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.

Superman: Phantom Zone

Reprints Superman:Phantom Zone #1-4
Written by Steve Gerber.
Penciled by Gene Colan.
Inked by Tony DeZuniga.

Summary:  
Daily Planet employee Charlie Kweskill has been haunted by nightmares which are inducing insomnia.

 

He has a recurring dream about the planet Krypton. Charlie witnesses several Kryptonians commit horrendous crimes. The perpatrators are punished with banishment to the Phantom Zone.

When he passes out at work, his boss, Planet publisher Perry White, tells him to go home and get some rest.

In reality, Charlie is really Quex-Ul of Krypton. He was wrongly imprisoned in the Phantom Zone himself. Years ago, Superman freed him and used Gold Kryptonite to wipe away his memory and create his new identity as Charlie Kweskill.  

We learn that Charlie's dreams are caused by telepathic manipulation by prisoners of the Phantom Zone. They are led by General Zod. The Kryptonian criminals force Charlie to steal equipment from STAR Labs which he uses to build a Phantom Zone projector that will allow Kryptonian criminals to escape to Earth. 

Back at the Planet, reporter Clark Kent learns that Charlie never returned to work and has disappeared. He decides to investigate this as Superman, starting at Charlie's apartment. Superman arrives just as Charlie is releasing the inmates from the Phantom Zone.
When the villains escape, Superman and Charlie Kweskill are sent to the Phantom Zone! 

When the villains escape, Superman and Charlie Kweskill are sent to the Phantom Zone! 
That means that several criminals with powers similar to Superman's are free to wreck havoc upon Earth.

Zod flies away, accompanied by Kru-El, Faora, Va-Kox and Jax-Ur. Their first stop is the Justice League's satellite headquarters. The Kryptonians send the satellite deep into the Milky Way. The Phantom Zoners also attack communication satellites owned by the United States and Soviet Union. This causes the World's great powers to launch nuclear missiles at one another.

With Superman missing, his cousin Supergirl leaps into action.  
She teams with Wonder Woman and they prevent the missiles from inflicting damage, thus avoiding World War III.

Several other Kryptonian escapees separate from Zod's crew and explore Earth on their own:

Jer-Em, a fanatical religious prophet preaches that armageddon is coming. His activities attract the attention of Batman.

Az-Rel is a pyrotic whose thoughts can set matter aflame. He's accompanied by Nadira, a telekinetic whose thoughts disrupt the bioelectrical impulses of the brain. They wander around Metropolis, inflicting pain on people.  

Nam-Ek is a madman who experimented on rondors (native Kryptonian animals) which resulted in him being half-man, half-rondor. Wonder Woman encounters Nam-Ek and tries to be kind to him. He is so surprised by this gesture that he doesn't believe her and attacks the Amazon Princess!

Supergirl travels to Gotham City, hoping Batman can help her find Superman, but the Dark Knight has no idea where Superman is. She then departs for her cousin's Fortress Of Solitude, not knowing it's been taken over by the Phantom Zone villains. Upon arrival, Supergirl is overpowered by Zod and the others. They leave the scene, trashing the Fortress, presuming Supergirl is dead.

Green Lantern is also defeated by Zod's gang. The criminals use GL's lantern to charge a gigantic cannon that will send Earth to the Phantom Zone!

Back in the Phantom Zone, Superman and Charlie are trying to find an escape route. In order to do so, they must go further in to the Zone. As their journey progresses, they encounter many bizarre and frightening characters. When it looks like they've found a way out of the Zone, Kal-El and Charlie learn they will have to go through the monstrous Aethyr, the Oversoul in order to escape!

Can Superman and Charlie escape from the Phantom Zone and save Earth from destruction?

Review:
The late, great Steve Gerber was synonymous with "offbeat" Bronze Age stories. Superman: Phantom Zone shows that Gerber could make even the Man Of Steel offbeat.
  
Story:
This limited series was published shortly after the release of the movie Superman II, so the Phantom Zone was sort of "hot" at the time. Gerber gives us a Phantom Zone that's a supernatural, phantasmagorical nightmare world.

Superman: Phantom Zone also does a good job demonstrating exactly how dangerous a pack of criminals with the powers of Superman would be.

I'm not an expert on Silver Age DC Comics stories. But I think this is the first time we got to see visual depictions of some of the crimes committed by Zod and the other prisoners of the Phantom Zone. Through Charlie's "nightmares," we see that Zod and the others are very dangerous mass murderers.  

The portrayal of General Zod in Superman: Phantom Zone is very different from the character played by Terrence Stamp. But he's a great villain who is willing to destroy Earth just to cause grief for Superman.  

But it's not all doom, gloom, and horror. Gerber gives us a funny scene where the Phantom Zone criminals visit a Metropolis punk rock club. 

Gerber also gives us a classic "everyman" character in Charlie Kweskill. Charlie is a typical working stiff who suddenly has the fate of the world in his hands. He also serves as a surrogate for the reader. 

I also appreciated the way Gerber let us, the readers, experience the world through the eyes of Nadira and Az-Rel.

Though Superman and Charlie are the main characters, Gerber also does a good job writing the other superheroes. Wonder Woman and Supergirl prevent a world war when they intercept the missiles, and Batman has some interesting scenes with Jer-Em. 

Speaking of Batman, there's a scene where Supergirl tells Batman that his "best friend" Superman has disappeared. It made me a bit sad, since the Man Of Steel and the Caped Crusader are no longer best friends in the post-Crisis DC Universe.  

No Gerber story would be complete without quirky, unusual characters. They don't get much more "Gerber-esque" than the Priestesses of the Crimson Sun, who have heads that do interesting things, as you'll in the images below:

If there's anything to criticize in the story, it's that the ending is somewhat abrupt. There's also no follow-up about the U.S. and Soviets launching missiles at each other. It would've been nice to get a caption or a sentence of dialogue that mentioned how the nations dealt with this "misunderstanding."

Art:
Gene Colan is probably NOT an artist most comic fans associate with Superman, but he provides excellent pencils in this tpb. He penciled this about two years after the conclusion of his seven-year run on Tomb Of Dracula, so it's not surprising that he brings a touch of the horror genre to this tale. Colan gives us lots of great, shadowy, noirish images. Gerber previously teamed with Colan on Howard The Duck, it's interesting to see them collaborate on something completely different from Howard's adventures.

Colan is embellished by Tony De Zuniga, who also penciled and inked horror comics and magazines. They team up to create some great moody art that works great in the context of the Phantom Zone. Colan and De Zuniga make the Phantom Zone look like a truly spooky and frightening place. 

Here's a nice scan from Superman: Phantom Zone that shows off the fine work of Colan and De Zuniga:

 Great stuff!

How Does It Look:
Here's a scan from my copy of Superman:Phantom Zone #4, published back in 1982:

And this is how the same pages look in the tpb:

Extras:
This book contains Gerber's follow-up to this story, published after the Bronze Age. 

Superman: Phantom Zone features a Superman story unlike any other.  Fans of Steve Gerber and Colan should definitely seek out this tpb. 

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!