Customer Reviews

Captain America: To Serve and Protect

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ok, to be fair, I don't actually own this particular trade paperback. I bought all the original issues (including variant covers, 'cause I'm a sucker for Cap). But this book collects Captain America Volume 3 (don't ask) issues #1 through #8. It's a great run, too. Mark Waid does a better job with Cap than any author I've ever read. He strikes a fine balance between American Icon, and the guy who says stuff like "Golly" and "Jeepers". Really makes Cap seem like a real person. A sub-plot of Cap's shield get's started in issue #2 and it's conclusion in issue #19 or so is obviously missing, but it's great all the same. If you like Cap, or even if you're only mildly interested, this is the single trade paperback I would recommend. Well, maybe "Man Without a Country", too... But trust me, I've got a collection of Cap that dates back to the WWII stuff, and this is some of the finest material you will find.

To Serve and Protect reprints Captain America, vol. 3 (1998) issues #1-7. The trade paperback edition from 2002 is printed on high quality glossy paper and, overall, looks pretty good despite a lackluster front and back cover. It contains no editorial information at all, however; even original in-issue editorial content (such as titles, credits, and references) have been removed. Worse still, there are no reproductions of the original comic book covers.

The new Marvel Premiere edition (available for pre-order now) will almost certainly restore the covers, as well as the in-issue editorial content. Like other Premiere editions, it should also feature introductions by the writer Mark Waid (whose name is curiously missing from the original trade paperback) and/or other contributors.

As for the story, it's fun but not particularly memorable. Skrull fans will be pleased by yet another infiltration plot. Hawkeye makes an enjoyable cameo in issue 4. The art, however, is surprisingly good, with pencils by Ron Garney, Dale Eaglesham, and Andy Kubert.

Continuity-wise, the storyline here takes place immediately after Captain America, vol. 2, collected in Heroes Reborn: Captain America. The storyline that follows this collection begins in vol. 3, issue #8 and is part of a brief Avengers cross-over involving the Kree; it can be found in the trade paperback, Avengers: Supreme Justice (Marvel Comics). The remainder of vol. 3 can be found in the Marvel Premiere Edition hardcover, Captain America: American Nightmare, available in June, 2011. (Note: The American Nightmare graphic novel will also contain issue #8 but none of the tie-in issues from other series).

I am a Mark Waid fan: Kingdom Come, Irredeemable/Incorruptible, Operation: Rebirth, American Nightmare... I've enjoyed them all. So, I was looking forward to reading this book. Maybe my expectations were too high, or maybe the story hasn't aged as well as some of the others, but this is not my favorite piece of his work.

One note for people who are not familiar with the Marvel runs of the 1980s/1990s: This book takes place after the Heroes Reborn story line, which (as far as I can tell) involved sending Cap and several other heroes to an alternate dimension for a year? Or something? So. That happened. And then this book happened.

*minor plot spoilers below*

One of my biggest gripes from the first half of the book was that the writing was just not good. Specifically: the foreshadowing for particular events (i.e., Cap losing his shield) was not subtle in any way, shape, or form. It was akin to great big anvils falling from the sky, saying, look! I am an anvil! Guess what's going to happen after this bout of exposition?!

Which is not the sort of writing I've come to expect during this particular run on Captain America.

The latter half of the book did start to pull things together in a moderately satisfying way, and I fully applaud the use of Hawkeye, but... I much preferred Operation: Rebirth and American Nightmare over this story.

I too have the paperback issue of this. Somehow it's become one of my favorites. There are some real good parts in this, but many nights my mind passes across the ridiculous subplot of Cap's shield. Again, part of it is good. The electronic shield will do Steve Rogers, Super Soldier, well in the future. But hey! If Cap can (and has) thrown garbage can lids with accuracy, why does a near duplicate of his shield go flying off all over the place, causing the Avengers a few minutes of entertainment until Thor gets cranky. Later on, he too gets his two cents in. And then the original(?) shield gets retrieved and then BREAKS????? Come on! There are some very good parts to this though. Yes, Hawkeye is great, just the big mouth kid he's always been, but then, he too speaks the truth. Honest to golly, I remember when Hawkeye first showed up in the Avengers. He's different but still the same carney. I think the parts where Cap is trying to define who he is, no, not quite that -- But how he summarizes himself and the people of this nation, is pretty darn good.

Nothing spectacular. at some parts even boring. It's worth reading while if you only read one TPB then this shouldn't be it. IT stars Captain America and the terrorist organization known as Hydra in a "personal plot." It's kinda sluggish through the main part of the book but the end portion is worth it. Brings on a good plot twist. The art and highlights drag you in though and is one of the better styles out there. (in my personal opinion). You get a quick glance at a few members of the Avengers too but don't overflow in the story which is nice. Decent read. -I say pick it up. Not becuase its a better one but becuase its a not so good TPB and I personally believe that to have true "Comic Knowledge" one must take in the good with the bad. Not to say that this is a horrible title. (I liked the sheild touch myself also).