brightbeautifulthings's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I put this off knowing how it ended and not particularly wanting to see it, but I do very much love this temporary world for Steve Rogers and his adopted (er, kidnapped) son, Ian. Dad!Steve just hits harder, and I love every bit of their interactions and backstory, plus whatever else we get to see of Ian. He’s just as brave, stubborn, and sassy as his dad, and I’d love recommendations for his Nomad run if anyone has them. As in the first one, I enjoyed the rougher art style and the contrast of vivid reds/yellows with the darker colors, and it really suits the world of Dimension Z.
Oddly, it isn’t Steve or Ian who has the best development in this collection, but Jet. Her struggle over a lifetime of Zola’s rule and the empathy Steve tries to spark in her is really well-done, and I look forward to seeing more of her in the next books. In contrast, I outright hated Sharon Carter’s appearance here. I’m not the biggest fan of the Carter women to begin with, but her reaction to Ian and her dismissal of Steve’s feelings about it pretty much sealed that for me. I’m sad to see Steve and Ian go their separate ways, but looking forward to picking up with both of them again elsewhere.
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
Oddly, it isn’t Steve or Ian who has the best development in this collection, but Jet. Her struggle over a lifetime of Zola’s rule and the empathy Steve tries to spark in her is really well-done, and I look forward to seeing more of her in the next books. In contrast, I outright hated Sharon Carter’s appearance here. I’m not the biggest fan of the Carter women to begin with, but her reaction to Ian and her dismissal of Steve’s feelings about it pretty much sealed that for me. I’m sad to see Steve and Ian go their separate ways, but looking forward to picking up with both of them again elsewhere.
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
manuelte's review against another edition
3.0
An enjoyable read that manages to hit every single cliche available in the book. Still, it closes the dimension Z series for Captain America for which Romita Jr art works well (the whole series has a sci fi pulp vibe). Looking forward for the Pacheco run of the character that starts next volume.
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
3.0
Not a bad story or art. But overdone and annoying. And the turns the story took were unbelievable. Disappointing. 2.5 of 5.
gohawks's review against another edition
2.0
I'm sure Rick Remender is really great, but Captain America is not his forte. I understand that when it's your turn as a writer, you need to have an original take on the character. But sometimes you still have to respect the essence of the character. Captain America doesn't really fit well with the whole pulpy sci-fi bit. Captain America was built for runs like Ed Brubaker's with espionage and Cold War, identity crisis and national security. Sure there are fantastical elements, but Cap deserves to be grounded in some kind of reality. In addition, John Romita Jr's rubber faced characters are not a good fit for anything but the kids from Kick-Ass. Many talk about how great he is with action, but there were at least two times in this volume where I completely lost what was going on in the movement of the story. I really wanted to like this one even after the first volume. But it's just does away with too much of what makes CA great.
mxd's review against another edition
3.0
I feel quite lukewarm about the whole Dimension Z saga. There were elements I really loved, especially the background on Steve, on where he gets his stubbornness and drive to just keep going in the face of adversity. I liked that glimpse into his past as a bullied child carrying the burdens of a mother who suffered domestic violence and illness, and a father who just gave up and disappeared into anger and booze. It really is revelatory in terms of what might make Steve Rogers so determined to never give up (and now I want to add 'never surrender' because I can hear Jason Nesmith in my head).
BUT, the ass kicking he gets in this. Pages into the saga, starting with vol 1, it opens with his hand being shattered and from there on it just gets worse and worse and worse. For me it surpassed the line of believability, and considering this is the realm of the comic where anything can happen, that was saying something. Despite my love of angst and drama, it just got too much for me in places. I was like, seriously, give the guy a freaking break already.
Good read though and I'd recommend it to any Cap fans.
BUT, the ass kicking he gets in this. Pages into the saga, starting with vol 1, it opens with his hand being shattered and from there on it just gets worse and worse and worse. For me it surpassed the line of believability, and considering this is the realm of the comic where anything can happen, that was saying something. Despite my love of angst and drama, it just got too much for me in places. I was like, seriously, give the guy a freaking break already.
Good read though and I'd recommend it to any Cap fans.
delladahlia's review against another edition
4.0
This is a very polarizing volume. Both how the women are written and drawn are. NOT. GREAT. On the other hand Ian himself and Ian and Steve's relationship is precious beyond compare.
tdwightdavis's review against another edition
A great and heartbreaking conclusion to the Dimension Z storyline. Rememder's dialogue is fantastic, especially the mutates. Zola is as evil as ever. Really fantastic story.
art_cart_ron's review against another edition
3.0
Not quite as strong as Book One, but the Jack Kirby lovefest continues and has several fun payoffs.
Cap is surviving some silly levels of trauma - gutting himself, carving out his chest contents, getting crushed over and over and falling several stories on the regular. None of this would stand out quite as much if Remender hadn't said one of the things he liked about Captain America is that he can be hurt and killed, so the threats and danger to him are more real.
There was some dark traumatic death scenes that aren't softened very much when they turn out to have been misunderstood. JR JR is phoning in about half of his pages at this stage of the project - which sucks, b/c he's among the best there is when he's on his game.
I'm glad to have read Book One and Two - but don't have any interest in reading beyond that.
Cap is surviving some silly levels of trauma - gutting himself, carving out his chest contents, getting crushed over and over and falling several stories on the regular. None of this would stand out quite as much if Remender hadn't said one of the things he liked about Captain America is that he can be hurt and killed, so the threats and danger to him are more real.
There was some dark traumatic death scenes that aren't softened very much when they turn out to have been misunderstood. JR JR is phoning in about half of his pages at this stage of the project - which sucks, b/c he's among the best there is when he's on his game.
I'm glad to have read Book One and Two - but don't have any interest in reading beyond that.
grilledcheesesamurai's review against another edition
2.0
I think this is one of those cases where the idea was better than the actual execution.
I liked the idea of a pulp/sci-fi adventure with Cap, unfortunately while I was reading this one I was just hoping that it would be over quickly and we could move on to the next adventure.
This whole TPB just felt like Cap was taking a beating the entire time and mumbling his way through the story.
I love Remender's work... But these first two trades that opened up this new chapter in Captain America's history were fairly lackluster.
I only hope it gets better.