CAPTAIN AMERICA 2001
"Denial"
Neutral (3/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Dan Jurgens
Pencils: Lee Moder, Darryl Banks, Ignacio Calero & Marco Galli
Inks: Walden Wong, Sandu Florea, Joe Weems & Pierre-Andre Dery
Colors: Dan Kemp & Avalon
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Axel Alonso
Price: $2.99 US/$4.50 CAN |
Jurgens's script here ranges from predictable at best to illogical and overly sentimental at its worst. The art, on the other hand, shifts from capable to good to new and different, and it's that latter quality that really caught my eye.
Captain America is summoned to the White House by President Bush, but not because there's some kind of national or international emergency. A file has been found that Bush decided Cap should see... a file that runs contrary to the military credo of never leaving a man behind, of never forgetting a soldier's contributions. The file takes Cap to a time in World War II, when he was a member of the Invaders, and to an incident he almost didn't survive.
The flashback plot is the usual simple fare we saw in the 1970s in Invaders; it's fun, but one basically gets some empty storytelling calories, so to speak. It was fun seeing Bucky, Toro and the original Human Torch in action again, but this is an ordinary, far-too familiar story.
The book's greatest strength is the art from Calero and Galli. It reminds me a good deal of the style of Travis (Wildcats) Charest. The new interpretation of the Red Skull was gruesome and chilling, and paints a far more inhuman picture of a thoroughly reprehensible villain. The gray tones of the coloring added to that odd mood as well. Moder's art was far too bright in tone and color for the mood of the script, while Banks's pencils were detailed and told the story clearly.
In the end, this story hinges on an idea that I just don't understand. It's suggested that it would be immoral for the U.S. to cover up the death of Captain America during the war, as it would have proven to be a major blow to morale. I see the logic, but Jurgens seems to emphasize sentimentality over that logic. The "denial" referred to in the story title is condemned, but it struck me as responsible.
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