REVIEW: Captain America #292

Writer: J.M. DeMatteis
Penciler: Paul Neary
Inker: Ed Baretto
Letterer: Diana Albers
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Review: Will Dubbeld

I wasn’t always a Captain America fan. There was a span of time, in fact, where I found him downright hokey. It probably revolved around the fact Cap, much like Superman, was too pure, too mom and apple pie, too Red, White, and Blue, and a little too, “gee whiz!”, for my taste.
I dunno, I blame dark and gritty Image, or Batman: Year One. Perhaps Midnight Sons attributed...
In any case, my headspace changed. Matured, probably, I realized Captain America and his True Blue nature represented the best we have to offer. Honor and integrity coupled with the moxie and Nazi-punching skill to back it up...

Having neglected the Star-Spangled Avenger for so long, the back-issue bins held the key to Cap’s history, and away I went.

Captain America #292 falls in a sweet spot in the character’s history. He was still maintaining his secret identity as Steve Rogers, residing in a New York apartment and making a living as an artist (an oft-forgotten nuance). The 1950s Bucky, Jack Monroe, was living with him, and Steve was in a serious relationship with Bernie Rosenthal, a fellow artist.
As an aside, I absolutely adore Bernie. She was one of the most fun and well-written supporting characters at the time and still holds up today.

REVIEW: Spidey Super Stories #31

Writer: Kolfax Mingo
Pencils: Winslow Mortimer
Inker: Mike Esposito
Review: Madman

In a dirt mall on the east side of Indy, I pulled this book out of the bowels of a Fila shoebox that had no business holding comics.

I heard angels sing!

I’ve been collecting Spider-Man comics for twenty eight years, give or take a few days, and I’ve only glimpsed a few issues of Spidey Super Stories from afar. I had zero issues in my collection until  this fateful day, and for a buck nonetheless.

Spidey Super Stories are brought to you via a super team-up between Marvel, The Electric Company, and the letter Q.
Seriously though, this is already a winning combo.

Before we even get to the campy goodies within the pages, lets talk about how rad this cover is with Dr. Doom, Moondragon, and Spidey wielding what appears to be a red lightsaber…
Definitely winning.     

REVIEW: American Vampire #1

“Big Break”
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Rafael Albuquerque
Colors: Dave McCaig
Letters: Steve Wands

“Bad Blood”
Writer: Stephen King
Artist: Rafael Albuquerque
Colors: Dave McCaig
Letters: Steve Wands

Review: Art Bee

The Eisner Award for Best New Series in 2010 was awarded to American Vampire, a book coauthored by Scott Snyder and Stephen King, whose back must have been hurting. The world acclaimed Stephen King left the project after the fifth issue and the conclusion of his, “Bad Blood”, arc. Some time ago I was tempted to get onboard with this series but at the time my interest in vampire stories was vamped out. Let’s face it; since the ‘90s we have seen just about every spin on the vampire story able to stick to the wall.
Granted this series was doing something fresh with the genre in looking at new bloodlines of vampires rising up over the course of U.S. history, but it seemed too late to me.

“Big Break” focuses on a young actress in the Roaring 20s, Pearl Jones, as a snapshot of her life before it takes a drastic U-turn.
“Bad Blood” shows us the fateful day a notorious outlaw, Skinner Sweet, was apprehended and taken by train to stand trial for bank robbery, train heists, and murder in 1880. 

REVIEW: Mouse Guard: Winter 1152 #2 (of 6)

Written and Illustrated by David Petersen
Review: Will Dubbeld

Comics about animal people are as old as the medium itself and have always been present. From Hoppy the Marvel Bunny to Captain Carrot, from The Spectacular Spider-Ham to Albedo, Fish Police to Omaha the Cat Dancer, these furrybooks don’t hold a large portion of the market but a loyal one nevertheless.
Walt Disney’s motley crew an obvious exception...

Perhaps childhood exposure to The Secret of NIMH sparked my interest in anthropomorphism and, short of going full-blown furry, I’ve maintained my enthusiasm throughout my life.
These days the comics don’t seem to offer as many titles centered around animal-folk, perhaps the 1980s boom can be attributed to the rise of TMNT, but there’s still some gems to be found.
Amongst them is Mouse Guard.

I picked up a handful of Mouse Guard comics 3 or so years ago for dirt cheap at a Hastings and hadn’t read many of them. Through no fault of the comic, simply the fact it’s far easier to buy comics than find time to read.
Everything comes around in due time, however, and today is Mouse Guard’s lucky day.