Customer Reviews

Captain America Volume 1: The New Deal HC (Captain America (Quality Paper))

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This wasn't a bad read. The art and the scripting are pretty solid. However, this book demonstrates the dangers of attempting to say something politically relevant in a mainstream super-hero comic, because *everybody* seems to have decided they're going to be offended by it. The conservatives are whining about how "anti-American" the book is, while the liberals are grousing because the book is filled with pro-Bush "propoganda."

If you can take a healthy dose of realism, even when it's uncomfortable, without getting your panties in a wad because your favorite political position may be shown as (GASP!) flawed, then you might enjoy this book. If, on the other hand, you're too thin-skinned to think about unpleasant realities like an adult, then 1) avoid this book, and 2) get over yourself. Please.

John Cassady is one of the most talented superhero artists outside of Alex Ross. It is VERY unfortunate that the story that accompanies his art is so bad.

This book is a shining example of: "Great art does not a comic book make". The story revolves around Captain Americas activities after 9-11 of 2001. It shifts, with little explanation, from one series of events to another. There is WAY too much exposition between scenes which makes for a very boring read.

The story is very manipulative and requires too much suspension of disbelief, even for a world with superheroes. The master villain is not a fanatic Muslim but simply wants revenge on the world for his disfigurement. The terrorists seem to move at will across the country. Highly unlikely with the high alert status. Cap fails to remember that in Dresden, Hitler deliberately placed a command infrastructure among civilians to use them as human shields. Therefore, the analogy between 911 and the Dresden bombing is false. Also, what was the point of Cap removing his mask for the cameras? He had no reason to apologize for killing Al-Tariq. The man was about to detonate a series of bombs that would kill everyone in town. In that situation, pulling your punches does nothing to help the hostages. And does anyone believe that a town with a factory that makes bomb components would only have about 600 people?
I'm not buying that the shrill wife in the church didn't know what her husband's job was and if she found it so horrible, why did it become okay when he told her it was only components instead of complete bombs?
Again, brilliant art but the writer has turned Cap into a guilt-ridden charicature. Based on this, I see no reason to even look at Red, White, and Black.

You might have thought that in a world of rampant cynicism and anti-Americanism, at least you could turn to Captain America for a little relief from the ubiquitous "blame America first" crowd.

Not anymore. Political correctness has truly infected everything, even Cap. I'm sure the leftist writers of this revisionist storyline were giggling the whole time as they subverted the last bastion of old-fashioned jingoistic patriotism.

The storyline is as boring as this: post-9/11 terrorists convince Captain America that we had it coming. But that's not the worst part. I would forgive them the revisionism if they at least turned out an exciting story. But they get way too preachy, with lengthy, sleep-inducing lectures on the evils of America punctuating the action.

It's nothing we haven't heard before. But we only get one side of the story, as Captain America merely scratches his head in response to the terrorists' propaganda. This wasn't the case in the '40s or '50s, when Cap had a clever retort for every attempt by the Nazis or other foes to convince him to switch sides.

No one in these comics ever offers a word of rebuttal to the stream of lefwing cliches. Al-Tariq tells Cap: "I am not a terrorist. I am a messenger - here to show you the truth of war. YOU ARE THE TERRORISTS!"

The old Cap would have uttered a witty reply, and then kicked his rear. Instead, the new Cap actually takes the terrorist's tirade to heart.

There's nothing more dull than a one-sided debate. Instead of "Crossfire," we get a Noam Chomsky lecture. Yawn.

This HC compiles the first six issues of the new Captain America series. It begins with Steve Rogers (AKA Cap) sifting through the rubble of the World Trade Center, and follows his efforts to come to grips with a new kind of enemy for the 21st century. The terrorists he faces are the product of America's own dealings in foriegn countries. The wars we have fought have left seeds behind which come to fruition in the present in the forms of young suicide bombers and fanatic killers -something the smiling Joe Simon character and his faithful pal Bucky could never have concieved of in the forties. While the writer does script some very great moments (particularly in one scene where Cap literally deflects the attack of a grief-charged white man on an innocent Muslim American -seeing Cap's shield make its first appearance here will give you chills), I think the strong start he has in the first part of the book kind've peters out in the second. After some great ethical/moral issues are considered, the plot pits Cap against terrorists which seem more like Hydra agents. Boys who have lost their arms and legs to leftovoer mines in their own country have cybernetic implants now that allow them to attack Cap, there is a plot about terrorists taking over a small town to bate him, and finally an all out brawl in Dresden with a kind of super-terrorist. The baddies are all equipped with state of the art gear, which I think is a little misleading. The truth is, the suicide bombers aren't a match for Captain America (considering also that he IS a metaphor for America itself). They don't have sophisticated weaponry and laser sights and fighter aircraft. They are simple, usually poor men pushed to a mental/emotional extremity by their own economic and political oppression. Depicting them as superspies kind've negates the message I got from the superior first half of the story. In the end, the enemy becomes as cardboard as the Nazis, Fifth Columnists and `Japs' Cap was pummeling in the 40's. In the end the drama is lessened. However, there are some fantastic moments scattered throughout the book -evidence of good writing, but bad plotting.

The art is fantastic. Captain America has never looked better. The detail is admirable. The artist has thankfully remembered Cap's shirt is composed of scale male - and we see each individual scale as he moves and fights. When he leaps off a rooftop, we see the breeze flapping the cuffs of his boots. There is a lot of realism in the art. We believe these characters exist. When Cap unmasks, the look in his eyes conveys solid emotion. When the Lieutenant at the army base salutes Cap and Cap tells him `I'm not an officer, son,' and the Lieutenant says `I know who you are, sir.' We can almost feel the admiration resonating from the younger man's face. When Cap and Nick Fury have a brief tussle, Nick has to readjust his eyepatch. Little details like this (wether specified in the script or solely the work of the artist) make this well worth the read for any Captain America fan. The extras in the back of the book provide some good insight into the creation process, both in application and conception. Overall worth the price, but I wish the story had been more consistent.

Now first i would like to say i am not some patriot whowill bash anything said bad about my country, and i find you must always keep an eye on the government..now on to the review.

This story was just horrible in many way, we have captain america more as an icon than a man, we don't see steve rogers the man like we once did but just the image and that can be very boring.

the story is very one sided in how it says america is at fault for so much, terrorists attack a town that makes weapons, he rants about how america has down so so much harm, a woman looks at her husband and is upset to find he makes weapons at the local plant, like she did not know? or that makes him bad for finding a job?

where is the rebuttle? we see it's all one sided, all i ask is maybe cap or some one speak back and make their case..but no the message is clear in the comic.

so we get a boring story that tries to shove in our face how america is so badand we shoudl all hang our heads in shame? sorry but this is not my kind of story.

i don't want a overly patriotic cap but i don't like this extreme either.

but the art is stunning, i just wish the story could be as good.

Published at the zenith of the "Hawk" mentality commonly prevalent at the height of "9/11" fever, this book bravely tried to add some gradation to the subject of the "war on terror", then a very black and white issue with most Americans who were (understandably) still stinging from the Sept. 11 attacks.

However, like another reviewer pointed out, the story tries to be all things to all people; solutions to the valid questions the story touches upon (appealing to the left-to-moderate crowd) are often of the a**-kicking variety (playing to the far-right "shoot first, ask questions later" crowd), ultimately establishing a contradictory tone for this graphic novel.

Also, there is an air of self-importance that permeates the story; that combined with a lack of humor makes this tale a bit of a drag at times (again, keeping in tone with the somber mood of the early-to-middle 2000's, I suppose).

John Cassady's artwork is terrific. Expressive, dramatic and compelling, Mr. Cassady's filmic yet painterly artwork in this series is beautifully done; his Captain America is somewhat evocative of Kevin Maguire's artistic take on Cap in the wonderful "The Adventures of Captain America, Sentinel of Liberty" mini-series back in the early 1990's.

All in all, it's definitely a worthy read, and this book will stand as an interesting time-capsule of America in the "9/11" era.

P.S., please ignore all of the far-right nuts who are whining about this book being "lefty propaganda", as it is complete B.S.
These "Fox News folks" have all the nuance of a "Dirty Harry" toy action figure... and are about as smart as one, too.

This is a collection of the first 6 issues of Marvel's new Captain America series and it is a beauty. John cassady's art is breathtaking, I want to see his work alot more. His version of Captain America is perfect down to each individually drawn scale on caps armored shirt. John Ney Riebers writing is also spot on the money. I won't spoil it for you but the first page of issue 1 sent chills down my spine! You know after the first page this is not a normal Captain America comic book. This book covers all sorts of big issues brought up by the 9-11 attacks and Cap tackles them head on never ducking the issue. When a rescue worker asks cap where he was during the attack caps only answer is "I wasn't there" echoing the helplessness we all felt. The writing style is sparse at times but it definitely makes an impact on you and it is a case where less is more. Cassady's artwork itself almost tells the story at times, the sign of a truly great artist. Captain America is not usually one of my favorite heroes but this book made me love him. Captain America is a leading character in the Marvel universe and John Ney Rieber and John Cassady have done him proud.

This was just fantastic, it had great art, though with a story like this you won't be caught up gazing at the pictures. The artwork is just amazing (though I thought they made the chainmail in Caps shirt too overstated,) the story keeps you turning the pages. It begins on Sept 12th, Cap is obviously upset, and a little lost, but he battles through and beats up some terrorists, and he does it without being jingoistic and laughable (because I've read Cap comics where he's just a joke.) Overall though, this is a great comic which everyone will get a kick out of.

TO begin with: great book. Here, not only do we see a slightly different side of Cap, but we also see him reacting to a very real occurance which we all had to deal with not too long ago.

In dealing with the catastrophe we commonly refer to as 9/11, cap is there, at the site, and he refuses to leave, to the point where he slams Fury into a wall and basically tells him where he can stick his mission.

From the POV of a soldier...we see a very cool Cap here...this is definately one of my favorites