Captain America: Who Won’t Wield the Shield #1- Review

Forbush Man: Forbush Kills!
by Jason Aaron (writer), Mirco Pierfederici (art)

This story by Aaron functions as a framing structure for the issue and it’s the strongest of what’s on offer.

Probably what’s most impressive is Aaron’s ability to not only make fun of himself, but to caricature his own style.  His gritty internal monologue by Forbush Man is a clear pisstake on his usual writing style and the fact that he applies this formula, applied in past to badasses like Wolverine and the Punisher, to Forbush Man is pretty hilarious.  When a brutal beating via bucket is narrated in noir fashion, it’s hard not to laugh.

Then there’s how Jason Aaron portrays himself, which is a definite highpoint.  Aaron makes himself into a completely pathetic weasel of a man with a strange fixation for Wolverine related violence.  It’s self-deprecation at its finest and clear evidence that Aaron is having a ball writing this.

Other Marvel writers and editors encounter Forbush Man on his path for revenge, and most of them are a lot of fun as well.  Joe Quesada hanging out, poolside at his palatial manor and Ed Brubaker’s continual concern for his Eisners and his later channeling of his Criminal characters are golden.  I don’t think I’ll ever be able to erase the image of Brubaker firing a gun while screaming profanities.

Forbush Man himself is also well-done.  Aaron basically turns the character into a mouthpiece for bitter, veteran comic book fans.  He attacks the Marvel offices for their making everything “dark and gritty,” as he embodies and voices the “why can’t comics just be fun” crowd.  Eventually, things get metatextual, and even more fun, as Forbush Man realizes that he too, is in a comic and that, in going on a murderous rampage, he too has been made “dark and gritty.”

On the downside, the art isn’t quite right for this story, particularly where the coloring is concerned.  Pierfederici goes for a pseudo-painted style that really wouldn’t be my first pick for a wacky comedy tale like this.  Also, the story’s ending is a bit lame, relying on a flat Marvel Zombies joke.

Grade: B+

Doctor America: Occult Operative of Liberty
by Matt Fraction (writer), Brendan McCarthy & Howard Hallis (art)

This was….completely insane.  If you miss the wacky Fraction that wrote Casanova, well, there are flashes of that here.  The sheer insanity brings some enjoyment.  Better still is how self-aware the story is of its own haphazard nature.  Characters openly reference how slapped together and non-existent the “narrative” is.