Reviewer: Tim Sheridan
Story Title: Out of Time: Part 2
Written by: Ed Brubaker
Art by: Steve Epting with Michael Lark
Coloring by: Frank D’Armata
Lettering by: Randy Gentile
Production: Jerry Kalinowski
Assistant Editors: Schmidt, Wiley and Lazer
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
I’ve never really liked Captain America. I’ve read his comics throughout the years, every once in a while. They peak my interest ever so often, and then just as quickly, they lose it. I dug the first run that Mark Waid had on the book, but when he returned, he just couldn’t keep me buying the book. I’ve always felt bad about not liking Cap, because I really feel that I should like him more. Along with Spider-Man, Cap is THE Marvel solo icon. Everyone knows him. But I’ve just found him utterly boring. Yeah, I get the whole “man out of time” thing. But it sort of got stale decades ago.
But when the creative team was announced for this, the latest series of Cap, it got me excited. I was burned by the last Cap series, but I had faith this time. Ed Brubaker has rarely let me down on a story, and while I didn’t know much of Steve Epting’s work, I liked the pirate series he did last year, so why not give it a shot.
It paid off. I thought the first issue of this series was great. They sort of acknowledge that Steve Rogers is a boring character, and a bit of a loner. He has no real supporting cast (I’m not counting SHIELD and Nick Fury, because, let’s face it, they belong to Marvel, not just Cap), so they deal with that too.
But the issue ended on a shocker, and they killed off the Red Skull. And they did it in a way that actually had me believe it was for real. So this issue, we deal with the follow-up to that. Captain America is brought into SHEILD to ID the body (through his own DNA, long story) and he is even more skeptical about the Skull’s death than I am. Which is a nice change, because I’m pretty dang cynical. It also creates this whole meta-textual analysis for the story, as Cap becomes a jaded reader who deals with comic book death all the time.
Anyways, the hunt is on for who actually killed the skull. Cap and Sharon Carter are in the sewer for some reason, checking up on a lead, when Sharon drops the bomb that Cap may be a suspect in the murder. Interesting, no? Who would have thought Cap could be responsible. Now, I’m fairly certain he did not do it, but the scene is played out in such a realistic way, that I actually started to question it.
Epting’s art, along with Brubaker’s script creates an atmosphere that I have not seen in a Captain America book before. For the first time, I was really enjoying the book. I was genuinely intrigued about what is going to come next. And Cap’s dull character is now made into a control for all the bizarre happenings around him.
Special credit needs to be given to Michael Lark, who supplied a few pages of flashback scenes for Cap during WW2. It was very effective, and didn’t break up the art at all.
So who knows where this is going? I certainly don’t. And I’m cool with that. I’m enjoying the ride. And perhaps in a few months, this series will follow suit and I’ll tire of it. But I don’t see that happening just yet.
Best Cap story I’ve ever read.
