A piercing character study. Best book of the week! 5/5! Do not overlook this!
Jeff Mace's earlier days are recounted here - - how he went from being a reckless reporter to an amateur super hero and how, ultimately, he became the third Captain America.
The Good
Wow... this was one of the best comics I've read in a while. I was floored by how much wit, accuracy and subtly that Kessel was able to infuse into the dialog here. This feels like a work of real historical fiction. This is a genuinely-touching character portrait of a hero who's ultimately been judged a mediocre in the scope of Marvel's history. It's quite a trick that Kesel pulls off to render so much drama on Mace's story while still emphasizing that his skills, motivations and even relationships are pedestrian in comparison to the legends of this time period. I was especially impressed by the scenes showing how Mace gets to "have his cake and eat it to" and the understated odd-man-out snub he gets from the Whizzer and Ms. America. Though I question its believability, there was still some genuinely moving sense of tragedy to his bullheadedness in relation to Ms. Patriot.
The Bad
I realize that Patriot is supposed to be kind-of naive here, but it was a little hard to swallow that he'd so naive as to totally miss the advances "Miss Patriot" makes on him halfway through the issue. Simple-minded or not, he's still a grown man. Then again, there have been so many Captain Americas over the years, so I forget if Jeff Mace is supposed to be one of the cowl-wearers who went insane eventually - maybe this is supposed to be early signs of his dementia?
The Verdict - 5/5
This was the last title I read out of this week's batch and it was a real sucker-punch. I definitely wasn't expecting it to be this good. This is a rich character study that gives more pathos to a third stringer than you ever thought was possible - - yet it still acknowledges and addresses the reasons why he isn't that well known. Do not overlook this on the shelf! It's a hidden gem!
Wow! Another Cap'ain America book on the stands? "The Patriot ", huh? Does this wave (surfing on the future hype for the movie) of Captan America books wil lresurrect the USAgent too?
Only the Captain America of the 1950's had dementia. All the other Captain America's were quite sane, including the Patriot, right up until he died of cancer, In Captain America # 285. I hope this series explores Mace's time as Captain America in full, as it's never really been detailed, nor what he was doing throughout the 50's, 60's, or 70's.
Kesel wrote the Marvel's 70th Anniversary All Winners book, which featured several of these characters and focused on Jeff Mace. It was lighter than this, but a good, fun read. It's why I picked this up, in fact. And yes. This is an excellent read!
@oldgum: Wow. I'd love to see an anthology book for Golden Age characters, with stories set in that era!
" Wow! Another Cap'ain America book on the stands? "The Patriot ", huh? Does this wave (surfing on the future hype for the movie) of Captan America books wil lresurrect the USAgent too? "
He´s alive. He is the raft bossman now(thunderbolts post-siege).
Kesel is one of those really solid writers who I don't think gets enough credit. Maybe its because he doesn't pile on the grim and gritty. His run on Daredevil in the 90's brought back some of DD's swashbuckling style and was a pleasant change from other writers who seem to be in a contest to put DD through the wringer the most. Superboy was a fun comic. I like reading writers that you can tell love super-hero comics as opposed to some that come across as thinking they're too cool for it and have to mess with the genre and laugh at its archetypes. I've always liked the Jeffrey Mace character too since seeing him in the Liberty Legion stories in the Invaders. He was a regular guy doing the right thing as opposed to an undersea king, an android, or someone hopped up on government steroids.
I realize that Patriot is supposed to be kind-of naive here, but it was a little hard to swallow that he'd so naive as to totally miss the advances "Miss Patriot" makes on him halfway through the issue. Simple-minded or not, he's still a grown man.
I don't think he missed all the signs. He just thought she is out of his league.
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