Scouring out the weekly singles scene … in comics!
Continuing Marvel’s ongoing seven-decade birthday party is CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS 70TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1, featuring a wonderful James Robinson/Marcos Martin story that delves into Steve Rogers’ early days of saving the country, but before he was the star-spangled superhero, and still a 98-pound weakling. In defying expectations, it soars with seemingly little effort. The second half is comprised of a Joe Simon/Jack Kirby classic from 1941, in which Cap and sidekick Bucky thwart a serial killer at a major-league baseball game, back when the game equaled patriotism.
And from Captain America, we go to Miss America — not the beauty pageant title — in MISS AMERICA COMICS 70TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1. If this was a real character from yesteryear, I wasn’t familiar with her before this. In Jen Van Meter and Andy MacDonald’s story, she’s like a cross between Wonder Woman and Rosie the Riveter, undercover on a shipyard during World War II, seeking German spies. She’s also engaged to be married to Whizzer, the star of two backup stories from 1943. His high-winged-head costume is as stupid as his name.
Horror novelist Jonathan Maberry certainly doesn’t flinch when it comes to scripting THE PUNISHER: NAKED KILL #1, a one-shot that more than earns its “EXPLICIT CONTENT” cover tag. When The Punisher discovers there’s a torture-porn snuff-film ring taking place near the top floor of a heavily secured tower, he kills his way through, level by level, having to improvise without his usual armory. Extreme violence and harsh language abound, and just wait until you see what the abused women do for a ladder! Maberry does a great job with Frank Castle, but Laurence Campbell’s art is a little too rough for my tastes — some fleshing out certainly wouldn’t hurt.
Batman goes to Barcelona in, um, BATMAN IN BARCELONA: DRAGON’S KNIGHT #1, written by Mark Waid and illustrated by Diego Olmos. On a tip from The Scarecrow, who’s locked up safely in Arkham Asylum, Batman flies to Spain to catch The Croc, who’s currently on a serial-killer-esque string of menace and murder. Luckily, Bruce Wayne has a secret Batcave in the country (who knew?), complete with costume, computered-out HQ and one muy fresco Batcycle. The story is thin, but the battle between the Caped Crusader and his reptilian enemy is brutal and bloody. —Rod Lott
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