Captain America #10 – Review

By: Ed Brubaker (writer), Alan Davis (pencils), Mark Farmer (inks), Laura Martin (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Cap and friends rush to put a stop to the mad bombs and a mind-controlled, enraged Falcon.

The Review:  This issue is a frustrating one to review if only due to the talent behind it having created such a mediocre issue, particularly given how much a fan I was of the last issue.  I really thought this Alan Davis-illustrated arc had been a turning point for the series post-relaunch, but alas.

Let me first say, however, that even a mediocre effort by the likes of Ed Brubaker and Alan Davis will be better than a fair chunk of superhero comics out there.  When he finally gets around to doing it, Brubaker’s internal monologue from Rogers is as gritty, forboding, and intimate as ever.  Furthermore, I really liked how Brubaker ended this issue; we learn the nature of Sharon’s bargain with Machinesmith and we get an ending that manages to both conclude the arc while also tantalizing us by leaving things open, with Queen Hydra and Bravo still very much at large.  While an open ending like this will no doubt frustrate the trade-waiters, it’s one that will keep monthly readers reading and it’s cool to see that be the case in a medium that’s increasingly become about writing for the trade.

Captain America #8 – Review

By: Ed Brubaker (writer), Alan Davis (penciler), Mark Farmer (inker), Laura Martin (colorist)

The Story: Powerless, Part 3: Cap and Sharon manage to eke out a victory in a tough fight with the Serpent Squad only for Cap to lose his powers once again. Why? Who’s behind this? Sharon has one theory and the investigation leads her to the Machinesmith. In the meantime, the Hydra Queen makes several moves. It’s all going pear-shaped.

The Review: I have been a big Davis/Farmer fan since the 80s and absolutely loved them here. Davis is at once a master of draftsmanship, with elegant, detailed faces with close-up texturing. At the same time, he knows his way around a superhero fight, with varied panel structures and camera angles, with quicker and more stylized shapes to focus the reader’s eye on the dynamism as opposed to the detail. A great example of this is on the first page. Cap as the center of the action has the most detail, but it is clearly the composition doing the work here. Check out the stances and angles, the V-shape made by Cap’s leg with the Eel’s, the detail-free Sharon in an uber-energetic Kirby-esque pose. The page radiates energy. Then in the next couple of pages, the close-ups of Cap and Sharon’s faces are wonderfully detailed, emotive and lifelike, in the way a Neal Adams face comes alive. The other artistic roots I felt while reading this book was Mike Zeck. Zeck defined the Captain America for several years and I almost felt Zeck’s great style being channeled in this book, but better.

Storywise, it’s hard to go wrong with Brubaker. His name on the top of the credits virtually guarantees that you’ll be treated as an intelligent reader. Moreover, he’s so good at the thriller and the espionage motifs, which are so much a part of Cap’s WWII and cold-war mythos, that the intrigue and layered mystery pulls the story towards a climax you know is going to be good. The dialogue is crisp and believable (insofar as some villains have to have a bit of an over-the-top style to them) and the plot twists are great. I loved the Cobra interrogation scene and Sharon’s next steps, and I was eating up the Hydra Queen moves.