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. 

Review- CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE FALCON: SECRET EMPIRE

CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE FALCON: SECRET EMPIRE (Marvel, First Printing, 2005; Softcover)

Collects Captain America #169-176 (cover dates January- August, 1974)

Writers: Steve Englehart and Mike Friedrich

Artists: Sal Buscema with Inking by Vince Colletta and Frank McLaughlin

The recent announcement of a forthcoming new printing of this book in early 2017 embarrassed me into reading this, which has sat unread in my backlog for years. Captain America is a character who was launched as a political concept tied into the zeitgeist, so it makes perfect sense for the character to become disillusioned with America during a time when America became disillusioned with itself. The Viet Nam War and Watergate weighed heavily on the minds of the populace, and the white hat/ black hat nature of our country from three decades earlier had faded. We were no longer in the right, and our then-brave new world left Captain America feeling lost at sea.

Things start out with Cap catching a commercial on the television discrediting him, paid for by the Committee To Regain America's Principles. In reality they are the Secret Empire. The Secret Empire baits Cap into action, setting him up in fights with Silver Age C-lister the Tumbler, going so far as to film Cap “murdering” him. The Committee, who speaks out against costumed vigilantes, bring in their own “hero” to fight on the side of the law, Moonstone. This would be the original, male Moonstone, whom I had no idea existed until I read this. Cap gets arrested by Moonstone while his partner, The Falcon, journeys to Wakanda to visit the Black Panther to see about boosting his power. The Falcon did not yet have his trademark wings. Those debuted in #170.

The Secret Empire again frames Cap, this time by breaking him out of prison and arranging for Moonstone to again fight and apprehend him. The Falcon returns just in time to join in on this battle, but both heroes get defeated and captured. They end up escaping and, using one of the most insane set of clues ever, use Moonstone's drawl and country music references to stereotype him as a Nashville resident. I'm not a very politically correct guy, but isn't this kind of racist to assume that just because someone has a drawl and references country music that they would be from Nashville? I dunno, this century confuses me. Maybe it is a micro-aggression or a macro-aggression. Who knows.

While in Nashville Cap and the Falcon run into the then-villain Banshee, who was being tailed by The X-Men. Professor X, Cyclops, and Marvel Girl were also hot on the tail of the Secret Empire. In some convoluted, it-makes-sense-because-everyone-was-high-in-1974 kind of way, the Secret Empire were capturing mutants to use their brain energy to power some bizarre machine. This being the Cold War, there is of course some giant robot for our heroes to fight.

The heroes win the battle but lose the war. Captain America is so disheartened with how easily the public turned against him, wishing to believe the worst about him, that he decides to quit being Captain America. This sets the stage for the next book in this line, Nomad, which I have also now read and will be reviewing for you soon.

I have always enjoyed Englehart's writing, and Sal Buscema turns in his usual solid work. The Bronze Age of comics is often maligned by modern fans for it's overly wordy nature. I enjoy this full-bodied flavor of storytelling to the wimpy, watered down light taste of modern comics. Your mileage may vary.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.5 out of 5.

The OCD zone

Linework and Color restoration: Some issues look better than others, but overall this is a serviceable restoration job with the original color palette maintained for the most part.

Paper stock: Glossy coated stock. While not optimal for material with flat coloring, it isn't too bad when read in natural light. Marvel used paper like this until 2006.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Laminated cardstock cover.