I am attempting to initiate a new habit for myself…reading a comic book every day. I am sure it won’t actually be every single day, but hopefully this will result in reading a comic most days. I decided to jot out a bit of a recap and reaction to the first one I read. Here it is…it most definitely has spoilers, so don’t read it if you don’t want to know specifics about this particular comic or elements of the backstory of Captain America and the Falcon.
Here are my ramblings about Captain America issue #144:
Yesterday, I pulled out a wonderfully white-paged issue of Captain America from December 1971. It lacks a cover and came from a bundle of coverless comics I picked up a while ago. Even though it has no cover, the interior is in astonishingly immaculate condition. The paper and colors are so vibrant…it’s a treat to look at and read!
This issue is broken into two distinct parts with different artists, although both are written by Gary Friedrich. The first part, titled “Hydra Over All!”, is drawn by John Romita and opens with a dramatic splash page on which a Hydra leader, atop a platform or stage, is burning an American flag while shouting to a room packed with Hydra stooges dressed in masks. Several hold burning torches. The scene is reminiscent of a Nazi rally, complete with the frenetic speeches of a would-be tyrant.
The next page is comprised of only three panels. The first large panel, taking up two-thirds of the page, explodes with breaking glass as Captain America, Nick Fury, and comrades burst through a window, propelled by some kind of jetpacks. Much punching ensues! Fury relights his cigar. Hydra is smashed.
Page five is another full-page splash…Captain America eschews the crude firearms of his compatriots and sends Hydra agents flying like nine-pins with his fist and shield! There is whumfing, pwoking, whunking, and kraking galore!
On the next page, who should we see but the president of the United States himself—Richard Nixon! Nixon and some of his select staff, including Spiro Agnew, are watching the battle through a video feed. As they do so, the Femme Force bursts onto the scene, piloting some sort of one-person hovercrafts. Led by Sharon Carter, they jump into action and join the fray, karate-chopping, throwing, and generally pounding the numerous, green-suited Hydra agents.
We (the illustrious comic-book readers) soon learn that this is a staged battle and the Hydra thugs are actually LMD—Life Model Decoys—developed by S.H.I.E.L.D. It’s all been an attempt to allocate funding from the federal government for the LMD project and the Femme Force. Nixon appears impressed but explains to Fury the obstacle-filled path to funding, encumbered with the Pentagon, presidential cabinet, and Congress. Will these obstacles to funding be insuperable? Only time will tell! In the meantime, Fury tells Cap and Sharon to take a much-deserved vacation. Perhaps in issue #145 we’ll get to see their R&R, which I somehow doubt ends up being very placid.
Thus ends part one. Chapter two, “The Falcon Fights Alone!”, opens with a dreaming Steve Rogers. Images of Sam Wilson and his love-interest Leila Taylor, the Falcon and Cap in action, and a civil rights protest, complete with what appears to be a Black Panther activist, are rendered as the subjects of his dream.
The art, drawn by Gray Morrow, has a noticeably different tone than the first part of the issue. It’s a little more realistic and somehow a bit darker and sober in feel. It fits very well with the story, as did Romita’s art in the first chapter.
I was unfamiliar with Gray Morrow’s work; I don’t recall having read a book with his art before. I found it very nice and look forward to reading some more comics featuring his pencils. Reading a little about him while writing this post, I learned that he is known, among other things, as a science fiction and horror illustrator. I looked at some panels from a Tarzan issue he penciled and found them beautiful.
On the next page, Cap is watching unobserved outside Sam Wilson’s office as Sam discusses relationship issues with Leila. She feels he is not doing enough for the black community and won’t engage in a romantic relationship unless that changes. When not fighting injustice as the Falcon, Sam at this point is a social worker, I think in New York City. The comic attempts to explore some interesting themes around race, self-determination, and civil rights.
Captain America is concerned that he is losing another partner and enters Sam’s office via an open window to talk with Sam. The two converse, with Sam telling Cap he has decided he needs to change the way he operates as a superhero. As Sam throws his old green and gold outfit onto the floor, he declares that from now on “the Falcon fights alone!” He steps out of the bathroom in his now iconic red and white costume, with his falcon Redwing on his shoulder.
As Falcon and Cap shake hands, a neighborhood kid bursts into the room looking for Sam. His friend, tied up by drug dealers, needs help! Cap automatically jumps in ready to assist, but Falcon lets him know that it’s his neighborhood and he’ll take care of the problem. Cap steps back and Falcon swings out of the window, ready to take care of business!
He smashes through a door into a room where a teenage boy is tied to a bed and is apparently in the throes of withdrawal. Two drug dealers are on the verge of murdering him for allegedly speaking with the police. Falcon and Redwing quickly deprive the reprobates of guns and a knife, leaving them unconscious for the authorities. Falcon tells the arriving police he’ll be visiting the boy in the hospital.
A crowd of onlookers from the neighborhood forms around Falcon, and he promises that he will work to better the community. He’s embraced and accepted wholeheartedly by the crowd and carried away on their shoulders.
The issue ends with Steve Rogers in bed, apparently awaking from a dream, the dream being the story that just unfolded. It was no simple dream, though, but rather a memory of events as they actually happened. Steve is pained over the loss of Sam as a partner and vows to never again be part of a team.
And there you have it—Captain America #144! It was a very fun read. Not only was the story engaging, I also got to see the Falcon develop as a character and learn about some of his backstory. I enjoyed the art tremendously, and it was satisfying to learn about a comic artist new to me.