read a comic I can just jot down a quick score and maybe a few thoughts and then post that. I'll pick a day and that can be my back issue bonanza post. Who doesn't like to talk about back issues?
I'd love to hear your thoughts on whatever back issues you're reading, especially if it were a regular feature. I also can't wait to hear what you think of the DC Chronicles trades you got.
ReplyDeleteDid you already read the first Wolverine: Weapon X trade? And if so, what did you think of it? I haven't read the second one, so I'm very interested to hear how that one compares as well.
Great, that's two votes for a back issue post and none against! It probably won't be much of a post, more like a bunch of numbers with a sentence here or there, but it would be something different. Maybe I'll give the idea a test run come this weekend.
ReplyDeleteNah, I haven't read the first Weapon X trade yet, but since I was picking up those other trades, I figured why not? I doubt I'll hate it, and if I do, well then I'll just chalk it up to experience.