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Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2016 20:37:41 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2016 20:43:39 GMT -5
I really liked this issue. #247-249 felt like Stern was clearing up past contradictions in previous stories & setting up a new status for Cap. Then #250 was a "special" issue. This issue felt like Stern was finally doing what he wanted to do with Cap.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2016 18:05:13 GMT -5
 "Cold Fire" The issue starts where last issue left off. Cap is chained to the front of the Roxxon Tanker. As Hyde & Batroc leave the boat Batroc kicks the port side anchor chain release. This gives Cap some slack in the chain holding his left arm. He is then able to break free by rubbing the chain links across the bow of the ship. Cap falls into the water hitting his head on the boat. Meanwhile Batroc is horrified at Hyde. He was fine getting money from Roxxon but Batroc had no intention of blowing up NYC. Batroc & Hyde start fighting. Meanwhile Cap recovers, retrieves his shield, and helps Batroc overcome Hyde who ends up frozen by liquified natural gas & falls over the side of the boat into the water. With Cap distracted Batroc gets away but Cap manages to use Hyde's mini sub to stop Batroc who doesn't seem that upset that Cap outsmarted him. Then we get a 5 page back up in addition to the 17 page main story. When Marvel's prices sent up they added 5 more story pages. It offers a recap of Cap's life from WWII to modern day with the Avengers & various jobs he had. There is also a page with the layout of his apt. & a page showing the neighbors in his apt building. Then a page showing his partners - Nick Fury, Falcon, Bucky & Sharon Carter. 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. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2016 18:09:00 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2016 18:13:35 GMT -5
Great issue. I like how Stern showed Batroc wasn't totally evil. Greedy yes. But not a murderer. Hyde was pure evil. It also showed Cap's willpower when he broke free from the chains. I realize the story had been written before Stern knew he now had 22 pages so the 5 page backup was nice. I am a sucker for blueprints of anything from the Batcave to Avengers Mansion to even the apt's of the heroes...
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Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2016 12:31:41 GMT -5
 "Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot" The story begins on a rainy night in a small town north of London. Another body has been found, drained of blood. The police & a doctor are at the scene. Then they tell a Lady Crichton about it at her manor. A man sits in a wheelchair in the shadows thinking "I've told them who this slasher is but they ignore me...the only man who can stop these murders is an ocean away". Meanwhile in NYC Cap stops a robbery before going on a date with Bernie. The date is going well until Steve is interrupted by a phone call from Jarvis. Avengers Mansion received a telegram from England. Jarvis reads it to Steve. It is in code. Steve cuts short his date with Bernie to go to England. Steve flies via the Concorde & thinks back to his time in WWII with the Invaders. He uses his Avengers card to get thru customs & goes to Falsworth Manor. This was the temporary HQ of the Invaders when they were in England. Steve catches up with Lady Crichton who is the widowed Jacqueline Falsworth (Spitfire). She reveals her brother Brian died in 1953. He was the second Union Jack. When Jackie asks Steve why he is there he states he came in response to the telegram. She states she never sent one but then her father Lord Falsworth (Union Jack) is wheeled in. He reveals he sent for Steve because he feels their old enemy Baron Blood is behind the killings. Jackie tells Steve her father is senile but Steve promises Lord Falsworth he will look into the matter. As Cap Steve starts some detective work. His talk with Dr Cromwell does not go well when Cap mentions Baron Blood. Cap discovers Baron Blood's remains are a normal skeleton. When Cap returns to the Manor he meets Jackie's son Kenneth & his friend Joey Chapman. Cap tells Lord Falsworth that Baron Blood is still free. While the rest of the family think Lord Falsworth is senile Cap talks with him in private. Cap's belief in Lord Falsworth encourages him. Cap pledges to stay until he gets BB. Then as darkness falls Baron Blood appears outside! Blood sneaks into Cap's bedroom & Cap explodes into action smashing Blood with his shield! The fight goes on for several pages waking everyone in the Manor. Blood uses his hypnotic powers to put Cap in a trance. The last page shows Blood starting to bite Cap's neck! In the letters page a hint that the Red Skull may be soon... |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2016 12:39:07 GMT -5
Where to start? If you wanted to tell a Capt America story this is pretty close to perfection. This story had it all. A date, time spent as Steve, flashback to his time in WWII, an Avengers cameo, Cap as a Living Legend, great villain, awesome fight scene, good use of supporting characters. The story itself was paced well. The art was beautiful & easy to follow. This is when story & art mesh so perfectly. This is comic book storytelling at its best. Modern creators should study this & try to emulate it IMO.
And that last page...Holy Cliffhangers, Batman! That is how you do a cliffhanger...
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Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2016 12:44:35 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2016 13:56:30 GMT -5
One thing Stern really made me think about: he addressed how Steve's peers from WWII must feel when they around him. Steve is still young & vital while they have aged & are old & fragile. Jackie most of all. Stern really captured Steve being out of step with modern times with his preference for things from the 30's & 40's. Stern used Bernie's interactions with Steve to show how Steve must feel as a man out of time. I miss this aspect of his character.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2016 19:51:51 GMT -5
Baron Blood was created by Roy Thomas and Frank Robbins. He first appeared in The Invaders #7 (July 1976). He is John Falsworth, brother of Lord Falsworth. He was turned into a vampire by Dracula while on a trip to Transylvania and joined the German forces in both WWI and WWII.
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Post by Ozymandias on Aug 27, 2016 0:33:04 GMT -5
Steve is still young & vital while they have aged & are old & fragile. [...] Stern used Bernie's interactions with Steve to show how Steve must feel as a man out of time. I miss this aspect of his character. Byrne would explain how that "works" in She-Hulk. Being out of time is something he eventually got past of, although one has to wonder, if 13 years are enough to achieve that. |
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Post by Nowhere Man on Aug 27, 2016 2:58:13 GMT -5
The interesting thing about Marvel time as it relates to Cap is that Cap will always come from the WWII era, yet as time moves on in the real world, he will progressively "wake up" in a more advanced and culturally complex society. There is a big difference from entering the world of 1963 compared to the world of 2003, both culturally and technologically. If anything, the "man-out-of-time" angle should be played up more than ever, yet it's usually ignored.
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Post by Ozymandias on Aug 27, 2016 5:01:29 GMT -5
They certainly should, I think it's an elephant in the room kind of situation.
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Post by Icctrombone on Aug 27, 2016 5:31:57 GMT -5
Those first three panels shows Byrne at his best. Just look at the three different expressions on Caps face as he looks while the three different Avengers give their opinions about the offer. He really looks great as inked by Rubinstein. |
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Post by Icctrombone on Aug 27, 2016 5:36:54 GMT -5
 "The Mercenary & the Madman" The first 3 pages are a nice recap of Cap's history. Cap is standing on a rooftop at sunset looking at NYC. He thinks about his life in WWII & being frozen in ice & revived by the Sub-Mariner & found by the Avengers. Fighting the Red Skull again & teaming up with Falcon. He also thinks about Sharon Carter...his one true love in his new life in this time. Then he returns home. Meanwhile at Ryker's Island Mr Hyde is broken out by Batroc. Hyde lied that he would give anyone that broke him out of jail $5 million. Batroc is furious but Hyde subdues him. Back at Cap's apt he is working on his ads & Bernie comes in to make him breakfast. While he goes to the bathroom she is startled at his taste in music - big band. The same stuff her father likes. She sees a picture of Steve with Sharon & Steve tells Bernie Sharon was special but she died recently (I don't remember when this happened). Meanwhile Hyde & Batroc capture a Roxxon Tanker & threaten to blow it up in New York Harbor. They demand one billion in ransom & Capt America as a hostage. Cap agrees & releases a knock out gas as Batroc gets near him. Batroc & Cap fight. Hyde intervenes & knocks Cap unconscious. Cap comes to & finds himself chained to the front of the tanker as Hyde plans to ram it into the docks & explode it.... Also Kurt Busiek has a letter printed in the letter column praising #247. Sharon Carter dies in a fire show in one ghastly panel in a issue during , I think Engelfarts run. It was seen in flashback. It was a pretty terrible send off, which is why it was retconned away. |
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