Filed under: Comic Reviews, Marvel Comics | Tags: Batman: Dark Victory, Batman: The Long Halloween, Bucky, Captain America, Daredevil: Yellow, Hulk: Gray, Jeph Loeb, Spider-Man: Blue, Steve Rogers, Tim Sale
If you think of a combo like Tim Sale and Jeph Loeb….you’re pretty much going to think that there’s nothing these 2 guys would work on that you wouldn’t read. The team that brought us DC’s Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Dark Victory also worked on some significant marvel titles too….the so-called “colour” series books.
The 1st of these, Daredevil: Yellow was released back in 2002, with Spider-Man: Blue in 2003 and then Hulk: Gray in 2004.
We had a gap of 4 years until this issue #0 came out back in July 2008 and then seemed to disappear amidst rumours of cancellation. Strangely enough I had read this title back in 2008 and had forgotten all about it until the Comics Anonymous crew visited Thought Bubble and it was mentioned by none-other than Tim Sale himself during an interview for the blog. With that in mind and an update about its release I felt compelled to dust this off and give it a read.
The previous titles in the “colour” series have been a world away from your usual costumed tales and a step away from the recognized SMASH! and tumble around NYC. They’ve tended towards a more subtle storyline which reminds us of the human aspect of each of these characters….and this Captain America: White #0 seems to be holding to that trend. I’m actually thankful of that and can’t wait to get hold of the 6-issue run when they come out.
Issue #0 gives us a glimpse of the early days of Steve Rogers’ time in the army with him trying to maintain a soldier’s life and being Cap in secret. An icon that has the US of A convinced that they’ll step in and win the war in no time.
The first few pages help introduce us to army life in the 40’s – with the soldiers on the base killing time until they get the chance to kill Germans. Midway through the issue James Barnes walks in on Steve as he’s unmasked and in his full Captain America outfit…..a startling image for Barnes as he races off trying to hide from the truth. Cap/Steve catches up with him and Barnes training to be by Steve’s side throughout the war begins.
The issue closes out with Barnes getting his own outfit as Uncle Sam can only approve of a teenage sidekick to encourage new recruits into the expanding army…..and so Bucky is born. Their first call to arms almost ends in disaster but it’s the start of a solid story from Jeph Loeb as we have come to expect. Coupled with artwork that oozes a style and warmth that can only be added to the pages of comics by Tim Sale.
Now we have to keep in mind that more than 3 years have passed since this issue #0 was released and with the mini due to start as soon as the finishing touches are made to that final issue. I guess time will tell on whether that kind of gap has had any effect on the story/art combination of Loeb and Sale……to be honest….I can’t see there being any ill-effects from that point of view. I suppose there are more people aware of Captain America following the recent movie release and impending Avengers movie on the 2012 horizon…..but I think the magic of Loeb/Sale on these “colour” titles…..is that they can stand on their own without any link to what’s gone before.
G-Man
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