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Post by Cei-U! on Aug 27, 2016 7:54:35 GMT -5
It was Roger McKenzie who killed off Sharon Carter in Captain America #233, years after Steve Englehart was taken off the title.
Cei-U!
I summon the blame game!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2016 9:11:30 GMT -5
 "Blood On The Moors" The first page opens the issue right where the last issue stopped: with Blood about to bite Cap's neck! As Cap stands frozen Stern uses Cap's thoughts (I miss thought balloons) to recap last issue. Then Blood bites Cap's neck but the chain mail in his costume breaks Blood's teeth! This breaks the trance & Blood & Cap begin fighting again. Blood gets away & Cap decides to bring in Scotland Yard. Meanwhile Joey Chapman wanders in & Cap accuses him of possibly being a pawn of Blood's. Ken vouches for him & then explains to Joey the history of Blood. He explains Blood is his Great Uncle & how he became Blood after being bitten by Dracula. Also how he fought the Invaders, crushing the legs of Lord Falsworth. And how a blood transfusion from the Human Torch gave his mom her speed powers (which have faded with time). He also talks about his Uncle Brian who became Union Jack II until his death in 1953. And how he has no interest in becoming UJ III. Blood returns home & puts on a disguise - Dr Cromwell! Scotland Yard arrives & searches the town for Blood. Meanwhile Kenneth's girlfriend faints at work from anemia & it is discovered Cromwell has been treating her & she has bite marks on her neck! Then a one page interlude showing Bernie back in NYC cleaning Cap's apt! Steve she was a keeper! Then Cap discovers Lord Falsworth in his old Union Jack costume planning to lure Blood back. Then Lord Falswort has chest pain & Cromwell is called. Cromwell reveals himself to be Blood when alone with Falsworth (who still has UJ mask on). Blood reveals he killed the real Cromwell & assumed his ID. As Blood leans in to bite Union Jack's neck he leaps out of bed. UJ is NOT Lord Falsworth but is someone much younger & fit. Maybe Cap in disguise? No! Cap breaks into the bedroom & Cap, Union Jack & Blood resume fighting thruout the Manor. Finally Cap stops Blood by decapitating him with his shield! Then Jackie & Kenny come into the room as Union Jack unmasks revealing himself to be Joey. Later Lord Falsworth, Jackie, Kenny, Joey & Cap watch as Blood's body & head are cremated separately. His mission done Lord Falsworth silently dies from a heart attack. As they go back into the house the last page is a tribute to England, Union Jack & Frank Robbins (artist who co-created UJ). |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2016 9:16:20 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2016 9:25:12 GMT -5
A very satisfying conclusion to this excellent 2 part story. As I said about part one this story should be required reading for every comic book writer on how to write a story. It was comic book nirvana. The right balance of action, sub plots, mystery, twists all paced well. The art is a bonus. It is clear & vibrant & shows Cap's power. It shows the intensity of the fight scenes & the emotions of the characters as they interact.
I liked how Stern explained things with interludes & flashbacks that felt natural to the pace of the story. Things I miss that are not in modern comics: thought balloons. Secret ID's. The sense of legacy.
I also thought Stern did a great job showing how Union Jack was as much a Legend to England as Cap is to USA.
Well Done!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2016 9:32:36 GMT -5
 The Living Legend The first page is a recreation of Capt America Comics #1. The story opens in the White House in June 1941 as FDR reads the Operation: Rebirth file. This goes on to tell the story we all know on how Cap was created by Dr Erskine & then killed by a German agent. Then FDR puts down that file & picks up a second file Project: Super Soldier. It explains Cap's training & several of his first missions. It explains why he switched from his original half mask with an exposed neck to the full cowl. Then FDR gets to meet Cap in person & he gives Cap his new round shield. He then places Cap at Camp Lehigh as a private where he meets Bucky. Then there is a great 2 page spread summarizing Cap's WWII adventures until he is revived by the Avengers. The last page shows Cap standing as the TV in his apt places the National Anthem. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2016 9:41:43 GMT -5
  In the letters page it explained this story didn't immediately follow the last issue. It was printed directly from Bryne's pencils to give it an old fashioned look. This was very unusual at that time. As far as the story itself it was a typical Anniversary issue. It recapped Cap's origin with some minor additions. It was enjoyable but I knew Cap's origins & I wanted to get to the Red Skull story... |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2016 9:49:12 GMT -5
Cap #256 was by Bill Mantlo & Gene Colan. It took place in England so I just assumed it was a planned fill in. But when #257 was another fill in I knew we would never see the Red Skull story. I didn't know why Marvel had replaced the creative team. Decades later I read an interview with Stern who said the Red Skull story was to be in #257-259. He never said what #256 was supposed to be. Here is a link to a story about Cap #257 with 6 pages of art. Cap #257 |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2016 9:53:57 GMT -5
This run may be my favorite Cap story of all time. It holds up today & as I said several times in my posts modern writers should study these stories to learn how to write a good comic book story. Thanks to Roger & John for creating this awesome piece of work.
For those of you that haven't read this run it is collected in a trade titles "War and Remembrance". |
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Post by MDG on Sept 1, 2016 10:56:25 GMT -5
...It was printed directly from Bryne's pencils to give it an old fashioned look. This was very unusual at that time.... If they really wanted to give it an "old fashioned." as in real 1940s comic, look, they should've had different people inking faces, figures, and backgrounds--as fast as possible. |
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Post by Prince Hal on Sept 1, 2016 12:20:03 GMT -5
This run may be my favorite Cap story of all time. It holds up today & as I said several times in my posts modern writers should study these stories to learn how to write a good comic book story. Thanks to Roger & John for creating this awesome piece of work.
For those of you that haven't read this run it is collected in a trade titles "War and Remembrance". Nicely done, md. I was not an avid cap reader, but these issues jumped out at you from the newsstand, and I enjoyed all of them. Like the Engelhart-Rogers-Austin run on Detective, the stars aligned perfectly with these creators and this characetr. And like that Detective run, this one was all too brief. It's almost as if runs like these serve as reminders of what a particualr character truly is and can be. Such great moments could no longer be sustained, however. By 1981 the days of creators working on their characters for decades, like Eisner and Cole and Kirby were long gone. This nine-issue stretch was an excellent glimpse of why Captain America is such an iconic character. Man, that Red Skull story sounds as if it would have been a winner, too! Thanks again, md! |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2016 12:33:23 GMT -5
Like the Engelhart-Rogers-Austin run on Detective, the stars aligned perfectly with these creators and this character. This nine-issue stretch was an excellent glimpse of why Captain America is such an iconic character. Man, that Red Skull story sounds as if it would have been a winner, too! Thanks again, md! I agree with these points you made. And thank you for the kind words. It was fun sharing this with everyone. |
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Post by Cei-U! on Sept 1, 2016 14:13:56 GMT -5
Really nice overview of one of my favorite Captain America runs. The mediocrity of the title post-Kirby had led me to drop the book so I missed the Stern/Byrne era, not rejoining the title until the early DeMatteis/Zeck run. When I did ventualy pick them up, I loved them for all the reasons md has laid out so eloquently. Well done, Mr. 62!
Cei-U!
I summon the accolades!
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Post by rberman on Mar 8, 2018 7:38:17 GMT -5
In the letter column another well thought out letter by Kurt Busiek who really likes the new direction in Cap. Stern answers him & also notes the recent increase of story pages from 17 to 22. Next issue: Cap goes to the UK & reunites with some of the UK Invaders. Busiek had letters published in several Marvel comics. At what point were these done as a Marvel employee rather than just a random fan? |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2018 7:58:14 GMT -5
In the letter column another well thought out letter by Kurt Busiek who really likes the new direction in Cap. Stern answers him & also notes the recent increase of story pages from 17 to 22. Next issue: Cap goes to the UK & reunites with some of the UK Invaders. Busiek had letters published in several Marvel comics. At what point were these done as a Marvel employee rather than just a random fan? At the time this run was published Busiek was 19-20 yrs old & in college. His first comics work came 3 years later in 1983. |
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Post by rberman on Mar 8, 2018 8:07:52 GMT -5
Busiek had letters published in several Marvel comics. At what point were these done as a Marvel employee rather than just a random fan? At the time this run was published Busiek was 19-20 yrs old & in college. His first comics work came 3 years later in 1983. OK. Because I thought I recalled that even in 1980, he was giving insider input as to how to resurrect Jean Grey. The Baron Blood issues were the only Cap I read in the 80s, and I didn't know Byrne from Brunner at the time, but I remember being impressed. It was a story deep in continuity and yet completely intelligible to a kid, with a good mix of action and characterization. Now that I've read the whole Stern/Byrne series as an adult, I still find those two issues the most compelling, perhaps because I'm often drawn to "twilight of life" stories. |
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