Is there a Captain America movie coming that I don't know about? Because this one reads a lot like the rushed mini-series that Marvel has done to capitalize on increased interest in their characters courtesy of Hollywood. It's interesting enough, with good talent, but with a general purposelessness that sits like a big black hole at the center of the story. What Price Glory is something of a mess, with a look and writing style that makes it seem like a flashback but references in the script make it seem like a modern story, giving it a conflicted tone, and a variety of story elements coming together in completely ludicrous ways doesn't help much either.
It will surprise no one, I'm sure, to learn that the highlight of this one is Steve Rude's artwork. Rude tends to look best to my eyes when he's doing something painted, but his pencil work here, with inks by Mike Royer, is pretty great overall. The level of quality is uneven, with some of the sequences seeming a little tired and uninspired, but when the work is really on, such as in the opening five pages or the scenes in Frizini's office, it looks fantastic.
It does seem odd, however, that Rude's artwork would seem to place this story in the 1960s or 70s in terms of fashion, architecture and just general look, but the script is modern. The book feels like it was originally written as a flashback story and was given a mandate to modernize, which would seem to fit with Marvel's general editorial ethos these days. The "war room" looks like it belongs to a Vietnam vet, not a Gulf War vet, the biker who threatens Steve in the bar seems more like a Hell's Angel than a modern-day gangsta and having the thugs pushing for protection turn out to be street gangsta stereotypes instead of 70s mafiosos doesn't fit with their criminal activities. It's possible that this is just antiquated writing on Jones's part, but my guess is on the "make it more modern" school of revision.
Not that Jones's style being antiquated would come as much of a surprise, based on this book. While his work on Incredible Hulk has been solid to exceptional, this reads like it was written in a different era, and it comes across as dated and dull as a result. What passes for humor is overly goofy (the "Mr. Pibb" gag), the emotional story is melodramatic and cliched (whether it's Cap's wheelchair-bound friend or the mob-troubled baker) and the super-hero action strains credulity ("thanks for giving us time to set up this airbag"?)
It's generally a good time to be a Marvel fan. Daredevil, Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Avengers, all of these and more are as good as they've been in literally a decade or more. But there are still some spots in which it's painful to be a fan of Marvel's characters, and currently Captain America is a big one.
