Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Captain America #3
Marvel Comics
Remender, Romita, Janson & White
Rick Remender's Captain America continues to provide the most out of the ordinary incarnation of the character I've seen in a long time. Captain America is caught in another dimension as he attempts to figure a way back home while dragging around a toddler he rescued from a test tube. The book contains all of the oddities you would expect from a Remender comic book, but is it too hard a sell for a Captain America comic book? The book proves to be a decent read, but the cliffhanger overshadows any sort of character building that occurs over the previous nineteen pages of the book.
Captain America receives a huge assist from one of the locals to escape his near decapitation. Cap makes fast friends and is able to bunk up with some of the "people" so that he can rest up and provide shelter for his little toddler buddy, Ian. These scenes help to build up some of how Remender plans to use Cap's personality in this series and it also allows Remender to create a small supporting cast.
These scenes are inter-cut with flashbacks from when Cap was weakling trying to make his way through the mean streets of Manhattan during the Depression. We learn that Steve has tremendous loyalty while it is clear he can't rely on anyone except himself when the chips are down. Trust is a tough thing to come by.
The book ends with a strange, but very shocking ending. The ending is somewhat muted because of developments in another Marvel book where a similar idea is going on. I'm trying my best not to spoil it.
The book is a decent read but definitely feels like a lull in spots. This is the sacrifice a writer makes when he takes a few pages to build up his characters. It typically comes across as rather slow and slightly uninteresting in single issue format. The flashbacks feel too familiar and borderline on the clichéd in a book that is definitely challenging the boundaries of where Captain America has gone before.
Romita's art is good but there are definitely scenes where determining the action and movements is a challenge. This is a little odd when you consider the inking is bold and detailed. I'm not saying the book is bad by any means I just didn't find everything to be consistently clear. Then again, this book does take place in another dimension so anything goes I suppose.
Captain America feels like a slow read and that might be because this book is monthly whereas things like All New X-Men ship every other week. Remender is building up his characters and supporting players. I suspect things are about to pick up in a big way. I'm sticking with this book because I am fan of the direction, but as far as individual issues go, this one is slightly above average.
3 out of 5 Geek Goggles
