CAPTAIN AMERICA #50

By Tony Whitt     January 03, 2002

CAPTAIN AMERICA #50 is special for a number of reasons. For one thing, even though it's one of December?s "'Nuff Said" issues, the creative team has chosen wisely to devote only a portion of the book to the experiment du jour. For another, it's the first issue of this series in several months that hasn't gone overboard with the patriotic subtext, presumably in response to the September 11 attacks. And finally, it's the end of the current series-and the end of Captain America himself. But what's that saying about old soldiers?

If the upcoming CAPTAIN AMERICA: DEAD MEN RUNNING miniseries is anything like most of this book, I won't be sorry to see Cap come back. I usually avoid this title, not out of a lack of patriotism, but out of a lack of desire to have a particularly virulent form of patriotism shoved down my throat each month. That doesn't really happen this issue, and for once we get a final issue/anniversary issue worthy of the name. Granted, we still get the obligatory appearance of Bucky, a character who's now appeared more times since his death than when he was alive, and we still get yet another Red Skull reference, but it wouldn't be CAPTAIN AMERICA if we didn't, would it?

The "'Nuff Said" story this time is actually not at all bad, and it's probably because Dan Jurgens provides the pencilwork as well as the script, aided only by inker Bob Layton. I've often said that these stories only work if the writer and artist(s) are in sync on the story, and what better way to ensure that synchronicity than by drawing part of your own script yourself? It's a move that works well, resulting in a Yuletide story that's touching and absolutely clear. It probably also helps that Cap doesn't get the chance to trot out some tired homily about freedom, justice, and the American Way.

Jurgens's other story in this issue is not quite as polished, as Cap relives his life in order to show a mysterious listener who he truly is. The revelation that Steve Rogers and Captain America are inseparable should be no big surprise-Rogers is one of the most sadly underdeveloped characters in the whole Marvel pantheon-but the artwork is surprising, with guest splash pages by John Romita, Bruce Timm, Ron Frenz, and a host of others. While the story itself may be just this side of mediocrity, the visuals are to die for.

And speaking of dying...sorry, but you'll hear this from someone anyway, and he's back next month in that miniseries, so what's the big mystery? Cap meets his end (supposedly) in the interesting story "Relics," written by Brian David-Marshall and drawn by Igor Kordey. I wish David-Marshall were writing this book all the time-he's one of the few writers I've known who have attempted to give Steve Rogers any sort of independent personality. Even when Cap reverts to shouting out those tired homilies again, at least we know there's a real individual behind that mask after all. And while I've often maligned Igor Kordey's rough-looking artwork on other books, it's a positive joy here.

So too is the story "A Moment of Silence," written by Jen Van Meter and drawn by Brian Hurtt and Jim Mahfood, in which a elementary class reacts to the news of the Captain's death, with terrible results for a young boy of Indian decent. The none-too-subtle references to the violence committed against Arab-Americans after September 11th actually work for the story's benefit here-two months ago, they likely would have been too raw. The issue is rounded out by Evan Dorkin and Kevin Maguire's moving (and sometimes even funny) "Stars and Stripes Forever," in which heroes and foes alike express their thoughts on the passing of the country's greatest solider.

But the most moving story in the entire issue is Kathryn Kuder's "Keep in Mind," drawn by Stuart Immonen, in which Steve Rogers visits a gravesite in France while an old solider who has yet to fade away addresses another elementary class about the battle fought there. Combined with the last two stories of this issue, this story expresses most eloquently the myriad emotions our nation has felt in the last four months.


It's somehow appropriate that Captain America should die right now-and that he should return so quickly afterwards. His seeming death and subsequent rebirth directly parallel the brief flickering of our nation's candle, and the way in which its flame has burned brighter ever since.

CAPTAIN AMERICA

Grade: B+

Issue: No. 50

Authors: Dan Jurgens, Bob Layton, Kathryn Kuder, Stuart Immonen, John Romita, Bruce Timm, Ron Frenz, Rick Veitch, Tom Palmer, Sal Buscema, Mike Zeck, Al Gordon, Brian David-Marshall, Igor Kordey, Jen Van Meter, Brian Hurtt, Jim Mahfood, Evan Dorkin, Kevin Maguire

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $5.95