Captain Kid 1 Featured Reviews 

Pick of the Week: “Captain Kid” #1

By | July 28th, 2016
Posted in Pick of the Week, Reviews | % Comments

Mark Waid loves superheroes and he has seemingly spent his entire career exploring their mythos and what makes them tick. In his latest effort, Waid attempts to create a new, exciting hero, but still with all the usual trappings. Except one, because behind Captain Kid’s youthful facade lies his secret alter ego, a middle aged man.

http://multiversitystatic.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2016/07/Captain-Kid-1-Cover.jpg

Written by Mark Waid and Tom Peyer
Illustrated by Wilfredo Torres

Chris Vargas is a middle-aged man with a hacking cough, an obsolete job, and a bombastic secret: whenever he likes, he can transform into the teenage superhero Captain Kid! In this, his first recorded adventure, he encounters Helea, a mystery woman who knows more about him than he does, and Halliday, a mad businessman with a catastrophic weapon!

When it comes to writers like Mark Waid, it is generally the case that whatever they turn their talent towards, what you get is going to be pretty great. I mean just look at his previous work; Waid is the writer who brought us the excellent “Kingdom Come”, a moving and heartfelt love letter to the uncynical superheroics of the pre-“Watchmen” days. He’s incredibly consistent too, his multi-arc run on “Daredevil” has been one of the most enjoyable and defining runs for that character and he did it all without going down the usual grimdark route. These just being two examples, when you look at his career on the whole, you can say there is a level of expectation associated with Waid, or at least when it comes to superheroes that is. On the most part, what Waid delivers, is a traditional superhero inspired tale told through a modern lens. Waid’s stories always retain a slight edge to them so it never feels too old fashioned nor redundant to modern readers. He may not always succeed, I can’t think of a single person working in comics with a 100% hit rate, but it’s comforting to know there is someone like him fighting the good fight. That’s what makes failures like “Captain Kid” #1 such a crying shame.

The book – which Waid co-created and co-writes with Tom Peyer – opens with our narrator Chris Vargas, a middle aged man who evidently appears to be crumbling before us, sat in a bar with his friends, celebrating what is possibly the most merose birthday party I’ve ever seen. Chris’ demeanor and attitude is that of somebody who’s been let down and defeated his entire life and the bar is near empty except for a few barflies. Waid and artist Wilfredo Torres do a good at establishing Chris’ mundane life, I’ll give them that. In fact, this is what makes the reveal that Chris can transform into a younger superhero called Captain Kid stand out and work as much as it does. However, the rest of this scene, which probably makes up one third of the issue, is a total mess. The dialogue is choppy and dull, it feels as if the characters are having half-conversations with each other, changing topic on a whim. Other characters disappear as quickly as they arrive, the team put a whole lot of focus on one guy who is completely inconsequential. To be fair, one character who shows up, a woman dressed as if she’s from the 80’s, is supposed to be a mystery, but her interactions with Chris are so odd her inclusion only furthers to add to the overall confusion. To get his attention she shoots him with a ray gun that makes him want to urinate, I’m unsure if this is supposed to be funny or a clue that she’s more from a more advanced time, but to me it just says lazy plot device. Waid and Peyer exacerbate this when the woman reveals that the villain of the issue is stood in this very bar playing a pinball machine. It was at this point they lost me.

The rest of the issue sees Chris become Captain Kid and follow the man from the bar around. We learn he’s a powerful businessman who is amassing some weapon with the power to destroy cities, I think? Maybe the world, I’m not sure, if anything I’m just more frustrated that he was introduced in a dive bar, on his own, playing pinball. Although, it does give Waid, Peyer, and Torres the chance to go full superhero and allow Captain Kid the chance to do what he does best and selflessly save everyone on a falling freeway. It is here that the narration, the dialogue and plot is at its clearest. Right at the end, Peyer and Waid manages to inject a semblance of story into this aimless issue and the promise of something better is hinted at. Unfortunately, it’s a case of too little too late.

Continued below

Wilfredo Torres’ art does a good job at telling what story there is. He’s a capable artist, yet he never commits to paper anything spectacular or noteworthy. His character’s are distinct and clearly thought out, but they have an unfortunate characteristic of having messy frames and facial expressions that fall apart. I would say he’s a better concept designer than he is a sequential artist. Take his Captain Kid design, it is sleek and full of youthful energy, yet during moments of action his legs seem to melt or disappear completely. You notice that Torres struggles most with finer details like this. From afar, this book would look pretty good, but the closer you get, the evident the problems become. The best work done here is actually from colourist Kelly Fitzpatrick. She is expertly precise with her colours, filling the panels with washed out blues and dull browns during the downtimes and then changing track to bright, electric colours whenever we see Captain Kid in full flight. Fitzpatrick, to me, seems to be the best storyteller out of everyone involved.

Overall, the biggest sin this issue commits is it never rises above its own premise, one that I don’t think is particularly exciting to begin with. It kinda feels like a spitball idea, what if a superhero was secretly old? Though maybe in the right hands, this concept could really work and I might actually find myself caring about it or even the characters. “Captain Kid” is so invested in setting up this dynamic between old Chris and super Chris, it neglects to craft anything around it. And as the book shows, without a proper support, it all falls apart.

Final Verdict: 4.0 – A wholly disappointing read with a whole lot of potential, but none of the payoff.


//TAGS | Pick of the Week

Liam Budd

EMAIL | ARTICLES


  • Transformers Vs The Terminator Featured Reviews
    Pick of the Week: “Transformers vs. Terminator” #1

    By | Mar 26, 2020 | Pick of the Week, Reviews

    What happens when you merge two different robot-based science fiction franchises debuting in the 1980s, then throw them back in time to that very decade? Check out the result in the new crossover between Transformers and Terminator!Written by David Mariotte and John BarberIllustrated by Alex MilneColored by David Garcia CruzLettered by Jake M. WoodIt’s Skynet […]

    MORE »
    Reviews
    Pick of the Week: “Stealth” #1

    By | Mar 12, 2020 | Pick of the Week, Reviews

    Detroit is a city that has financially collapsed and while there are those out there trying to save it through rebuilding its infrastructure; one man is prowling through the night to take down criminals to help save the soul of the city. Mild Spoilers AheadWritten by Mike CostaIllustrated by Nate BellegardeColored by Tamra BonvillainLettered by […]

    MORE »

    -->