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kmccubbin's review
3.0
Much like the Golden Age of Marvel Comics Omnibus, this is a historical artifact more than a fun book. It's a pristine, almost glowing, version of something that would've been bought, episodically, by schoolkids in the Great Depression for a dime a pop.
As much of a relief as it is to ascend the plateau from the prior Marvel volume and have the startling brilliance of Jack Kirby's artwork as a new vista (a little primitive, but still an incredible leap in the form), the writing is still terrible. By and large the plots barely make sense and seem like weird, unfocused, melodramatic jumbles. Much like Siegal and Schuster's Superman of a few years before, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby's Cap was going to need a lot of honing, much of it later with Stan Lee, to become the Cap we're familiar with now (or even 40 years ago).
And don't let's get started on Bucky.
The most interesting thing after seeing the early Kirby, then is also getting to see the fledgling Stan Lee. Now there is some GARBAGE that he writes in this volume, but when he takes over Cap, in the final 2 issues reprinted here, the writing DOES become more sophisticated. The plots do become a hair more complex and, I hate to say it, decipherable. But at that point Kirby is gone, so some of the motive punch of the whole thing.
While it is fashionable to choose sides, Kirby vs. Lee (I won't get into the legal struggles here.), it becomes glaringly apparent that if you take that artist and pair him with that writer, you'd have something really special on your hands.
As much of a relief as it is to ascend the plateau from the prior Marvel volume and have the startling brilliance of Jack Kirby's artwork as a new vista (a little primitive, but still an incredible leap in the form), the writing is still terrible. By and large the plots barely make sense and seem like weird, unfocused, melodramatic jumbles. Much like Siegal and Schuster's Superman of a few years before, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby's Cap was going to need a lot of honing, much of it later with Stan Lee, to become the Cap we're familiar with now (or even 40 years ago).
And don't let's get started on Bucky.
The most interesting thing after seeing the early Kirby, then is also getting to see the fledgling Stan Lee. Now there is some GARBAGE that he writes in this volume, but when he takes over Cap, in the final 2 issues reprinted here, the writing DOES become more sophisticated. The plots do become a hair more complex and, I hate to say it, decipherable. But at that point Kirby is gone, so some of the motive punch of the whole thing.
While it is fashionable to choose sides, Kirby vs. Lee (I won't get into the legal struggles here.), it becomes glaringly apparent that if you take that artist and pair him with that writer, you'd have something really special on your hands.
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