Well, it looks like Marvel is shifting from its 25-cent jumping-on marketing campaign to a 50-cent one. It's not a bad one, really, as 50 cents still falls in a range of chump change that few would be willing to shell out for a good comic-book story. The key to the marketing, though, is to ensure that the story is, in fact, good. The writing here is competent overall, but it's remarkably stereotypical. This is super-hero storytelling from the 1970s, not the 21st century. Fortunately, the artwork is stunning. Coipel's detailed pencils are fantastic -- I'm surprised he hasn't been tapped to handle stories set in the more mature and intense Ultimate universe of Marvel characters.
A young British boy who idolizes Captain America above all other super-heroes is about to have his dream come true. He's about to catch a glimpse of the Star-Spangled Sentinel in person. Unfortunately, it will be right in the middle of a battle between the Avengers and the aptly named Wrecking Crew. The heroes have tracked down the onetime Thor archfoes in the United Kingdom, and the effort to arrest them proves to be devastating for the neighborhood and incredibly dangerous for its residents.
Coipel does an incredible job of the art on this issue. The action is conveyed as devastating, not fun at all, and that reinforces the sense of peril that's important in the script. He also makes excellent use of perspective when it comes to bringing the Wasp's new powers to life. I also loved the artist's incorporation of other in the opening scene in Martin's bedroom. Using other real-life Cap art as posters on his wall was a clever move.
The story here hinges on a coincidence that's just too bitter a pill to swallow. The object of Martin's hero worship strolling into his life on a day when he's really immersed in all things Cap robs the story of a great deal of its credibility. On the other hand, Austen has really piqued my interest when it comes to the boy's mother and how her disfigurement has affected the rest of the family. I'm genuinely curious about how she was hurt and how radically it changed her life.
When it comes to the super-heroes, it's all about the action. And unfortunately, it's rather generic action. The writer tries to include some character-driven stuff for the characters, but Hawkeye and Cap's exchange about the nature of women just doesn't work. Hawkeye treats Cap like he's an idiot, and furthermore, the notion that one needs to be hooked up in order to exact any measure of real happiness or satisfaction in life is something of an insult. The dialogue just doesn't ring true, and there's no real catalyst for the conversation.
