You're probably not going to find a bigger Captain America fan around here, and even I like Sam Wilson as Captain America.  We live in an America that currently has its first black president (all claims by Bill Clinton to that title to the contrary) and is on the verge of having its first female running for president for one of the big two parties.  

Captain America is a symbol, and for years, Steve Rogers served in that role, except, of course, for the multiple times that he quit and was replaced by other individuals.  Why not a black man as Captain America now, whose upbringing and experiences are certainly different than Steve Rogers but actually are more similar to many people who are alive today?  I can't imagine too many folks still reading comic books who identify with the life experiences of a guy who grew up poor and sickly during the Depression, but there are lots of people who can identify with someone who came out of humble beginnings, maybe being overlooked or forced into a secondary role, until given the opportunity (in this case, when Steve was aged) to step up and take over.  

The original premise of the Sam Wilson-led book, before it got sidetracked with crossovers and whatnot, was to have Sam focus on the little guy, the person that was seemingly below the notice of someone important like a superhero, and work on that part of America.  It's an interesting concept, and while I don't feel like they've put enough focus on that to date, it could certainly be a workable premise to carry a book.  

DC in the early 90s were complacent and had no spark?  Seriously?  Sandman, Animal Man, the beginning of Vertigo and Helix and Milestone and Paradox Press, triangle era Superman, Jones Green Lantern books, Waid Flash, Ostrander/Yale Suicide Squad, JLI...

I certainly get what you're saying, and at the same time, I see it from another angle.

Sam became Captain America because there was no one Steve felt embodied the symbol more than Sam.  Steve knew, in his diminished physical capacity, that he could no longer be the symbol that America needed, and that there was a man who, yes, had already built his own reputation as a hero but who would be a worthy successor and would represent America proudly as Steve once had.  

When Steve announced Sam as the next Captain America, he refers to Sam as a "man I love with all my heart", and I think that is the difference.  Steve had fought beside him and struggled beside him and saw him as an equal, not as a sidekick, and he knew Sam would uphold the same ideals that Steve did as Cap.  Sure, Sam could have stayed as the Falcon and he would have been a hero as he had always been, but he would not be a symbol to the nation; he would just be another guy in a costume, like Hawkeye or Spidey.  It was not done to diminish what Sam had accomplished as the Falcon but rather to recognize and honor it.

Is anybody on this forum reading Dark Knight III: The Master Race? I've been seeing it for months, but I figured I could wait until it's all been collected and I can get it from the library.

But I've been going to the comic shop almost on a weekly basis lately, and I keep seeing the posters for it, and I keep getting more and more curious. On those weeks where only one or two of my comics come out, I've been trying out some mini-series (like Harley's Gang of Harleys and Kong of Skull island) and I picked up #10 of Alan Moore's Providence. And I picked up a few recent issues of Astro City.

So I decided to start reading Dark Knight III. My comic shop is missing #2 and #3, so I picked up #1 and #4 (I'll get #5 the next time there's a slow week). I read the first issue and I really liked it! And I loved the little mini-comic hidden within its pages!

I started to read #4 because I don't usually worry too much about reading things out of order. I read them as I get them and then, when I have every issue of the storyline, I'll read them again, this time in order. But I decided to just hang on and wait until I have #2 and #3. I'll get them at some point.

It seems to be about the problem of the bottle city of Kandor. The Atom has found a way to restore Kandor to it original size! But this presents a problem when the people of Kandor, now with super-powers, decide they are a master race and must enslave the Earthlings. Because that's what all Kryptonians do in every DC Comics-related project nowadays.

It's a clichéd idea that I've seen bungled over and over in recent years, but there is room for somebody doing it right, and that's a lot more likely to happen in a comic book than in a movie or on television.

I liked the first issue a lot! Did I say that already?

Here's the latest installment on what this old fan thinks of new comics.

DC's Rebirth is now into its fourth month, so I've had time to give some of these comics a chance and to decide whether or not I really hated them as much as I thought I did for the first few issues.



Wonder Woman - I want to start positive, so I'll review Wonder Woman first. With the possible exception of Black Widow, Wonder Woman is my favorite monthly comic book right now.

I was a little dubious at first. I didn't like the Rebirth issue, and I found much to dislike in the first two regular issues. The first origin issue was very slow, as well as a rather uninteresting rehash of the origin we've seen before. And I don't much like Steve Trevor. I find him to be one of the blandest supporting characters in the DC Universe.

Then there's the Etta Candy problem. Etta Candy used to be a fascinating character. But at some point in the late 1950s, DC issued a strict edict that she could never be interesting again. The Rebirth Etta is very disappointing. If you're not going to use Etta, don't call her Etta. And the DC Universe already has Amanda Waller. Rebirth: Wonder Woman's Etta is merely Amanda Waller's much more polite sister.

I also wasn't too keen on the first "modern-day" story. In addition to Trever and Etta, I also now have to get used to a new Barbara Minerva Cheetah. Is this the third or the fourth Barbara Minerva Cheetah? It hasn't been so long ago that I finally got used to the New 52 Barbara Minerva.

But this is what comics are today. You start over again every five years or so, for some reason, good or bad. You either judge each new version on its own merits or you just give up and stop following the latest adventures of your favorite characters.

So I kept reading it and everything except Etta has grown on me. I’m especially pleased with the characterization of Steve Trevor. This is the best version of Trevor I've ever seen. And I've very quickly come to like these versions of Barbara Minerva and the Cheetah quite a bit. I'm a major fan of the old Priscilla Rich version of the Cheetah. She was a tough act to follow, but Debbie Domaine did her best, and she's long been a character I love beyond all objective measures of her actual merits. But this latest version of the Cheetah has taken the character in a new and exciting direction and quickly swept away my initial doubts. She's no Priscilla Rich. That's a tough act to follow. But I think I'm finally enthusiastic about Barbara Minerva instead of just doing my best to get used to her.



Detective Comics – This is growing on me. A little. I keep wishing it was a little better. I still think Orphan is a dumb name. And I still think Clayface is a bad fit, mostly because he's not a very good character in the first place. You'd think picking and choosing characteristics from the three previous versions of Clayface would result in a great character. No, actually, you wouldn't.

I see some potential for the basic idea of a Batman Family SWAT team trained by Batwoman, but I'm not really that impressed so far. The art's good. And most of the interactions involving Batman, Batwoman, Spoiler and/or Red Robin show that this could be a really good comic. But this first mission against Batwoman's father has been a non-starter for me. I get the impression that he's going to be a regular foe, and I don't like that a bit.

The cross-over, "Night of the Monster Men," is looking pretty entertaining. I have a feeling the coming issue of Detective Comics will be my favorite issue of Rebirth Detective Comics so far because I liked the first two issues of the cross-over so much. I found Clayface a lot less annoying than usual for one thing.

There's no shame in being the third-best version of this story.



Batgirl – I like this so far. I will be happy when she's back in Gotham because Barbara is such a Gotham girl. But they've made good use of the Far East setting so far, giving the reader a taste of Japan in the earliest issues and, hopefully, the coming Singapore setting will be good too. And I like the subplot about the Japanese batgirl.



Batgirl and the Birds of Prey – So far so good. Batgirl has banded together with Black Canary, the mysterious Huntress and the GCPD to track down a cyber-criminal who's using the name Oracle. It's OK. I miss Starling. But if seeing her means that she's a completely new character with the same name then I'm OK with her absence.

That's all I'm reading in the Rebirth line. I got the first issue of Green Arrow and I didn't like it. I am so completely not interested in a storyline about Oliver Queen's business managers ripping off his company and framing him for their crimes. Snore. And I got a free copy of Green Lantern #1 in one of my eBay packages, but I forgot about it for most of the summer and I only recently read it. I kind of liked it and I see some potential, but the Green Lantern franchise has become rather unwieldy and I'm not sure I want to jump on the wagon after missing so many issues.

Other DC Comics I'm getting:



Harely Quinn & Her Gang of Harleys – I love the idea of Harley but I'm not really too keen on most of her comics book appearances. Just before the New 52 ended, I would occasionally read the Harley Quinn series while browsing at Barnes and Noble, but I really didn't like it too much.

I saw Harley Quinn & Her Gang of Harleys at the comic-book store and I decided to give it a try. Since it's a limited series (six issues), it wouldn't be such an onerous commitment if it turned out to be terrible.

I liked it at first, but six issues is about two issues too long. There's only one issue left and I don't really care that much about what happens. But I'll pick it up just to complete the set.



Doom Patrol – I got the first issue a few days ago and I love it! Very strange. And I have no idea what's going on. I'm planning on sticking with it.



Dark Knight III: The Master Race – I started buying this a few weeks ago, picking up issues on the slow weeks when only a few of my regular comics come out. I've only read the first two issues. (I ordered #3 from Midtown Comics because my local shop didn't have it. Have you seen the variant commissioned by Midtown? That’s the one I ordered. So cool.) I love this so far. It's great to see Carrie Kelly again! It makes me want to get The Dark Knight Strikes Back from the library again. I can hardly wait to get #3 so I can read #4 and #5 and I hope we don't have to wait months and months for #6!



Astro City – I wasn't buying this regularly but I picked up the last four issues over the last six weeks or so. I especially like the Jazzbaby! I haven't really decided if I'm going to keep getting the series. But it's nice to know it's there, and on a regular basis it looks like! The latest issue announced that there's something special planned for #41 (I think) because that's the official 100th issue of Astro City if you add up all the issues in every incarnation of the series. So I think I'll be sticking around for that at least.

Moving on to Marvel Comics:



Black Widow – This is so good! I’ve been meaning to read all the issues so far in one sitting because that will really highlight just how good it is. I've loved the Black Widow for such a long time! I think 1975 was the first time I saw her. It's so nice to see a Black Widow series getting the care and attention it deserves!



Squadron Supreme – I'm going to drop this as soon as the current storyline ends. I did like the appearance by the Inhumans. But this series is some very mediocre super-hero antics with great art and lots of barely-developed and rather gratuitous guest-stars. I've been reading it because of Thundra, but Robinson is just doing nothing interesting with the character. I'm embarrassed that I followed along for 12 issues!

And I'm getting a few independent comics:



Kong of Skull Island – I saw this on one of the slow weeks. It's a six-issue limited series about King Kong! So what the heck, I said. I have mixed feelings. It's really really silly. It's about the Pacific Islanders that live on some dots of land not too far from Skull Island. They've selectively bred a race of giant gorillas that they pit against each other in ritual combat. Nearby Skull Island (relatively nearby, I should say) is inhabited by fearsome dinosaurs! When their own island is destroyed by an earthquake and an erupting volcano, the natives flee (with some of their giant apes) and the nearest land is … Skull Island!

Only three issues have come out so far. It's kind of fun. The art's very pretty to look at but I can't always tell what's going on.

I'm guessing this series will explain how Kong ended up as the last giant ape on an island of dinosaurs and the follow-up will explain how black tribesman from Africa were blown across the Indian Ocean to Skull Island and then wiped out the Pacific Islanders.



Providence – A twelve-issue limited series by Alan Moore about H.P. Lovecraft. I only have #10 but it was really great! I had it for two or three weeks before I read it all. Lots of words and great art. I don't know about the rest of the series, but #10 had a scene that many might find disturbing enough to preclude any interest in the rest of the series.



Weird Love – This is an anthology of goofy romance stories from old comic books. These stories are hilarious! I only got the most recent issue (#14) and it seems to come out somewhat irregularly five or six times a year. I'll probably be picking it up when I see it.

The library got a few of the hardcover collections from the New 52 era. None of them were anything that looked that exciting to me.

The next time I was at the library, I shrugged my shoulders and pulled out Zero Year - Dark City pretty much at random. It reprints New 52 Batman #25 to #27, #29 to #33.

It's not very good. It's just one bad idea after another with Batman being irritable and mean for no real reason (which was already a tired cliché by 2014) and lots of painful dialogue.

The Riddler is the villain. It's a grandiose scheme using a lot of deus machine science secrets to turn Gotham into a wilderness for some reason. It's a pretty bad re-imagining of the Riddler.

Another really awful element is the flashback to a whole bunch of things that happened earlier in the day that Bruce Wayne's parents were killed. Bruce Wayne played hooky from school and went to the movies where he was apprehended by Lt. James Gordon, newly arrived from Chicago and not yet savvy to how awful the GCPD is. He's working truancy duty. He drives around with Bruce in the back seat and makes a bunch of stops. At one of the stops somebody throws a nice new, expensive, custom-made jacket in the police car. As an adult Bruce realized it was a payoff and that Gordon was corrupt. (Bruce was wrong.)

Later, after dropping off Bruce with his parents, Gordon goes back to the tailor shop, where there's illegal dogfighting. And a bunch of cops of there, cheering and betting on the dogs. Gordon threatens to break it up and they throw him to the dogs. He survives and they laugh it off, saying that if he tells anyone, they'll make sure his wife and his kids will be fed to the dogs.

The whole book is wall-to-wall bad.

It's surprising. Writer Scott Snyder also wrote some of the last few issues of Detective Comics before the New 52 started, and I like those a lot, especially that Joker-James Gordon Jr. storyline in the last three issues that I like so much. (They were the first comics I picked up after not reading new comics for seven years.)

I've only read half of it. I see the previous collection is also Zero Year. Plus I haven't read all of this volume. Maybe it will look better when I read the whole thing.