Written by: Rick Remender
Illustrations: John Romita, Klaus Janson
Coloring: Dean White
Publisher: Standaard Uitgeverij
Captain America #001 – Comic Book Review
Captain America, the most zealous hero of the Avengers has had his fair share of troubles in his prolonged life. Nonetheless, he continues to pick himself up, diving into battle headfirst hoping he can make a difference, making the world a safer place. Even though he has been frozen for many years, losing pretty much everyone he once knew, he is conflicted on whether he should focus on a private life outside of his Avengers career, or a life where there is no room for these distractions. Well, it seems that question will soon fade to the background in this first bundled edition of the Captain America comic book series currently being re-published by the Standaard Uitgeverij.
When Steven Rogers is considering building up a life with his sweetheart, Sharon, he is still doubtful that he would prove to be a worthy partner, as well as able to open up to a normal life, outside his mask as Captain America. Sadly, this line of thought is interrupted when Steven gets dragged into Dimension Z, an eerie alternative dimension where Arnim Zola resides. Arnim Zola is the typical example of a mad scientist, as he experiments with humans in order to create the perfect human being, and it’s clear that he underwent many modifications of his own.
Seeing Captain America is the perfect example of a modified human being that possesses a great advantage over all normal humans and certain mutants, Zola has entrapped Steven in order to learn his secret(s) and gain new knowledge to improve himself and his modified monsters once again. Oddly enough Zola has ‘created’ himself a pair of children, to serve as his personal tools. When Steven is able to break free, he takes Zola’s infant son with him. Now it’s a matter of survival in a strange dimension, where everything is out for blood.
The flow of this bundle is quite pleasant, everything is getting built up in a very enjoyable pace, with enough action intertwined during everything that is going on. To take a small breather from the hostile Dimension Z, you’ll see snippets of Steven’s childhood, which shows how his character was slowly molded into the man he is today.
Rick Remender does a great job writing a story of Captain America outside his own comfort zone. You’ll be treated to a hero who always does the right thing, who is slowly broken down to simply survive, slowly compromising his own values.
John Romita and Klaus Janson put down some hefty illustrations that truly set the mood of a dark and gritty dimension. The mood setting environments sometimes sacrifice certain details, which might make it even more convincing. The color palette used by Dean White is rather bland and gritty, making the experience feel even more grim.
Conclusion
Captain America #001 is a great series to be bundled, especially this tale about the hero fighting off enemies in a very strange and hostile world. He’ll have to take care of a child he saved, whilst still hoping to survive, get home and leave all of this behind. The snippets of Steven’s childhood will even allow those who are unfamiliar with the source material to join in on the fun.
Captain America #001 - Comic Book Review,
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