Longbox Junk - Captain America and Hawkeye

Welcome to Longbox Junk, where I write comic reviews that nobody asked me to!

It's July!  It's friggin' HOT!

 And if you live in Utah like I do, the fireworks go ALL month long!

Yeah, we're a little silly about our fireworks here in Utah.  Try explaining to a cranky hotel guest from Kansas why there are fireworks waking him up on the 16th of July.  Super fun, I tell ya.

BUT I DIGRESS!

Here at Longbox Junk, we celebrate Fireworks Month. . .er. . .July. . .by shining the spotlight on the star-spangled super-soldier.  The shield-slingin' Avenger.  The man who loves nothing more than punchin' some Ratzis.  

I'm talking about CAPTAIN AMERICA!

What we have here is a four issue series from a sort of odd time in Captain America continuity.  You see, everyone thought Cap had been assassinated at the end of Civil War, so the newly-resurrected Bucky Barnes (AKA The Winter Soldier) took it upon himself to become Captain America to redeem his past crimes and honor his mentor. It was a GREAT story!

But then Captain America came back. . .because Marvel didn't have the guts to follow through with the dramatic storytelling opportunities presented by Captain America actually being killed.  

Turns out he wasn't dead, but trapped in time and fighting his way back to the present day.  Which meant that after jumping through some hilarious and convoluted hoops to bring back Steve Rogers, there were now TWO Captain Americas and Marvel couldn't quite decide what to do. 

So they started running self-contained mini-series (like the one at hand) that were part of the (then) current volume numbering, but were also categorized as their own separate series. . .a bit confusing for online collection tracker sites.  To make it a bit worse, Marvel ALSO decided to shift from volume 5 numbering to volume 1 "legacy" numbering right in the middle of it all.  Yay.  

Things just sort of drifted with Captain America for almost 2 years (22 issues) with out of continuity teamup stories like this one, one shots, and flashback tales before Marvel finally got around to trying to fix their mess. . .by shuffling Cap through SIX new volumes.  And here we are today. 

ANYWAY. . .

Enough about Marvel mistreating one of my favorite superheroes.

Let's get into this series. . .which promises some dinosaur punching, if the covers are to be believed.

CAPTAIN AMERICA AND HAWKEYE

Marvel (2012)

Captain America (Vol. 5/1) #629-632

SCRIPTS: Cullen Bunn

PENCILS: Alessandro Vitti (with Matteo Buffagni issue 631)

INKS:  Alessandro Vitti (with Matteo Buffagni issue 631)

ISSUE ONE

(#629)

COVER: Gabriele Dell’otto

THE STORY:

Captain America and Hawkeye travel to New Mexico to investigate the disappearance of a large environmentalist group.  They are attacked by the security forces of the top secret Damocles Research Facility.  We are introduced to Kashmir Vennema, the Director of Operations.  They were also looking for the missing group when they encountered the Avengers during their mission.

At the research facility, Cap and Hawkeye learn that there are a number of classified U.S. Military research projects being carried out.  But their attention is directed to a lab where a Doctor Henry Reese is examining a strange, mutated creature.  The Avengers are shocked to learn that it was once a human.  One of Damocles' security contractors that had gone missing not long before.

Learning that the facility had been attacked several times by the twisted creatures, Cap and Hawkeye immediately order the Director to show them to the source of the attacks, a storage room that has a gaping hole leading down into the earth.

As they explore the dark tunnels beneath the research facility, it isn't long before Cap and Hawkeye are attacked by a strange dinosaur-like creature.  As they fight for their lives in the cramped tunnels, they see that they are battling against some kind of symbiote that has animated a dinosaur skeleton!

They win the battle, but the fight makes too much noise, and before long, our heroes find themselves surrounded by a large group of the mysterious symbiote/ dinosaur creatures. . .

To be continued.

THE REVIEW:

Yep. . .the covers to this series promised dinosaur punchin' and we have quickly commenced to punchin' dinosaurs in the very first issue.  Sure, there were a few pages of setup, but yeah. . .mostly dinosaur punchin'.  I have the feeling that this might have been the easiest money Cullen Bunn ever made.

I do like the gritty art style Allesandro Vitti brings to this series. Cap and Hawkeye look like a couple of rough and tumble guys you do NOT want to mess with, and I like the look.  The art is a little dodgy during talking head scenes, but Vitti definitely scores points when it comes to action.

NEXT!

ISSUE TWO

(#630)

COVER: Patrick Zircher

THE STORY:

We start right where we left off, and get TEN uninterrupted pages of sweet dinosaur punchin'!

Captain America and Hawkeye hold their own against a horde of weird dino-creatures until Cap is finally overwhelmed and dragged down a tunnel before Hawkeye can give chase!

Shifting scenes back to the Damocles Research Facility, we find Director Vennema and Dr. Reese arguing about the possibility of Captain America and Hawkeye interfering with their project for their "real" employers. . .obviously something stinks about the whole thing. 

A distracted Dr. Reese is taken over by the symbiote hibernating in the seemingly dead body of their former security head.  The creature pursues Director Vennema through the lab, but she finally manages to kill it.  She doesn't care so much about losing Dr. Reese as she's pleased to have been able to test the "Hybrid" in an actual combat situation.

IN THE MEANTIME. . .

We switch back to the tunnels below and follow Cap as he discovers that the well-known supervillain Stegron is behind some (but not all) of the strange goings-on beneath Damocles.  

Stegron explains that he's been trying to use his science/magic to resurrect an ancient lost race of dinosaur-like beings called Saurons who lived in a long-lost city that existed there long before mankind walked the earth.  Unfortunately, his efforts have been somehow warped and only partly successful.

Cap tells Stegron he doesn't care WHAT'S going on.  He's there to end it and it's time for some more star-spangled dinosaur punchin'!  We don't see the fight, but what we DO see is Hawkeye searching for Captain America and finding a twisted creature carrying Cap's shield. . .OH NO!

To be continued.

THE REVIEW:

Roughly half of this issue is dinosaur punchin'.  Don't get me wrong. . .it's some mighty FINE looking dinosaur punchin' thanks to the fantastic action artwork of Allesandro Vitti.  But Cullen Bunn DOES add a little bit more to the narrative by throwing in Stegron and showing that the Damocles facility isn't as innocent as they first seemed.

I actually like the back and forth banter between Cap and Hawkeye.  The Grizzled Veteran vs. The Young Buck is definitely a well-worn narrative path, but it's pretty enjoyable reading the push and tug between Cap wanting to use careful tactics and Hawkeye just wanting to jump in.  All in all, a pretty fun issue.

NEXT!

ISSUE THREE

(#631)

COVER: Patrick Zircher

THE STORY:

First there was CapWolf. . .Now meet DINOCAP!

A battle between Hawkeye and a dino-symbiote-possessed Captain America ensues.  As they fight, Hawkeye discovers that Cap is only partly taken over and uses a sonic arrow to help Cap throw off the creature.  The gambit works and the pair of heroes begin dino-punchin' their way through resurrected Saurons toward Stegron's laboratory. 

When the Avengers confront Stegron, he insists that he's not their enemy, and that he wants to help them.  Cap and Hawkeye reluctantly hear him out.  It seems that the symbiote-like creatures twisting the once-peaceful Saurons into deadly killers are actually beings from another world. . .Dire Wraiths!  Worse, there is a Dire Wraith Queen that had been in long hibernation and has finally risen to lead the Wraiths. 

Stegron wants to cleanse the infected Saurons as badly as the Avengers do.  As the three of them are attacked by Dire Wraith infected children of the missing environmentalist group, Stegron insists that Cap and Hawkeye make a run for the surface while he holds the attackers off for them. 

Unless they can make it on time, the Dire Wraiths may find a way to spread to the surface world again!

When the Avengers make it topside, they catch Director Vennma in the act of trying to escape with the Dire Wraith-infected corpse of Doctor Reese.  A confrontation with her Damocles security forces is interrupted by the appearance of a massive Dire Wraith infected dino-snake creature breaking through the landing pad to the surface! 

IT'S THE DIRE WRAITH QUEEN!!

OH MY!!!

To be concluded.

THE REVIEW:

Dire Wraiths? 

An unexpected callout to one of my favorite Bronze Age Marvel comics. . .ROM!  And here I was thinking the symbiotes were just going to be your typical Venom/Carnage-style Marvel Brand Symbiotes™.  

Nicely done, Cullen Bunn.  Very nicely done!

Besides the Dire Wraiths showing up out of nowhere like a long-lost memory from the Bronze Age of comics, I also liked DinoCap.  Too bad we didn't get much of him.  Too bad anybody who hasn't read this mini-series (or this review) will even know DinoCap existed.  I salute you, DinoCap!  You were gone too soon. . .

LET'S FINISH THIS THING!

ISSUE FOUR

(#632)

COVER: Patrick Zircher

THE STORY:

IT ALL ENDS HERE! 

As the gigantic Wraith Queen bursts through to the surface, Cap and Hawkeye immediately try to keep the Damocles security forces back, even though they were just getting ready to attack the heroes last issue.  Stegron joins the battle as the mutated Dire Wraith-possessed environmentalists swarm the security forces.

Captain America comes up with a desperate plan to ram the Avengers Quinjet into the Wraith Queen, but she destroys the jet before he can, leading to Plan B. . .DINOSAUR PUNCHIN'!

While Cap punches dinosaurs and gets the security forces to safety, Hawkeye uses sonic arrows to drive the symbiotes off of the possessed environmentalists and save Stegron, who he orders to help Captain America with his science/magic.  Stegron protests that there's nothing he can do against the wraiths.  

Hawkeye remembers that Stegron can bring dinosaurs to life from the smallest bone sample.  He comes up with a crazy plan. . .so crazy that it might just work!

Captain America engages the Dire Wraith Queen, but his shield and best Sunday Dino-Punch aren't doing much good.  Stegron joins the battle, and doesn't really do much good. . .just like he said.  Even so, he and Captain America fight together while Hawkeye rushes back into the laboratory to quickly fashion some arrowheads from samples of dinosaur bones he had seen during their earlier tour. . .

Hawkeye shoots the enraged Dire Wraith Queen with three dinosaur bone arrows and tells Stegron to use his powers!  But Stegron loses his scepter as the Wraith Queen tries to crush him with her tentacles. 

 Captain America grabs the scepter and uses it!  Three fully-grown dinosaurs form inside of the Wraith Queen, tearing her apart as the giant creatures burst through her body!  THE HEROES WIN! YAY!!

After cleaning up the remaining wraith-possessed Saurons and Environmentalists, Cap and Hawkeye take a breather.  Hawkeye is happy with how things turned out, but Cap is bothered by Vennema and Stegron being missing loose ends. Speaking of which. . .

DEEP IN THE TUNNELS BENEATH THE RUINED DAMOCLES FACILITY.

We get a one page epilogue.  Stegron has retreated back underground to the ancient Sauron city to stew in his failure and regret.  Vennema appears out of nowhere, offering Stegron a vial of some unknown substance. . .promising him that what is in there will make his dreams come true. 

DUN-DUN-DUNNNNNNN!

The End.

THE REVIEW:

It's an all-out action-packed dino-punchin' finale! The good guys win the day and everything is wrapped up in a nice, neat ending that doesn't even come close to affecting continuity in any way. . .except for that cliffhanger ending.  An ending that, as far as I can tell, was never followed up on.  

As a matter of fact, when I tried looking up what happened next, I discovered that only ONE source on Stegron even MENTIONS this story, let alone what happened afterwards.  From what I can see, he just went back to being a Spider-Man villain after his short heroic turn here, and the mysterious vial stayed right here in that single panel I scanned above.

Oh well.  I guess it was still some silly, fun, dinosaur punchin'.  Let's just leave it at that.

CONCLUSION

They say not to judge a book by its cover.  And that saying is particularly true with comic books, which often have covers that don't have ANYTHING to do with the story inside. . .especially in this modern age of multiple variant covers for almost every issue out.

BUT. . .

When it comes to THIS little forgotten miniseries, what you see on the cover is exactly what you get.  Captain America and Hawkeye fighting dinosaurs. . .and a lot of it.  This whole story is little more than a framework for page after page of Cap and Hawkeye punching, shooting, and shield-slinging their way through mutated dinosaur creatures.

Is that a bad thing?  Not really. Not EVERY comic has to be an introspective and wordy masterpiece. . .an eloquent reflection of the writer's feelings about the world around him.  Sometimes you just want to see superheroes punch dinosaurs!  Why not?

What story there IS does a fine job of setting up the next round of dino-punching.  I liked the back and forth banter between veteran soldier Captain America and brash up-and-comer Hawkeye.  It's a well-worn path, but it's well-worn in the first place because it works. 

 I was also pleasantly surprised to see the Dire Wraiths rear their ugly alien heads in this series.  ROM was one of my favorite comics when I was a kid (And yeah. . .I had an actual ROM action figure. It sort of sucked. The comics were better.) but the Dire Wraiths were something I had all but forgotten about.  Honestly, the Dire Wraiths coming back from Bronze Age limbo for a few issues was the part I liked best about the story.

But truthfully, Cullen Bunn didn't have much to do here.  He just built the framework and artist Alessandro Vitti did the heavy work of making this extremely simple story a feast for the eyes!

Page after page of dark, brutal, and somewhat exaggerated art fills the four issues of this series and  drives it forward.  Simply put, each page is a visual treat!  Vitti's dark and twisted art is really what makes this series worth a read at all.

Vitti's style is a little dodgy when it comes to characters standing around and talking, but when it comes to action, he brings it, and brings it hard!  

Overall, I can recommend this series as a fun little dinosaur-punchin' Captain America team-up adventure.  If you're looking for a deep story or commentary on society, this ain't it.  It's dinosaur punchin'.  

There's some fun banter, a surprising villain, and some tasty artwork, but beyond that, it's little more than a quick, fun read that you'll probably forget not long after you're done.  And you know what? Sometimes that's just fine.

Up Next. . .

Maybe I can get another Captain America entry done before July ends.

Let's find out!

Be there or be square.

Longbox Junk Retro Review - Avengers #58 (1968)

Welcome to Longbox Junk, where I write comic reviews even though nobody asked me to!

Every now and then here at Longbox Junk, I like to delve a bit into the corners of my collection that aren't so. . .well. . .Longbox Junk-y.  Those comics I own that are a little older and "worth" a little more to collectors than most of the bargain bin finds that are the meat and potatoes of this blog.

Case in point:  Avengers #58 from 1968.  It's regarded as a minor "Key" comic because it's the second appearance (and origin) of The Vision.  According to various sources it's "worth" a bit north or south of $200 in the condition mine is in (which is really good, considering where I got it from).  So it's not the most "valuable" comic in my collection, but it ain't nothing, either.

I paid five whole bucks for my copy at an antique shop, where it was hiding unbagged and forgotten among a stack of old Archie and Richie Rich comics, so how 'bout dat?  

The Longbox Junk price I paid for this comic just goes to show that there ARE still great old comics to be found out in the wild, and not just at the click of a mouse on the internet.  Finding this one was a very nice surprise, and really made my day.

ANYWAY. . .

Every now and then I delve into those corners of my collection that hold the older and more "valuable" comics, and this is one of those times!  Step this way to the Longbox Junk paper time machine, if you please. These goggles are for your safety.  Make sure to fasten your seat belts securely.

*Lowers ridiculous steampunk goggles and takes hold of gigantic lever with both hands*

Everyone ready?  Let's do this!

*Pulls giant lever. . .the number "1968" flashes on a screen above*

WEEEEEEEEEEE-OOOOOOOOOO-WEEEEEEEEEEEE-OOOOOOOOOO!!

And here we are! 1968. . .right in the middle of the "Mighty Marvel" era of comics!  Please remove your goggles and watch your step as you exit the Longbox Junk paper time machine.  To our left is Avengers Headquarters, where the call has gone out for Earth's mightiest heroes to assemble and ponder the possibility of adding a mysterious new member to their ranks.  

Follow me, please, and let's listen in. . .

THE AVENGERS #58

MARVEL COMICS (1968)

EVEN AN ANDROID CAN CRY

SCRIPT: Roy Thomas

PENCILS: John Buscema

INKS: George Klein

COVER: John Buscema

THE COVER:

By the beard of Odin! Are there any among us who will deny the greatness of this John Buscema masterpiece? I SAY THEE NAY! The stark white (well, sorta cream-colored on my copy) background perfectly frames the colorful assemblage of Avengers!  It's an almost perfect example of what makes up a classic "Team Shot" comic book cover.  When it comes to old-school superhero comic covers, it doesn't get much better than something like this, in my humble opinion.  Let's get inside!

THE STORY:

We begin our tale with a fantastic splash/title page featuring Black Panther answering an "Avengers Assemble" summons and making his way to Avengers Headquarters.  There's several great splash pages in this issue and you can bet I'm going to feature them all in this review!  This one reminds me of Eisner's Spirit title pages. . .

Panther is sort of new to the Avengers (he hasn't even met Iron Man or Thor yet) so he's surprised to find a room packed full of Earth's Mightiest Heroes (and we get a great half-page mini-splash group shot).  He's even more surprised to find The Vision among them, because the last Panther heard, Vision was fighting AGAINST the Avengers.

Vision informs Black Panther that he's there because he wants to join the Avengers.  Henry Pym (AKA Goliath) gathered the Avengers together to consider the strange request.  Panther is on board with Vision joining up, but Iron Man and Thor are hesitant.  Membership in the Avengers is a privilege not to be taken lightly and they know little about Vision's powers and nothing about his origin.  Captain America decides to put Vision to the test by attacking the mysterious android. . .

As several of the Avengers attack Vision, he easily defeats them without harming anyone by using his fantastic strength and power to alter his body structure from insubstantial to super-dense.  The battle ends before it gets out of hand by Goliath telling everyone that Cap had attacked in order to give a demonstration of Vision's powers.  The Avengers all agree that Vision is definitely a heavy hitter, but are still reluctant to let him join without learning more about his background.

Thor calls the meeting to order for a formal vote by reading the Avenger's scroll of membership and briefly describing the honor and distinction becoming a member of the Avengers brings to an individual. . .and in doing so, we get yet another fantastic group shot splash page!  Yeah, I know.  This review is a little more picture-heavy than usual, but just LOOK at that Buscema art!

Realizing that the Avengers need more information about his origin, Vision struggles to remember, and then with a mighty push of willpower, he manages to break through a mental block and he clearly remembers the moment of his awakening by his "Master", Ultron 5!

Ultron teaches Vision about his powers and that he has been created for one purpose. . .to destroy the Avengers!  Vision struggles against Ultron's commands, but his newly-created will is no match for that of the malevolent machine that has created him.

Even though Vision has remembered more of his origin, there is still some mystery surrounding him.  Henry Pym (AKA Goliath) remembers working on a similar sort of android, but is frustrated because he can't remember.  Thinking maybe he has the same kind of mental block that was preventing Vision from remembering his past, the Avengers decide to investigate Pym's abandoned laboratory and try to learn more.

At Pym's lab, he finds a memory recording machine and using it, he remembers that it was HE who created Ultron!  At first, Ultron was merely a crude robot, but it quickly learned and transformed into an intelligent mechanical terror!

Ultron attacked its creator, taking Pym by surprise and easily defeating him.  The evil robot then erased Pym's memory of the incident by using his own memory recorder on him.

As the Avengers further investigate Pym's abandoned lab, he realizes that there is a missing memory tape of Wonder Man (AKA Simon Williams).  We then get a recounting of the Avenger's earlier run-in with Wonder Man, who was secretly working with Baron Zemo when he enlisted the help of the Avengers to help him find a cure for the deadly disease he was dying of.  

Turning on his new allies, Wonder Man was able to defeat the Avengers before learning that Zemo planned on murdering them.  He then turned against Zemo and freed the Avengers, helping them to defeat Zemo's team of villains.

Unfortunately, his turning against Zemo sealed his fate.  Zemo had the only cure to Wonder Man's disease.  Knowing he was dying, the Avengers rushed him to Henry Pym's lab and made a recording of his brain patterns before he died.

Vision is shocked by the realization that his brain is actually the stolen pattern of Wonder Man!  The mystery of Vision's origin now mostly solved, the Avengers return to their headquarters to finally determine if Vision is worthy to join them.

After a short meeting, Goliath delivers the good news to Vision. . .he has been found worthy to join Earth's Mightiest Heroes!  As the other Avengers welcome the android onto the team, he remains stoic before asking for a moment to himself.

And as Vision cries with happiness out of the sight of his new comrades, the reader learns that the artificial being has more humanity in him than he is letting on, and there are still mysteries surrounding The Vision.

The End. . .

THE REVIEW:

Part of the fun of doing these "Retro Reviews" is learning a bit about the comic at hand and increasing my general knowledge of the wonderful world of comic books.  So bear with me a bit.

A little research tells me that there was an editorial edict at the time preventing Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor from being regular characters in The Avengers, due to them headlining their own titles. Because of this, the appearance of the three heroes together in this issue was a bit of a special event.

Because the three heaviest hitters in the Avengers couldn't really be IN the Avengers on a regular basis, The Vision was the first character created specifically to be a member of the Avengers instead of appearing elsewhere and then joining up.  So there's a pretty interesting story behind the story to be found here, if you feel like looking into  it.

But enough of that.

Look, I'm gonna be honest here and admit that, comics or movies, Vision is my LEAST favorite Avenger.  I guess he just seems like a bit too much of a stretch for my comic book suspension of disbelief. Once I realized that this issue was going to be centered around the origin of The Vision, I almost didn't even want to read it.  But then there was that great John Buscema artwork waving me in and asking me to give this a fair chance. . .if only for some great pictures.

And guess what?  I found myself liking this story a LOT more than I thought I would.  

Okay, I'll admit that Vision's origin IS pretty convoluted (and it gets worse going forward through the years), especially the part about Wonder Man.  That just sort of came in out of nowhere, and reads almost like something that was thrown in at the last minute. . .but even that was sort of interesting in how they tied in a minor character from years before into the introduction of Marvel's new heavy hitter Avenger.

But convoluted origin aside, I found this story to be well-written and engaging.  It's told in an unusual manner, with no "villain of the month" to be found except in flashback, and delivering (what must have been pretty shocking at the time) several surprise revelations.  

A story like this would take twelve or more issues to tell these days, but the compressed storytelling of Roy Thomas gives the reader basically FOUR short stories in ONE issue!  Thomas doesn't waste a single word from cover to cover on this one.  It's amazing to me that so much story can be packed into so few pages.

And then there's the art.

That fantastic John Buscema cover drew me in, and his wonderful superhero art kept me in to the last page.  Every panel on every page of this comic is simply a joy to look at to begin with, and THEN Buscema threw in several awesome splash pages that you just want to keep turning back to!  Simply put, the art in this issue is classic.  It's colorful, it's expressive, it's everything I could have ever asked for in a superhero comic.

CONCLUSION

It's sad to say, but a lot of older comics seem to not have much effort put into them.  It's pretty clear to see that they were written for kids and meant to be disposable.  This is not the case with Avengers #58.

From the amazing cover to the final splash page of Vision hiding his emotions from his new teammates, you can see that Roy Thomas and John Buscema were creating something that they KNEW would stand the test of time. . .something that could still bring joy to a comic reader in the far off future year of 2021.

Up Next. . .

Back to the bargain bins!

May is Star Wars month, so how something from that galaxy far, far away?

Be there or be square!