Written by Jonathan Maberry
Illustrated by Sergio CarielloFrom the dark days of World War II to the Heroic Age, witness the brutal battle between Captain America and the immortal evil known as Hydra! How far back has the gruesome group been killing its way to capture the secrets of eternal life? What can Steve Rogers do to halt its sinister spread – when the horrific hordes of the undead rise to stop him? Find out as award-winning horror novelist Jonathan Maberry (DOOMWAR) teams with five different artists to capture five different time periods – including Sergio Cariello (Lone Ranger), Tom Scioli (Godland), Phil Winslade (Wonder Woman), Kyle Hotz (Conquest: Wraith) and Harvey Talibao (PSYLOCKE) – and guest-starring The Falcon, Black Panther, Nomad, Nick Fury and The Avengers!
I heard that Doomwar was good, but I never got around to reading it. When I found out that Doomwar writer Jonathan Maberry was doing a Captain America story spaced out over time where the primary antagonists were Hydra, I thought I would give Maberry the shot I forgot to give him when Doomwar was coming out. Follow the cut for more.
I was never too familiar with Hydra. I always somehow missed the arcs dealing with them, except those with Bob, Agent of Hydra in Cable & Deadpool. Then I read Jonathan Hickman’s Secret Warriors, and the fictional terrorist organization is now one of my favorites (and there are a lot in the realm of comics). Mayberry is bringing us something a bit different than the edgy espionage thriller that Secret Warriors is, though. There’s something… let’s go with “classic” about the way that Mayberry’s first issue is told. It’s quite reminiscent of the original, classic Captain America comics, but with a bit of added modern flair. Whatever it is, it’s fun. Sure, the writing is a bit cliche and overdone, but in a good way — and I think Jonathan Maberry knows that. While I’m sure the comic would still be fun if he continued doing it in this style, I would like to see his writing style change to match the era that he’s covering.
I feel like I’ve been saying this a lot about certain comics this week, but the tone is definitely helped by Sergio Cariello’s artistic style. I wouldn’t quite call it Kirby-esque, but it does resemble that look that we associate with old adventure comics. Just as much as Mayberry’s writing, Cariello’s art brings some excitement and fun to this comic. Even more so, though, is the effective use of bright colors by colorist Chris Sotomayor. One of the most noticeable differences between (most) comics of old and (most) modern comics is that modern comics tend to be darker in coloration to match the darker tone. By using more vibrant colors, Sotomayor hearkens back to the days of Jack and Joe just as well as Cariello and Mayberry.
Is this a ground-breaking comic? Not by any means. Is it fun? Most assuredly so. It suffers from from cliches, in both dialogue and story, but I get the feeling that Mayberry is winking at us the entire time. As this story spans Captain America’s entire career, there are a lot of places where this could go, and I’m interested to see where Maberry will settle on.
Final Verdict: 6.7 – Browse, buy in trade.
