Vinny’s Comic Picks of the Week!
Captain America #695 (Marvel Comics)
From the team that brought us one of the most acclaimed runs on Daredevil to date comes a…uh, Rebirth of sorts for the Sentinel of Liberty!
Mark Waid and Chris Samnee craft a classic one-and-done as the adventures of Steve Rogers continue into the Marvel Legacy re-launch. Now, while this is a relatively simple tale, that is part of the intention. Coming off of one of the most complex and controversial arcs in Cap’s history, this team makes it very clear that they seek to get back to business and frame Cap as the closest thing to Superman that Marvel has. This isn’t all that easy as in the Marvel Universe, heroes are rarely completely trusted (Right, Peter?) but this story highlights a town devoted to the hero.
And rightfully so.
Even with all of the Legacy nostalgia, this book stands out as even further devoted to the character’s classic years, not unlike Waid and Samnee’s Daredevil run. The Captain will always be tied to his World War II roots and here, Waid exploits this in overt, timely and, sometimes, comedic ways. The soldier aspect Captain America’s history has always provided a nice grounding point for Rogers. A tool to let him fit in with the grittier aspects of Marvel’s catalog. As Samnee adds his expert and timeless pencils to the mix, there isn’t a book I’d rather see him work on for Marvel (ok, maybe Fantastic Four). After the excellent run the team had on Black Widow, fans can be sure that Samnee will strike a nice balance between superhero and military imagery. While I won’t get deep into story details, I think it was a fairly genius decision to pull Cap out of the grand action of the rest of the Universe for a moment here. Fans need some time to breath and focus on the hero after some tumultuous event books. Whatever Captain America is about to face in coming issues can now be done so knowing that the classic hero is back in action.