Review- SECRET EMPIRE PRELUDE

SECRET EMPIRE PRELUDE (Marvel, First Printing, 2017; Softcover)

Collects Captain America #21, 25, Captain America: Sam Wilson #7 (first story) and 8, Assault On Pleasant Hill: Alpha and Omega, and Captain America: Steve Rogers #1, 2 (cover dates August, 2014- August, 2016)

Writers: Rick Remender and Nick Spencer

Artists: Nic Klein, Carlos Pacheco, Stuart Immonen, Mariano Taibo, Wade von Grawbadger, Jesus Saiz, Daniel Acuna, Angel Unzuenta, Matt Yackey, and Paul Renaud

Colorists: Dean White, Veronica Gandini, Marte Gracia, Dono Sanchez-Almara, and Matthew Wilson

My son checked this out from our local library and wanted to read it with me. I am fortunate to have a library system which has a decent graphic novel section and that gets in many key event books like this. It saves me money, and since I don't buy much in the way of modern Marvel anymore it helps me to at least get a feel for what is going on in the Marvel Universe these days.

This book is double dip city for those of you unfortunate enough to be completists. These issues were mostly collected across various books in a couple of lines. I'm going to leave that fact right there and go forward with this review as a book, leaving my cynical cash grab critique aside.

I found the whole concept of Kobik to be fascinating, but Nick Spenser telegraphs things a mile away with her. Spenser does manage a few twists in spite of this. I enjoyed the build-up and subsequent execution of the Pleasant Hill arc. The Falcon is Captain America for much of this book, as Steve Rogers gets stripped of his Super Soldier Serum by The Iron Nail in the beginning of the book. I don't have a problem with The Falcon as Cap, as Steve Rogers as well as The Winter Soldier/Bucky, also a former Cap, are in tow. The Falcon handles things differently than Rogers, but everyone knows that this was not a permanent change.

All of the modern day doppelganger heroes are involved in the final battle on Pleasant Hill. The new Quasar is revealed, this time a female who is handled the mantle by Wendell Vaughn, the original Quasar (itself a reinvention of Marvel Boy from the 1950s). Will this new Quasar amount to anything? Probably not, since no version of Quasar or Marvel Boy ever made it above C-lister status.

Kobik is used to fix Steve Rogers as Cap as well as restore Sin, the daughter of The Red Skull, back to her former self. Of course anyone with half a brain has figured out who the identity of the woman who has inserted herself into Steve Roger's childhood memories is, and what she is going to do.

Spenser telegraphs everything, but not before stopping to smell the roses with ham-fisted virtue signaling. His attempts to make The Red Skull sounding like Donald Trump misses the mark, as Social Justice Warriors (SJWs) almost always do. SJWs believe that it is wrong to love your country or for people to want jobs to return to America. They are so brainwashed by globalist socialists like Jeff Bezos who have convinced them lower wages and a lower standard of living are a good thing that they label anyone who disagrees with them a racist/sexist/homophobe/etc. There are no absolutes, kids. No one political party is going to save you, and identity politics cost the Democratic Party The White House in 2016. Sorry to disillusion you, but the truth hurts.

All said and done this was an entertaining read with a mixed bag of artwork. I am always very careful to keep my comic critiques to myself when reading these with my son, as I like for him to form his own opinions and tastes on things.

My ten year old son's take: It was good. It didn't use very man swears, so that's good. The storyline was really good. My favorite part was when the alien ( the Iron Nail) stung Captain America and he lost his youth. He was surprised When Father Patrick turned out to be The Red Skull and The fact that Steve got his youth back at the end.

This is his golden age of comics. These will be the stories that he refers to as examples of greatness. These poor kids. Nick Spenser is their good old days. God help us all.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.75 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Library books are always fascinating case studies of the workmanship and durability of the materials used in these books. Most of my books will be read once if they are lucky. Maybe I will donate my whole collection to a library when I am old.

Paper stock: Glossy coated stock.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Laminated coated stock.