No,
You're eyes DO NOT deceive you, I'm back at it again, will some light reviews to help your comic-book groove!
Let's get it:
1. Captain America (vol 1) #695-697: Years ago, in a small in the Midwest, Captain America took down Rampart, a white-supremacist terror group who were attempting to take an entire American county. Now, after the events of Secret Empire, the real Steve Rogers has returned. He carried the heavy burden of what his fascist counterpart did to the world, and he still feels like a man out of place and time. Captain America is on the road once more, getting out of his comfort zone, and getting to know the people of the country he holds so dear. But darkness is on the horizon - Rampart is on the move again and they want Captain America stopped once and for all. Captain America is the prey, but a mighty prey needs a mighty, ruthless hunter. Has Cap returned only to meet his final fate?
One of the greatest Cap writers, Mark Waid, has returned to put Cap through his paces in his newest adventures! And it's back to business as usual, smashing Nazis (or Nazi-like baddies), protecting the weak and the innocent, and spouting those inspirational words we all need to hear. Marvel has taken Cap back to volume 1, which pretty much means you've got some good, old-fashioned, Cap that seems a bit neo-Bronze-Age-y with a light Silver Age aftertaste. Like in the early 100s (Cap #128, iirc) and 300's (#318, iirc) Cap takes the show on the road, and takes down super-villains in the hopes of finding himself as he discovers the new faces of his country. Sure, it's retraced steps, and sure, I think it's reactionary based on the whole hullaballoo surrounding bad Cap's Hydra turn in Secret Empire, but that's how life works, one movement initiates an oppositional movement and things swing back and forth. All that aside, it's good to see Steve back as the brooding, action-oriented, shining symbol with a heart of gold that we all know and love. And Chris Samnee's pencils are as clean and sure as Cap is in these stories, and they make the book absolutely pop. Let's hope all those "lifelong Cap fans" who were so upset about Secret Empire put their money where their mouths are and shell out those dollars to keep this volume of Cap in print for a very long time. It's on my pull list.
RATING: 10 out of 10.
2. Falcon (vol 2) #1-3: For years, his best friend was a traitor, a fascist and an Agent of Hydra. To Sam Wilson, The Falcon, Steve Rogers was the embodiment of the highest American ideals, and Sam's best friend, mentor, and brother-in-arms. Steve was the reason that Sam took the mantle of Captain America. But now, all that's gone. Sam has returned as The Falcon, determined to stand on his own, and do some good for his country in his own way. When Sam and his new protege, Rayshaun Lucas, The Patriot, decide to get hands-on with the gang violence that's burning down Chicago, they get more than they bargained for when they find a dark, malevolent, mystical hand at work. Can Doctor Voodoo help The Falcon save Chicago, or will the Falcon go down in eternal flames?
Screenwriter and producer, Rodney Barnes, bursts onto the comics scene in Falcon!! Barnes' story is magnificent, relevant, and well-thought out. He offers no easy super-solution to the crime and violence on the streets. He doesn't condone, nor any offer excuses for the ones that commit evil against their fellow man. What Barnes does is offer us a troubled hero who won't let his fears and pain consume him, a hero who genuinely just wants to do some good, and help others to find a way to do the same, despite the dirt, violence, and crime in which they find themselves. In spite of the suffering, the discrimination, and the undeserved hate and fear, Sam Wilson is a hero that gets his hands dirty and gets down to where folks are living. He never gives up. I can surely dig that. He's going to need ALL the fight he can muster to take on the supernatural fiend he's facing. Barnes has also set Sam up with an AWESOME supporting cast in Jericho Drumm (Doctor Voodoo) and The Patriot, both of whom provide diverse personalities, methods, and ranges of experience to the book, along with light urban-style humor that just gets me smiling. I don't know who Joshua Cassara is, but the guy has talent. His pencils are heavy, kinetic and refined. I LOVE THIS BOOK! Nick Spencer made me a Sam Wilson fan; Rodney Barnes is making me LOVE the character. This book is lit!
RATING: 10 out of 10.
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