fictionalkajsa's review
3.0
This was… fine? A lot of corporate stuff that I honestly didn’t care for, and with Sam being Cap-Wolf I felt like I didn’t really get to see him, which was a shame with this being my first Sam comic. A lot of exposition, it felt like just things being told instead of things happening. But I don’t think it was bad. It did what it did fairly well, it just wasn’t my favorite. Also why did Misty’s costume make it look like she belonged in a comic from the 70s? Really thought we were past that…
jmbz38's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
turtlesandmarvel's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
space_gaudet's review
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
mjfmjfmjf's review
3.0
Not a bad book, but not an especially good one either. Telling the story in flashbacks was a little jarring and added nothing. Paralleling the current political climate just made the story less enjoyable. And the animal transformations felt kind of cardboard. But there is potential here, that an interesting cast of characters will emerge.
ma0acdh13's review
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
iffer's review
2.0
I wanted to like this; really, I did.
The short version:
I like Sam Wilson as Captain America. I like the art. I hate that there is too much text. It wasn't so much that there were politics and social issues in the arc so much as that the way that the were included made this boring and not fun to read.
The longer version:
This is definitely not for people who are fans of Captain America because they like the escapism of simple good guy punches bad guys. It's easy for a contemporary audience to look back at World War II and imagine it as a simple fight of Good vs Evil, and "keeping the world safe for democracy." It doesn't take much to suspend readers' disbelief (if they had any in the first place from at least one history class that touched upon the difficulties of rebuilding post-war, of complacency and fear paving the way, etc) that the fight was as simple as Nazis bad, Cap good. It is *NOT* so easy to caricaturize recent and on-going social and political ills so that Sam Wilson's Captain America can prevail against them. In Sam Wilson's case, there is no nefarious mustachioed villain (ahem Hitler) or Red Skull to fight.
After the Brubaker run (and evident in the most recent Captain America: Civil Wars film), Steve Rogers as Cap is literally a man out of time, and a "man from a simpler time" (supposedly). He has clear values and struggles with how to adhere to those values in a modern world that is seemingly more complex and all shades of gray. Enter Sam Wilson as Captain America, the guy who's stuck with trying to be the symbol of Captain America in these times, whose experiences of the world (and let's be blunt, including him being a black guy who grew up in a tough neighborhood in Harlem) have shaped him, including forcing him to internalize inequality at a young age and doubt the American people. I loved the lines, though somewhat heavy-handed, in which Sam thinks to himself that he's not like Steve, who "BELIEVES...his country will do what's right...[because] in [his] heart [he] can only HOPE it will."
Unfortunately, those lines were at the end of issue 2, and the rest of the arc, other than the amusement gleaned from the ridiculousness of Sam being turned into a werewolf, isn't fun to read. There's too much text, and it reads like annoying blog posts from liberals and Fox News clips pasted into bubbles above the appropriate characters (Sam's thought boxes for liberals and Serpent villain bubbles Fox News/big business).
The first two issues show that there's huge potential for Sam Wilson as Captain America, and I hope that the series eventually finds that sweet spot that the best cape comics have between dealing with serious, complex issues and being fun, escapism reading. Unfortunately, this arc left enough of a bad taste (maybe some soap from the soapbox ended up in my mouth) that I'm leery of continuing.
The short version:
I like Sam Wilson as Captain America. I like the art. I hate that there is too much text. It wasn't so much that there were politics and social issues in the arc so much as that the way that the were included made this boring and not fun to read.
The longer version:
This is definitely not for people who are fans of Captain America because they like the escapism of simple good guy punches bad guys. It's easy for a contemporary audience to look back at World War II and imagine it as a simple fight of Good vs Evil, and "keeping the world safe for democracy." It doesn't take much to suspend readers' disbelief (if they had any in the first place from at least one history class that touched upon the difficulties of rebuilding post-war, of complacency and fear paving the way, etc) that the fight was as simple as Nazis bad, Cap good. It is *NOT* so easy to caricaturize recent and on-going social and political ills so that Sam Wilson's Captain America can prevail against them. In Sam Wilson's case, there is no nefarious mustachioed villain (ahem Hitler) or Red Skull to fight.
After the Brubaker run (and evident in the most recent Captain America: Civil Wars film), Steve Rogers as Cap is literally a man out of time, and a "man from a simpler time" (supposedly). He has clear values and struggles with how to adhere to those values in a modern world that is seemingly more complex and all shades of gray. Enter Sam Wilson as Captain America, the guy who's stuck with trying to be the symbol of Captain America in these times, whose experiences of the world (and let's be blunt, including him being a black guy who grew up in a tough neighborhood in Harlem) have shaped him, including forcing him to internalize inequality at a young age and doubt the American people. I loved the lines, though somewhat heavy-handed, in which Sam thinks to himself that he's not like Steve, who "BELIEVES...his country will do what's right...[because] in [his] heart [he] can only HOPE it will."
Unfortunately, those lines were at the end of issue 2, and the rest of the arc, other than the amusement gleaned from the ridiculousness of Sam being turned into a werewolf, isn't fun to read. There's too much text, and it reads like annoying blog posts from liberals and Fox News clips pasted into bubbles above the appropriate characters (Sam's thought boxes for liberals and Serpent villain bubbles Fox News/big business).
The first two issues show that there's huge potential for Sam Wilson as Captain America, and I hope that the series eventually finds that sweet spot that the best cape comics have between dealing with serious, complex issues and being fun, escapism reading. Unfortunately, this arc left enough of a bad taste (maybe some soap from the soapbox ended up in my mouth) that I'm leery of continuing.
renatasnacks's review
3.0
I enjoyed this. I was jumping in a little blind--I'm not a big reader of Captain America comics but I liked Sam Wilson from the movies so I picked this up and was clearly in the middle of some Marvel Universe shit? I followed it OK, I liked Sam's sense of humor, I loved Misty Knight, I loved Captain America helping out immigrants & the tribute paid to those who help immigrants with water & supplies in the desert. The animal-human hybrid genetics experiment plot was...bonkers...even by Marvel standards? But pretty fun!
subhamroxx's review
3.0
This was okayish but felt too on the nose but having read it when it came out.. well its of those times.
So it starts off with Sam talking about the legacy he took and some stands he took which led him to being chastised by the other end of the political spectrum and well even Steve is debating it and well we see the two going against each other sort of and seeing how Sam is so different from Steve and then the fact with whatever is happening now as he fights Hydra and this villain Dr Malus, whose a mad scientist who turns him into a were-wolf and thats a fun story and we see him going against Serpent society and well it also involves this chick Diamondback and we follow her story too and how both intersect and well the face off and the ideological battle and the thing with wallstreet and all.. yeah it felt forced and weird and sometimes all over the place.
It certainly is quite political and I won't deny it but I like how Spencer manages to show both sides of the argument like when he is talking about if he takes these guys down how it will affect everyone and well thats a fun status quo change and then the drama afterwards and even more stuff like that but regardless getting off that topic and into the personal side of it.. its fun and makes for great camraderie between Sam and his supporting cast and the emergence of a new sidekick and that felt like a good status quo change but man this comic could have used more subtlety.
My only complaint: TOO MUCH TEXT, omg even moreso than Bendis and it was hard to get through like you don't need to explain each and everything omg, but oh well Spencer. The art was men and felt weird but then again its Acuna and I never liked his art so take it upon yourself to judge it and the story overall.
So it starts off with Sam talking about the legacy he took and some stands he took which led him to being chastised by the other end of the political spectrum and well even Steve is debating it and well we see the two going against each other sort of and seeing how Sam is so different from Steve and then the fact with whatever is happening now as he fights Hydra and this villain Dr Malus, whose a mad scientist who turns him into a were-wolf and thats a fun story and we see him going against Serpent society and well it also involves this chick Diamondback and we follow her story too and how both intersect and well the face off and the ideological battle and the thing with wallstreet and all.. yeah it felt forced and weird and sometimes all over the place.
It certainly is quite political and I won't deny it but I like how Spencer manages to show both sides of the argument like when he is talking about if he takes these guys down how it will affect everyone and well thats a fun status quo change and then the drama afterwards and even more stuff like that but regardless getting off that topic and into the personal side of it.. its fun and makes for great camraderie between Sam and his supporting cast and the emergence of a new sidekick and that felt like a good status quo change but man this comic could have used more subtlety.
My only complaint: TOO MUCH TEXT, omg even moreso than Bendis and it was hard to get through like you don't need to explain each and everything omg, but oh well Spencer. The art was men and felt weird but then again its Acuna and I never liked his art so take it upon yourself to judge it and the story overall.
clakyn's review
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25