Marvels Snapshots: Captain America #1 Review
Written by: Mark Russell
Art by: Ramón Pérez
Colors by: Rico Renzi
Lettered by: VC’s Joe Sabino
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Another Wednesday is here, and luckily, this week sees the release of another Marvels Snapshot issue, this time dealing with Captain America and a story from the days of King Kirby – The Madbomb Saga.
You may remember the story: a bomb is detonated in New York City that causes the masses to become violently unstable and lash out at one another. Cap and Falcon work together to end the threat and the day is saved, right? Well Marvels Snapshots: Captain America takes a deeper look to tell us the story of Felix, a talented, young man from South Bronx. Though Felix is gifted and on the verge of heading off to college, the detonation of the Madbomb tears through New York City and the surrounding areas. And though the heroes are able to save the day, the event causes horrifying ramifications for Felix, his family, and his borough.
Mark Russell creates an emotionally charged issue that shows us the fallout of a a man’s life living in a system that’s failed him. Captain America may be on the cover, but Russell chooses to tell this tale through the eyes of Felix. Russell writes him to be a smart and compassionate person, who helps his family and neighbors. By writing him this way and as the type of person who exercises their gifts, the reader can’t help but to root for him. Which makes it all the more devastating when seeing the aftermath of his and his family’s life after the Madbomb. Felix’s intellect comes into play throughout the story and his engineering skills garner him the attention of one of the Marvel Universe’s most notorious scientific organizations. He has a brilliant mind and know’s their agenda is not something he should align himself to. Russell makes it so that Felix’s turn to working with said group is natural and as a response to being forgotten by his government and heroes. Russell succeeds in utilizing a major arc for Falcon and Captain America’s partnership as a way to showcase the reader’s relationship to these superhero books and highlight modern issues we face. These titles and heroes are good to admire and look up to, but we must also be reminded that the world needs so much more than someone in spandex punching out a bad guy. And I truly enjoyed the depth to this issue, I could see how impactful it would have been to have had Falcon speak to Felix at the end, but I appreciate Captain America acknowledging his flaws and joining in to do his part.
Ramón Pérez and Rico Renzi weave an incredible atmosphere to this story and capture the tones to Felix’s journey perfectly. The start to this story is layered in jarring line work and muddled colors to illustrate Felix’s confusion and disarray to his and fellow neighbors’ situations. This is contrasted beautifully to Felix’s acceptance of a position within the evil scientific organization; the colors here become bright and clear to show how he feels he’s found a place he belongs. And the reader can note the return of the muddled colors when the flaws of his new position begin to show. Joe Sabino’s lettering drives home the time the story is set in by really hamming those sound effects with bright colors and with each explosion, punch, and crackle of electricity.
This is an important story to tell, especially in today’s climate, and I’m glad they were in the capable hands of Russell, Sabino, Renzi, and Pérez. As an admirer of these titanic heroes, I can sometimes get enamored and lost in the superhero universe and forget to take action in ours. Marvels Snapshots: Captain America #1 is a humbling book and deserves to be read.
Art by: Ramón Pérez
Colors by: Rico Renzi
Lettered by: VC’s Joe Sabino
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Another Wednesday is here, and luckily, this week sees the release of another Marvels Snapshot issue, this time dealing with Captain America and a story from the days of King Kirby – The Madbomb Saga.
You may remember the story: a bomb is detonated in New York City that causes the masses to become violently unstable and lash out at one another. Cap and Falcon work together to end the threat and the day is saved, right? Well Marvels Snapshots: Captain America takes a deeper look to tell us the story of Felix, a talented, young man from South Bronx. Though Felix is gifted and on the verge of heading off to college, the detonation of the Madbomb tears through New York City and the surrounding areas. And though the heroes are able to save the day, the event causes horrifying ramifications for Felix, his family, and his borough.
Mark Russell creates an emotionally charged issue that shows us the fallout of a a man’s life living in a system that’s failed him. Captain America may be on the cover, but Russell chooses to tell this tale through the eyes of Felix. Russell writes him to be a smart and compassionate person, who helps his family and neighbors. By writing him this way and as the type of person who exercises their gifts, the reader can’t help but to root for him. Which makes it all the more devastating when seeing the aftermath of his and his family’s life after the Madbomb. Felix’s intellect comes into play throughout the story and his engineering skills garner him the attention of one of the Marvel Universe’s most notorious scientific organizations. He has a brilliant mind and know’s their agenda is not something he should align himself to. Russell makes it so that Felix’s turn to working with said group is natural and as a response to being forgotten by his government and heroes. Russell succeeds in utilizing a major arc for Falcon and Captain America’s partnership as a way to showcase the reader’s relationship to these superhero books and highlight modern issues we face. These titles and heroes are good to admire and look up to, but we must also be reminded that the world needs so much more than someone in spandex punching out a bad guy. And I truly enjoyed the depth to this issue, I could see how impactful it would have been to have had Falcon speak to Felix at the end, but I appreciate Captain America acknowledging his flaws and joining in to do his part.
Ramón Pérez and Rico Renzi weave an incredible atmosphere to this story and capture the tones to Felix’s journey perfectly. The start to this story is layered in jarring line work and muddled colors to illustrate Felix’s confusion and disarray to his and fellow neighbors’ situations. This is contrasted beautifully to Felix’s acceptance of a position within the evil scientific organization; the colors here become bright and clear to show how he feels he’s found a place he belongs. And the reader can note the return of the muddled colors when the flaws of his new position begin to show. Joe Sabino’s lettering drives home the time the story is set in by really hamming those sound effects with bright colors and with each explosion, punch, and crackle of electricity.
This is an important story to tell, especially in today’s climate, and I’m glad they were in the capable hands of Russell, Sabino, Renzi, and Pérez. As an admirer of these titanic heroes, I can sometimes get enamored and lost in the superhero universe and forget to take action in ours. Marvels Snapshots: Captain America #1 is a humbling book and deserves to be read.
A Look Inside
