Captain America: Sam Wilson Vol. 1 - Not My Captain America

I seem to have gotten into a little bit of a routine in these past few weeks.

First I seem to have a week where I read very little, followed by a week of reading a great deal. Then it seems to go back to a week with a feeling of reading nothing.

This week appears to have reflected the latter now as once again I felt like I got a fair bit read. Of course, a six issue trade sure helps with that.

After my recent enjoyment of the Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+, I found myself really wanting to read something Sam Wilson that was related. Now, as I only had two titles in my to read list to choose from, I thought I'd pick the earliest produced as well as the one that seemed to most directly influence the series.

The first volume of Captain America: Sam Wilson sees Steve Rogers' partner dons the Stars and Stripes for the first time as he attempts to be a different kind of Cap, much to the general public's apparent chagrin. However, when a request for help sends Sam on a search for a missing person, the new Cap and his team find themselves locked in a heated battle with a new look Serpent Society as social ideologies do battle.

As I started reading this, as much as I had been looking forward to it these past few weeks, I found the first couple of issue to be a real struggle and not really my thing. I think the problem with it was that it was too heavy handed regarding the politics that it inserted. That's not to say that this was a bad decision, as I, A. agreed with Sam's stance and B. think comics is as good a place as any to put forward political commentary (just to clarify my position). However, with these first two issues, it just felt like too much too soon in the context of the story.

Of course, this wasn't my only problem with those first two issues as I also struggled with Misty's presence. I'm a big fan of Misty Knight as a character and any appearance is a welcome one with me. However, I didn't understand how she wound up in this story or even her overall role beyond sidekick. Also, her personality (for the most part) seemed in conflict with how I knew her previously (and what ab earth was she wearing?)

Of course, these issues had their good points, such as the Sam/Crossbones stand off (which seemed to imbue a lot of inspiration from their Wknter Soldier scene) as well the depiction of the Sons of the Serpent as a bunch of rather pathetic bigots in my eyes (were they always this way). Unfortunately, this good struggled to outweigh the bad with me.

Thank God for the remaining four issues though, as the vibe seemed to seriously change up, changing the focus from the political atmosphere to the more traditional 'beat the bad guy' focus. Of course, the political overture was still there but I thought it was so much more subtle from here as the story focused more on the mission.

But this wasn't all i like about these last issues as everything about it felt different. There was a central face (or faces) set up as the main bad guy and puppet master behind everything, who felt very competent and was a perfect Antithesis for Sam as they worked with a contrasting viewpoint, giving them an interesting place in the plot. Meanwhile, the mad scientist, Dr Malus, was a brilliant inclusion and was written so over the top but just reigned in enough to feel menacing compared to the rest of the story (and who knew Villains hideouts could be found on Airbnb?)

Meanwhile, i have to confess that I really loved the art for all six issues of this arc. The first three issues, by Daniel Acuna, reminded me a little of Dan Panosian's Slots series, although the flashbacks had this air about them which made me think of the pages of Superman: Red and Blue that I had been lucky to see on the Internet. As for the remaining four issues, Paul Renaud (4-5) and Joe Bennett (6) seemed to have a more house style but with a twist in mind as it all just looked off centre slightly (but that'd not to its detriment). In fact, these styles reminded me a lot of Vault's the Blue flame (which I'll get to later)

In the end, while the first two issues weren't really my thing, the final four I really liked. Therefore, averaging them out, I'd say that Sam Wilson's first arc as Cap was good. I enjoyed the resolution to the arc and felt that, while not perfect, Sam was at least able to acquire some semblence of victory. It was a very shades of grey win in a world that isn't (realistically) black and white.

So, with that, the second volume has been added to my wishlist because Sam Wilson's first arc as the Star Spangled Man with a plan did enough to convince me to read more. However, this is where my concern kicks in as the next arc is an event tie in...

... And we all know how those often go!

Oh, and before i forget ...

I did manage to get some review reading for Pipedream Comics done this week as well.

First up of these was Vault Comics' the Blue Flame #1 (I did say we'd get to it later). Now, as the review proper will attest to, I really liked this issue and although I was a little confused by the change from one story focus to the other, I still found both of these tales to be really intriguing. As a result, I was totally hooked for the next issue when the end revealed the connection of these two stories.

As for the art, I thought it was just gorgeous in this style as it resembled Marvel and DC's house style but with a slight change, causing the vigilante art to look more modern while the adventurer art looked a little more classic or silver agey. Therefore, I absolutely adored this art and thought that it pulled off both sides of the coin perfectly in this issue, leaving me looking forward to seeing more.

So if my words are any indication (both here and in the review)  this was totally my kind of book and I sure am glad I staked my claim in order to review it. I'm now looking forward to seeing how the rest of the story unfolds.

Next up, I also wrote a review for the Grayham Puttock and Adam Jakes comic, Longpig #1 (which, as I write this hadn't been posted yet). Now, like Blue Flame, I really liked this opening issue. There isn't much of a story to it as it is almost entirely set up and 'meet the characters' but it's there where this issue shines. The players in this story are really intriguing in regards to their actions as they unfold and their dynamics within the family. Also, there's something about them which is just 'off' adding to the sense of mystery.

Meanwhile, the art is gorgeous and heightens that mysterious, almost creepy vibe that the writing implies. The best comparison I have is that they look like those CG strips from newspapers but this work is far better than those. In short, I'm regretting not pledging to the first issue kickstarter, but I think that's something I'll have to rectify the next time round. That's how much I enjoyed this read.

Finally, while not a review, I also got around to reading Fantastic Four: Life Story #1 after picking it up last Wednesday. Now, I have to say that this was a good read, made all the better by getting to see Sean Isaakze's art in an FF book again. I enjoyed the story, although I am u sure about some of the liberties taken with the character dynamics. Still, it was a cool read with lots of references to 60's events. I'll probably delve in deep once the whole series is done but, for now, I certainly look forward to the next issue.

So, another week is finished and I'm really starting to get into a groove with this whole 'reading, blogging and reviewing within a week's thing. Sadly my other writing projects aren't getting as much love because I barely managed any time on them.

However, there is always next week.

Nathan Sorry Vol. 1

This last week has felt like a bit of a return to form for me, though not in a good way. After the immense number of comics I burned through last week, this week has felt more like the week before in that I haven't read very much at all.

Of course, that isn't down to lack of time or laziness on my part, it's simply a thing that this week has been predominantly focused on a review of a rather large (and, in my opinion, rather good) comic to go on the Pipedream site (more on that later).

However, I have found the time to not only read a comic, but buy it too (it was on sale on Comixology and even with the amount I have to read, sometimes I can't resist).

Nathan Sorry Vol. 1 tells the story of a unremarkable, unassuming guy who finds himself assumed dead when his place of work is lost during 9/11, but he's not there when he should be. Now, holding his boss' laptop which contains a fake identity and access to $20 million, Nathan goes into hiding as 'James Goode' as he awaits for things to die down so he can flee the country. However, as he isolates himself to avoid being found out, Nathan starts to question who he really is.

I can't remember where I had originally heard of Nathan Sorry (I'm not entirely sure it was something I just 'stumbled' upon), but when I read the synopsis (which I feel I may have adequately butchered just now), I found this to be an intriguing idea. Unfortunately, while the idea was something I liked, the story was a little bit more of a struggle. I enjoyed the idea of this man stumbling across a 'fake' life and the opportunity of a fresh start, but the way it came about felt to me to be a bit too generic. Not that it wasn't badly set up as the beats to get Nathan from where he started to where he wound up seemed to all be there. It was just that the change and rationale behind going this route seemed a little too abrupt.

I do wonder to myself after reading it if greater emphasis was needed on Nathan's past life to explain why he made the decision to 'run'. This issue showed us a bit of poor treatment in his job but a job isn't the 'be all and end all' and so, while reference to money troubles is implied, maybe a bad break up or run down apartment would have helped sell it. Also, the same could be said about his breakdown (wherin he believed he was James Goode), where more could have been done to hint that Goode was real and Sorry was really dead (beyond a abitruary).

That said, it did have some good points, the art especially I really liked with it's different looks and the black, grey and white colour scheme making it feel unique. However, overall, this was an ok read that almost borders on not my thing. I am intrigued about a few things within the story; the fate of the Russian girl, the investigator, Casey's role in the story. But, while there is a second volume to this title, I might go to the website rather than Comixology for it.

If and when I get around to it.

Oh, and before I forget ...

So I said at the beginning that most of my week was taken up by a review and that was for the TKO OGN, Djeliya by Juni Ba. Now I don't know what I can say that builds on what you would find in the review proper but, suffice to say, I absolutely loved this book! I thught that Djeliya had such an inspiring element to it as I progressed through the story, thatt I couldn't do anything but be hooked from the very beginning. Now, It isn't perfect as I will admit that I  couldn't for the life of me describe any scene in it without difficulty. However, that doesn't take away from the sheer enjoyment and fist pumping enthusiam I have for it.

Of course, while I've said in the review about how I've never seen comic art like this before (and I certainly dont recall one), what it does make me think of is a trippy spirit walk type thing (or a similarly focused episode of the 2003 Clone Wars mini-series). Nonetheless, I still thought it really worked here and helped give Djeliya a really unique visual style.

When Pipedream Comics was given the opportunity to review this I had expected good things (because I have a lot of respect for most of TKO's offerings) but, I must say, I didn't expect it to be this good. This is something I'd highly recommend and am going to need to find a way to get a copy for my shelf.

Now, both these comics weren't the only things I read this last week because I just remembered that I read Spider-Man: Spider's Shadow #2 at the beginning of the week. This was another comic that I really like as I thought that it built on the first issue in spectacular fashion and continued to delve deeper into this horror type story thanks in no small part to its art (the cover alone looks tremendous and is worth the price of admission IMO). I'm not going to go into it in depth here because A. I couldn't think of too much to talk about and B. I want to ramble about the whole series when I've read it all, but if the next two issues build upon this then I will be in for a treat.

So, all in all, it's been a good week, comic reading wise, with two out of three winners, not to mention getting some work done on a couple of projects (one new and one outstanding) as well as plenty of praise for my Ejeliya review coming from today's release of it.

And it has me pumped for next week. With some exciting looking titles on the review list (or in the process of gaining) and the first issue of Fantastic Four: Life Story picked up and ready to read (not to mention all the other outstanding comics), I can only hope that the number of issues I read goes back to a last week sort of number.

Off my Pull List: Fantastic Four #32

I'd initially planned to change the format of what I wrote here. Never really having the time to commit to all the things I'm currently working on (this blog, my reviews at Pipedream Comics, my personal writing projects, etc), I had planned to make this blog a weekly thing where by I talk about all the comics I read in that week.

However, literally a few hours after the last post (which coincidentally focused predominantly on the FF), I found myself eager to pick up and read the newest issue of Fantastic Four after the last four got me appropriately re-hooked on the run. However, by doing this, I found the issue had left me with a lot of thoughts in my head about what it contained. Therefore, rather than wait a week, I figured scrape a few minutes here and there throughout the day after and just cobble together a short something just to get these thoughts out of my head.

So, Fantastic Four #32 sees the Grimm family double date with Johnnu and Sky by attending an event dedicated to Latverian works of art. However, it's not a good night for Johnny as ex-wife Lyra crashes the event while Doom's right hand, Victorious, runs security (which is put to the test when the night is attacked).

This was an issue which, in my mind, was good. I actually found myself enjoying the turmoil of Johnny Storm's love life as he dealt with the love triangle made up of his ex-wife, his current soul mate, his ex-girlfriend (who briefly appears but isn't really a big factor) and Vicotrious (so a love hexagon?). Unfortunately, what stopped me from really liking this issue was how it ended for Johnny, with actions which seem totally out of character. Not to discredit the character or anything, the resolution did make sense to me given the apparent emotional turmoil Johnny had been going through from the beginning of the issue. However, I felt it really did him a disservice given his run long arc and wondered if there could have been a better way to end it.

That said, it does make me think that this is all a catalyst for the departure from the series of Sky and Victorious (the latter I wont miss given how superfluous she feels like. Surely Doom himself could have filled her role ... well, almost).

Speaking of departures, I was sad to see Lyra leave the book so soon after returning. I'm not a particular fan of the character given her past actions, but I had hoped for more to come from her return than five minutes of chaos followed by a quick shuffle off stage. That said, the why intrigued me less than the how as we saw Alicia Masters pull off some more subtle manipulation to make it happen. This is the second time we've seen this with the character through Slott's run and, while I doubt he would do such a thing with a character tied so closely to Ben Grimm, I am wondering if this is the beginning of some villainous turn, maybe even to the point of controlling some flame related character in other actions (although that's maybe wishful thinking).

Finally, there was the seemingly bonus story of Reed and Doom's chess/sword match for a favour. I enjoyed this little tale, as we got to see them battle in two different methods at the same time and it was certainly in keeping with how Doom would make such a request towards Reed, although would it have killed him to just to ask. What bugged me though is that while I always enjoy seeing the pair's college dynamic, it made me feel that the pair have never played chess when, I'm reality, (I'm pretty sure) they play every year on Doom's mother's birthday (though I haven't gone back to check this so feel free to correct me).

The artwork meanwhile still has me in love. R.B. Silva, like Izaakse and Medina before him, still have some of my favourite comic styles around. I especially like the final reveal scene, which he made to look very dreamlike to start with, as though it wasn't somehow real (maybe we'll get lucky and find it wasn't). Meanwhile Javier Rodriguez's work on the back up story was a little jarring to beginning with, but I got used to it and actually enjoyed its Allred-esque look, thinking it worked nicely (particularly for the flashback scenes).

I did really enjoy this issue and am getting concerned that the quality might actually start becoming consistent after the last four issues. However, as I said, the ending to this issue and how it paints Johnny, while maybe not as disliked by me as by other, still doesn't sit right with me and has me hoping it'll end up being a feint.

In the meantime though, I'm intrigued about so much of what is set up here and look froward to seeing it be revealed.

Along with Sue maybe because where the hell was she here??