Captain America Epic Collection: Hero Or Hoax?

Reprints Captain America and The Falcon (1968) #139-159
Written by Stan Lee, Gary Friedrich, Steve Englehart, Gerry Conway and Steve Gerber.
Penciled by John Romita, Sal Buscema, Gil Kane and Gray Morrow.
Inked by John Romita, John Verpoorten, George Roussos, Joe Sinnott, Gray Morrow, Jim Mooney, Frank Giacoia and Vince Colletta.

Summary: New York City's police commissioner has a special assignment for Captain America. He needs Steve Rogers to join the NYPD and investigate the disappearance of seven officers. The commissioner isn't sure what's going on, but he says it's "something deadly--something strangely powerful out there."  

On his first night walking the police beat, Steve spots a shadowy figure, changes into his Captain America costume and chases it down. Cap discovers it's the Grey Gargoyle, a super-villain who battled Thor and Iron Man in the past. A lab accident turned his skin to stone and gave the Gargoyle the power to turn others to stone for one hour.  

Captain America's partner the Falcon tangles with Grey Gargoyle. The criminal tries out a new power.  When Sam is turned to stone, Gargoyle also has control over Falcon and forces him to fight Cap! Grey Gargoyle's primary objective is to steal Element X from SHIELD. It's a very dangerous element that will enable Gargoyle to conquer the world. Can Cap and Falcon stop him?!

Subsequently, when Falcon returns to Harlem, he is stung by criticism that he's an "Uncle Tom" in his community due to his partnership with Captain America. His girl friend Leila invites him to a meeting of the People's Militia, a revolutionary political organization.  

The militia's leader is a masked figure known simply as "The Man". He stirs the crowd into a frenzy and leads them in an attack on a local boys club. But things aren't quite as they seem. Captain America and Falcon intervene and attack the militia. The Man unmasks and reveals that he is actually Cap's deadliest foe, the Red Skull!

After a brief fight, the Skull imprisons Cap & Falcon in a deathtrap and it looks they're goners. The only one who can save them is Sam's pet falcon Redwing!

Sometime later, there is some tension between Sam and Steve. Falcon feels unique pressure being African American superhero. Working with Captain America makes him an outcast in Harlem. He breaks up their partnership and says he's dedicating himself to protecting his neighborhood. Sam breaks out a new costume to signify his new direction.  

In his first "solo" mission, Falcon takes down a drug dealer and turns him over to the police. This makes Sam a hero to Harlem and he's carried through the streets. Cap is happy for his friend but also saddened that he's lost another partner.  

Shortly after that, Nick Fury has a new mission for Captain America. The terrorist organization Hydra is back in business. Fury knows the new Hydra base is located in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip and assigns Cap to find its exact location. Captain America will be accompanied to Vegas by SHIELD's Femme Force, an all-women squadron led by Steve's girlfriend, Sharon Carter (AKA Agent 13).  

Femme Force's second-in-command is Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, known as "Val" to her friends.  Val was romantically linked to Fury until he moved on, but she now appears to have feelings for Cap.  This creates a problematic dynamic for everyone.  

Unfortunately for Captain America and his team, Hydra has infiltrated Femme Force and have been monitoring SHIELD. When Cap arrives in Vegas, Hydra's agents are expecting them and a battle ensues. When Sharon is shot, Captain America is furious and more determined than ever to take down Hydra. Fearing the worst, Fury contacts Falcon and sends him to Las Vegas. Sam is reluctant at first, since he wants to take care of Harlem, but eventually accepts the assignment.

When Cap tracks down Hydra's Supreme Leader, he's shocked to discover that the terror organization's real leader is the Kingpin Of Crime! Falcon and Captain America go toe-to-toe with the gangster and defeat him.

However, everyone is shocked to learn that Cap's deadliest foe, the Red Skull, has been running Hydra behind the scenes. He's using it as a decoy to buy time for him to build a Nazi Fourth Reich!  

The Skull activates a giant "Sleeper" robot that will destroy all human life in its path. If Captain America and Falcon want to beat Red Skull, they will need to team up with the Kingpin and his criminal empire in order to prevent Nazism from taking over the world!

Back in New York, children are disappearing from Harlem. Falc and Cap discover it's the work of their foe Batroc The Leaper! The French mercenary is working for an alien named Jakar who intends to take the souls of the children to space in order to restore life on his home dimension. How can Captain America and the Falcon defeat a being like Jakar who has otherworldly super-powers?

Sometime afterwards, the super-villains known as Scorpion and Mr. Hyde are out for revenge. They were placed in an experimental SHIELD prison and will exact vengeance on any SHIELD agent they can find. They kidnap Sharon and use her as bait to get SHIELD to rescue her. Hyde and Scorpion may regret their plan when Captain America and Falcon show up instead. 

Following that, Steve and Sharon take a vacation in the Bahamas. At the same time, Sam is shocked when his girlfriend Leila tells him that Captain America is beating people up in Harlem. Falcon doesn't believe her. While patrolling, he sees Cap attacking an innocent man and intervenes. Sam has the upper hand until he's attacked from behind by...Cap's old sidekick Bucky! 

We learn that these two are duplicates who took over the roles during the 1950s, when the real Captain America was missing. They've gone insane and accuse Falcon and Cap of being Communist sympathizers. How can Captain America win a battle against a copy of himself?

Finally, the advertising executive-turned-super-villain known as the Viper attacks Cap and Falcon. He hits the heroes with venom-tipped darts, which puts their lives in jeopardy. In exchange for his freedom, Viper gives cap a vial of antidote and runs off. Captain America later learns that when the antidote interacts with the Super-Soldier Serum in his blood, it gives him super-strength. 

Steve later learns that Viper is connected to the police corruption he was investigating. Viper and the bad cops work for someone known only as the Cowled Commander. Falcon is able to capture Viper, only to have him freed by a team of villains led by his brother, the Eel. 

Who is the mysterious Cowled Commander? Can Cap and Falcon defeat five super-criminals and simultaneously uncover the corruption in the police department? 

Review:
Captain America Epic Collection: Hero Or Hoax? contains another mixed bag of Cap & Falc stories, but it's mostly enjoyable.  

Story:
I'll start with the best parts of this book. Steve Englehart wrote the last seven issues reprinted here. The conflict with the Cap and Bucky of the 1950s is a high point of the tpb. Englehart shows how a great idea and symbol like Captain America could lead to dangerous racist jingoism and nationalism and Steve is shown to be terrified of this possibility. It's also just an exciting and dramatic story!

I also enjoyed the way Englehart wrote the Viper. The villain is a former ad man and talks like one, quoting popular commercial catch-phrases of the 1970s. Viper's advertising skills are later put to use in Englehart's famous "Secret Empire" story.  

Gary Friedrich wrote the stories in the middle of the book, including the Hydra/Kingpin/Red Skull saga. It's important because Kingpin, prior to this storyline, was strictly a Spider-Man villain. Friedrich introduces Wilson Fisk to the rest of the Marvel Universe, which opened the door for Frank Miller to later turn him into an arch foe for Daredevil.

Other storylines don't work as well. Stan Lee wrote the stories at the beginning of the tpb which focus on Steve going undercover as an NYPD officer. This is presented as a major change of direction for the character and the series. But after that, it's dropped for the most part, only popping up again once or twice. Englehart wraps up the police corruption storyline but it feels more obligatory than anything else.  

Friedrich also writes a "love rectangle" of sorts for Cap, Sharon, Val, and Fury. It doesn't add much to the story and the women (who are supposed to be professional secret agents) are written like they just fell out of one of Marvel's "Romance" series.  

Gerry Conway wrote the tale that features Batroc and Jakar. I feel like this is a case of writer and artist not communicating. Jakar is penciled to look like the Stranger, an earlier alien who made several appearances in other Marvel titles. Jakar says he disguised himself as the Stranger, then drops the premise...because Cap and Falcon never heard of the Stranger? It's an odd story. Conway does a better job with the story that  pits the heroes against Hyde and Scorpion.  

Art:
Hero Or Hoax? is penciled by some of the greatest comic book artists of all time. Sal Buscema pencils the bulk of the book. He draws lots of great fight scenes and these pages from the Scorpion/Hyde fight are a nice example:

John Romita penciled the the early part of Hero Or Hoax? and his work is also excellent. Gil Kane, for his part, provides about half an issue's worth of solid art.

Gray Morrow, who rarely drew Marvel's superhero stories, pencils ten pages in the tpb. However, they're an important ten pages, since Morrow is the first to draw Falcon's red and white costume, which Sam would wear for several decades.  

How Does It Look?:

Here's a scan from Captain America and The Falcon #149:

And here's how the same pages appear in Hero Or Hoax?:

Extras:
In the back of the tbp, you'll find the cover to Captain America Annual #2 (which contained reprinted Silver Age tales), a house ad for Captain America #139, and ten pages of original art.

Rating:
Captain America Epic Collection: Hero Or Hoax? features great stories and art that's full of action and character development. Its weaker moments prevent me from giving it my highest rating, but it's fun and recommended for fans of Falcon, Cap, and comics of the 1970s.

J.A. Morris' rating:

.5

3 and a half Sals.

Captain America Epic Collection: Bucky Reborn

Reprints Captain America #120-138
Written by Stan Lee.
Penciled by Gene Colan and John Romita.
Inked by Joe Sinnott, Dick Ayers, Frank Giacoia, Bill Everett, Tom Palmer, Wally Wood and John Romita.

Summary:

A carnival hypnotist who goes by the name Suprema decides to use her hypnotic abilities for a life of crime. She captures SHIELD agent Dum Dum Dugan and forces him to reveal the location of SHIELD'S secret base.  Captain America happens to be at the base, instructing agents in hand-to-hand combat.

Suprema hypnotizes SHIELD agents to do her bidding, including its director Nick Fury. Only Cap stands in the way of Suprema and world domination!

Later, Captain America tells Fury that he wants his girlfriend, agent Sharon Carter, taken off field duty and put on a desk so that she is not putting her life on the line. If Fury refuses, Cap will no longer help SHIELD fight crime. Sharon complies, because she loves Cap. At the same time, Cap's enemy MODOK is concocting a scheme to destroy Captain America. He directs his AIM scientists to create a cyborg whose only purpose is to kill Cap!

Even though she's no longer a field agent, Sharon intervenes and helps Steve fight the cyborg. He mistakenly believes she and Fury have reneged on their agreement and breaks up with her. Sharon is devastated by this turn of events.

Feeling distraught over his breakup, Steve is looking for action to take his mind off Sharon. He hears about the capturing of Doctor Robert Hoskins in Vietnam and heads over there to rescue him. Cap isn't sure who is behind Hoskins' capture, since the doctor is an advocate of peace and respected by both sides in the conflict. It turns out to be the work of an unexpected super-villain!

Back in the states, a Harlem-based gangster named Diamond Head frames Falcon for murder. Sam will need Captain America's help if he wants to clear his name and take down Diamond Head.

Sometime after, a SHIELD scientist named Dr. Ralph Ryder creates a battle suit that will enable SHIELD agents to battle super-powered beings. Fury tries out the suit in a sparring session with Cap.  However, SHIELD's headquarters are raided by AIM agents who intend to steal the suit and duplicate its technology.

Nick Fury says that anyone could have betrayed him, including Captain America himself. So he asks Tony Stark to build a new android that is capable of defeating Cap. Can the star-spangled Avenger defeat Android X-4?

Subsequently, Steve is feeling out of place and time in New York City, so he gets a motorcycle and hits the open road. Steve overhears members of the Satan's Angels biker gang talk about causing a riot at a rock festival. Only Captain America can prevent tragedy at the festival!

Steve keeps riding his motorcycle, getting as far as the Midwest. Unbeknownst to Cap, he's being tracked by his arch-nemesis the Red Skull! The villain plans to attack King Hassab of oil-rich Irabia, whose motorcade is close to Captain America. An attack on the king could plunge the world into a state of total war! Cap must keep the King Hassab safe and find a way to defeat Red Skull.

Shortly after that, Cap breaks up a riot on a college campus and encourages both sides to engage civilly with each other. A TV producer notices this and asks Captain America to speak on television about peaceful solutions to domestic conflicts.

Unfortunately for Cap, it's a setup and he's attacked by his old enemy Batroc the leaper, master of Savate! Batroc is accompanied by Whirlwind and Porcupine, who form Batroc's Brigade. The criminals are being paid by a mysterious figure known as the Hood.

Steve keeps riding westward and winds up in the San Francisco Bay area. The Hood is also in the same area, working on a scheme to defeat Captain America. He finds a very agile amnesiac who bears a striking resemblance to Cap's deceased partner Bucky Barnes. The young man is taken to the Hood's lair to be treated for amnesia.

The Hood is revealed to be Nazi war criminal Baron Von Strucker, master of weapons. He leaks news that Bucky is alive and under his care, hoping Captain America will pay him a visit. Cap takes the bait and is shocked to discover that the Hood's real identity. Strucker attacks Captain America with a crossbow, a mace, and a spear and has Cap on the ropes. However, Strucker is thwarted by Bucky, who turns on the baron and saves Cap.

With Bucky alive, his partnership with Captain America appears to be restored and Steve is overjoyed to learn that Bucky is alive. This is depressing news for Falcon, who thought he would become Cap's partner. But Captain America's joy is short-lived when Bucky attacks him!

Barnes' return was part of a plot orchestrated by MODOK. When Steve returns to New York, the villain sends a robot called Bulldozer to destroy tenement buildings in Harlem. When Falcon and Cap intervene, the citizens of Harlem by cheering on Bulldozer! Falcon and Captain America go to Tony Stark for technological assistance in taking down Bulldozer.

Following the Bulldozer incident, a new super-duo is born when Steve and Sam decide to fight crime together! But Falcon's frustrated when he learns his nephew Jody is running numbers for a Harlem gangster named Stoneface. Jody tells his Uncle Sam that it's the best way to make money and says Stoneface's lawyers will help him if he's arrested.

However, when the police catch up with Jody, only Captain America shows up to vouch for him. It's up to Cap and Falc to bring Stoneface to justice and protect Jody and his family from the gangster's hired guns.

Next up, SHIELD scientist Dr. Erik Gorbo creates a super-strength serum out of blood cells taken from an ape. Gorbo turns into an ape while retaining his intelligence, plus the ability to telethapathically control animals. He uses this new power to rob banks and interfere with SHIELD efforts.

When Captain America and Falcon try to capture Gorbo, they all wind up underground. This places the heroes in between a battle between Gorbo and the Moleman, ruler of Subterannea!

Finally, Falcon sees Spider-Man swinging through Harlem. When Sam notices Spidey is fleeing from the police, he decides to capture the webhead himself. This will help cement his crime-fighting reputation and get him out from under Cap's shadow.

Falcon eventually catches up to Spider-Man and a battle ensues. Sam gives Spidey all he's got, but Spider-Man's super-strength proves too much for him to handle. Spider-Man swings away, leaving Falcon unconscious. He leaves a Spider-Tracer on Falc, so he can track Falcon and figure out why he attacked.

Sam is later hit by a car and captured by Stoneface! Only Spider-Man and Captain America can save Falcon from the gangster!

All that, plus, we learn the secret origin of MODOK!

And a cameo appearance by comicdom's #1 super-villain, Doctor Doom!

Review:
I should mention here that most of thes contained in this tpb were new to me. Captain America Epic Collection: Bucky Reborn is a fun book with good stories and great art. However, it's not perfect.

Story:
Stan Lee writes all of stories reprinted in this tpb and they cover a wide variety of adventures. We get  "street level" tales set in Harlem, Cap and Falcon fighting robots and a quick detour to the Vietnam War.

Perhaps the best (and most important, from a historical perspective) is Lee's decision to make the Falcon Captain America's partner. Maybe some of Lee's attempts at "urban" dialogue haven't aged well, but it represents a quantum leap in terms of diversity in comics at the time. Sam Wilson is a strong, well-written character who makes a great partner for Cap.

Lee also does a nice job establishing MODOK as one of Captain America's greatest foes. The AIM leader is responsible for the fake Bucky, Bulldozer, and the cyborg's attacks on Cap. I also appreciated seeing MODOK's origin, something I'd heard about but never read in comic form.

Sending Steve to fight Satan's Angels at a rock festival makes for an interesting topical tale. This story was published only a few months after the disaster at the Rolling Stone's Altamont Concert, where Hell's Angels acted as "security" and physically assaulted the concertgoers.

Other parts of Bucky Reborn don't work as well.  Bucky's return is a bit silly. Unless he was supposed to have been in suspended animation, Bucky should've been depicted as being much older. Maybe this is a case of writer and artist not communicating? Strucker has a throwaway line about how Cap will be "so overjoyed, he won't think to question the contradiction of their ages," but it's not mentioned any other time.

The portions of the story that focus on Steve's relationship with Sharon Carter are a bit hard to get through. It sort of makes sense that Cap, being a "man out of time" isn't crazy about Sharon having a dangerous job. But there are too many scenes of Steve whining and brooding about their breakup.

A mixed bag of stories, but the good parts outweigh the lesser material.

Art:
This is where Bucky Reborn truly shines. Gene Colan is one of my favorite artists of all time. Colan (embellished by six different inkers) gives us lots of great action scenes that feel like they could jump off the pages at any time. This page, featuring a battle between Cap and Batroc's Brigade, is a great example:

And on these pages, the top left panel is bordering on 3-D:

Very nice work by Colan.

The final issue reprinted features excellent art by John Romita Sr., which is appropriate, since the issue features Spider-Man as a guest star.

How Does It Look?:
Here are two pages from a copy of Captain America #131:

This is how the same pages appear in Bucky Reborn:

Extras:
The book opens with two stories published during the end of the Silver Age (which I don't review here). In the back of this tpb, you'll find the cover for Captain America Annual #1 (which consisted of reprinted Silver Age stories), two Marvel house ads, and nine pages of original art.

Rating:
Captain America Epic Collection: Bucky Reborn gives us some (mostly) fun stories and fantastic art.  The tales that feature the Falcon and Gene Colan's art make it worth purchasing for any fans of Bronze Age comics.

J.A. Morris' rating:

3 Sals.

Captain America: Dawn's Early Light

Reprints Captain America #247-266
Written by Roger Stern, John Byrne, Bill Mantlo, Mike W. Barr, J.M. DeMatteis, David Michelinie, David Anthony Kraft, Al Milgrom, Jim Shooter and Chris Claremont.
Penciled by John Byrne, Gene Colan, Mike Zeck, Alan Kupperberg, Lee Elias and Marie Severin.
Inked by Joseph Rubenstein, Dave Simons, Mike Zeck, John Beatty, Al Milgrom, Marie Severin, Frank Giacoia and Quickdraw Studios.

Note: The first 8 issues of this book have been reprinted before in a tpb called Captain America: War And Remembrance. I reviewed that book here. And issues 261-263 were reprinted in another tpb that I reviewed titled Captain America vs. The Red Skull. So this review focuses mostly on the content that hasn't been previously reprinted.

Captain America is a member of the Avengers and a living legend of World War II. But what about his alter-ego, Steve Rogers?

Steve has recently relocated to Brooklyn Heights and is attempting to establish a career as a graphic designer. He's getting to know his neighbors, Joshua Cooper and Mike Farrell. They're eventually joined by a new neighbor, Mike's old friend Bernadette "Bernie" Rosenthal. Steve and Bernie are attracted to each other from the moment they meet, even if Steve's musical tastes are dated (just like Steve himself).

Bottom R:Steve Rogers meets Bernie Rosenthal for the first time.

Steve is having trouble remembering his past. He spent years in suspended animation and wonders if his memories are real, imagined, or planted. Steve sets out to find out the truth of his past.

In the process, Steve, as Captain America, encounters various villains:

-Baron Strucker, the former Nazi turned head of Hydra!

Captain America battles Baron Strucker, Nick Fury lends a hand.

-Machinesmith, master of robotics! He builds robot replicas of many Marvel heroes & villains and sends them after Cap!

-Dragon Man, a giant flying super-strong android. He has the mind of a child, but Dragon Man is one of the strongest and most dangerous beings in the Marvel Universe!

Batroc the Leaper teams up with the deadly, demented Mr. Hyde! They take control of a supertanker and hold it for ransom...a ransom that Captain America must deliver!

Hyde & Batroc take over a Roxxon Oil tanker.

 Cap is called to England to help fight an old foe: The Nazi Vampire known as Baron Blood!

Cap & Union Jack take on Baron Blood!

While in the UK, Captain America visits Greymoor Castle, home of his wartime enemy, Nazi scientist Cedric Rawlings. This foe was presumed killed during Cap's previous visit to the castle. Captain America learns that Rawlings is alive, and that the castle is haunted by a ghost. But the "ghost" may be another adversary from Captain Americas' past.

Greymoor Castle is full of surprises for Captain America.

Next, Cap flies to Northern England where he is captured by a team of criminals called Matrix Eight.  He learns that their leader is a former associate of his World War II era foe, Baron Zemo. Matrix Eight also kidnaps the Hulk and siphons off some of his gamma radiation to create the Gammadroid!

Matrix Eight try to capture Hulk & Cap.

Back home in New York, Steve Rogers' apartment is set on fire. It turns out to be the work of an arsonist who calls himself Blockbuster!

Cap tackles Blockbuster!

Later, Cap receives a letter from Ray Coulson, a friend of his from their service in WWII. Ray's son John has stolen money and taken up with a motorcycle gang called the Huns, so Ray seeks Captain America's assistance. Cap finds John but is attacked by Doctor Octopus before he can bring John home.

For the first time ever, Captain America battles Doc Ock!

Subsequently, Cap is sent to prison as part of a prison reform program. The warden has recently replaced the door, and asks Captain America to test its effectiveness...by staging a break-out!

Captain America travels to Los Angeles to investigate the appearance of a new superhero called Nomad. Steve is confused, since Nomad was the identity he took on when he lost faith in the United States government. Shortly after Cap arrives in California, he learns that this new Nomad is part of a the latest plot of the Red Skull!

Sometime after, we see Steve Rogers and his friend Congressman Sam Wilson watching a parade of Nazis marching through New York! John F. Kennedy is alive and still President, serving his 6th term.  Cap's wartime partner Bucky is still alive. But Captain America feels like something isn't quite right.  The star-spangled Avenger is summoned to a hotel in the Catskill mountains, where he will learn the truth. Cap is assisted in this adventure by the original X-Men!

The X-Men, Falcon & Cap battle Nazis.

Cap foils a terrorist plot in New York Harbor. He later learns that it's connected to a bizarre man named Samson Scythe, AKA Deathwatcher! The only pleasure Scythe gets in life is derived from watching other people die.

Scythe sends mechanical dogs to take out Cap.

Lastly, Captain America is captured by a villainous cyborg who calls himself Sultan. But just as he's taken, Spider-Man throws one of his Spider-Tracers on to Cap. Spidey learns that Sultan is a former weapons designer for SHIELD and the villain plans to attack Washington, DC with a nuclear missile. It will take the combined abilities of the two superheroes plus Nick Fury to defeat Sultan.

Cap, Spider-Man & Nick Fury battle Sultan's robots.

If that isn't enough, a small political party asks Captain America to run for President!

Plus, Cap's origin story and his first adventure are retold, narrated by none other than President Franklin Delano Roosevelt!

Review:
Captain America: Dawn's Early Light opens with reprints from one of the greatest eras of Captain America, followed by several fill-in stories. The best of this material has already been reprinted in the aforementioned War And Remembrance and Captain America vs. The Red Skull. So what about the rest of the book?  Is the book worth "double dipping" to get the stories that have never reprinted before? Read on.

The origin of Captain America is retold in this tpb.

Story:
The first part, written by Roger Stern, is the strongest portion of the book. The second-best story is the Red Skull three-parter, written by J.M. De Matteis. As I mentioned above, that was also reprinted before.  

I'd never read the Sultan story that guest-starred Spider-Man. It's a lot of fun, even if we never believe Sultan will blow up Washington, DC. Team-ups between Captain America and Spidey were always enjoyable during the Bronze Age and this one is no exception.

Spidey & Cap meet out of costume.

Bill Mantlo wrote a nice follow-up to the Silver Age Greymoor Castle story.

Rawlings warns Cap about  Greymoor's ghosts.

The story that features Blockbuster is a gritty, street-level tale focusing on arson and the often imperfect system of justice. It's co-written by David Michelinie and Chris Claremont. Like many Claremont stories, Cap doesn't really get a "clean" victory.

The portion reprinted from Captain America Annual #5 is offbeat and disturbing, but interesting. I can't recall any other Bronze Age villains who committed crimes simply because they enjoyed watching human suffering.

Some of the one-and-dones are light, but never bad. Even Mike W. Barr's Hulk story features a nice conversation between Captain America and Bruce Banner.

The only problem I had with these stories is the ease with which Cap dispatches of Constrictor and Doctor Octopus. Constrictor once battled the Hulk for an entire issue and Doc Ock always gave Spider-Man all he could handle. Michelinie has them beaten in a page or two and that's silly considering the villains' histories.

Art:
In addition to the fantastic art by John Byrne and Joseph Rubenstein that opens the book, we get some good work by other Bronze Age stalwarts. Mike Zeck pencils more pages than anyone else except for  Byrne. Zeck would go on to become Cap's regular penciler and his work in Dawn's Early Light is great.

The legendary Gene Colan drew two issues worth of reprints in this book. His art isn't quite as good as it was during the Silver Age, but it's still solid and gives the stories a "Film Noir" atmosphere.

How Does It Look?:
Better than ever. Here's a page from War And Remembrance:

And here's the same page as reprinted in Dawn's Early Light:

Looks the same...but better!

Extras:
Captain America: Dawns Early Light includes a nice assortment of bonus features.
This tpb reprints of essays written by Roger Stern that were originally published on the Captain America fan letters pages. And we get eight pages of original art from Byrne and Rubenstein. Unfortunately, they're shrunk down to fit on two pages, so we don't get them in the original size. Stern's introduction from the 1990 edition of War And Remembrance is re-presented here, along with a 2007 interview where Stern discusses his work on Cap.

Back in 1981, the main story from Captain America #257 (the Hulk/Matrix Eight story) was only 16 pages long, so the original issue ended with five pages of reprinted material from issues 11-12 of  Not Brand Echh, Marvel's Silver Age humor comic. Those pages are not included in Dawn's Early Light.

Rounding out the supplements are covers from earlier reprints of these stories, but again, they're reprinted in a reduced size. It's good to have them, but the original size would've been nice.  All in all, an excellent collection of extras.

Rating:
Captain America: Dawn's Early Light contains some of Cap's best Bronze Age stories and some more stories that are also enjoyable.  The writers and artists featured here are some of the best of the 70s and early 80s.  If you don't own War And Remembrance, picking up this book is a no-brainer.  Even if you do own it, the stories have never looked better and the additional content also makes this a must-have for any fan of Bronze Age Comics.

J.A. Morris' rating:

4 Sals!