On the surface, Superpatriot is a straight-forward super-hero adventure, with overtones that almost make it feel like an old school Marvel or DC title. Kirkman is not shying away from Superpatriot's role as the Captain America analog of Erik Larsen's universe, and he's toned down his wacky sense of humor quite a bit from Battle Pope. However, when you look at it from a different angle, Kirkman has inserted some sly humor and commentary on the characters, and the hero vs. villain plot has actually been in the background for most of the story. Meanwhile, Walker continues to impress on artwork, and I look forward to seeing what this team will do on Image's Invincible next year.
While Alan Moore got plenty of mileage out of "homages" to Superman in his Supreme run, in general I'm not crazy about the trend to slap a new coat of paint on a character and call them something else. Kirkman's flashback sequence this issue, featuring the Avengers (let's be honest), sort of put me off, because I can read the actual characters in Avengers or a modernized take on them in the Ultimates... why do I need to read second generation copies? Kirkman explores some interesting ideas around these characters, notably the fifties-style marriage that Maggie and Jim share and Johnny's reaction to that, but I would have rather seen less of an "homage" to Marvel characters and more of an original take on this kind of thing. There's definitely interesting material there.
More entertaining, as well as more original, storytelling can be found in the action plot of this issue, which finds Superpatriot and his son tracking down his missing daughter. The climax is a great and funny payoff, and provides a little of that goofy slapstick that I've come to know and love in Kirkman's Battle Pope work. I also enjoyed seeing the exploration of how Superpatriot handled the Vietnam War protests, a reality check that Marvel was too safe to explore with Captain America in any depth. Shame it only lasted a page or two.
As with the rest of the series, the background plot is Brainape re-taking control of his organization and preparing to destroy his arch-enemy Superpatriot. This is classic, some might even say stale, super-hero stuff, as the build-up of antagonism between an ungrateful Brainape and a loyal castoff Baron Blitzkrieg predicts the ending, but the dialogue that carries the story is a lot of fun, and Walker's designs for the villains, the goons and the weaponry are terrific.
Actually, Walker's work throughout is great. His style carries elements of both of Superpatriot's "daddies," Erik Larsen and Dave Johnson, with detail that belongs to the latter and bombastic storytelling from the former. I'm also enjoying the coloring work on the book, such as the sepia tones that set aside the flashback sequences and the flat but not dull colors that give the modern sequences a classic look.
