Captain America #2 Review

Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: John Romita Jr.

Captain America has became one of my favourite characters over the last few years, mainly due to Ed Brubaker's run. I am however happy that someone as talented as Rick Remender has taken over from him. Remender has truly been one of the writers that I have enjoyed reading from over the last year, and I'd say he's been the best writer overall over the last year, along side Scott Snyder.

Plot

This issue is set 1 year after the first, and Captain America is still in Dimension Z. He has looked after Ian Zola who he "stole" from Arnim Zola, and Ian considers Captain America to be his father. Ian as also aged dramatically over the last year, as he was an infant just a year prior,which means that either Ian ages quicker, or time moves differently in Dimension Z.

Review

This was a fantastic issue, and this story is really starting to interest me. I wasn't initially sure if I'd like this story when I started this issue, and especially considering it jumped a year, but as it progressed it got very interesting, and crazy, and is the story that only a comic book could tell as good. Remender has done a brilliant job in this issue, and I've liked that he has put a lot of thought into Dimension Z, and that it has all these unique things happening in it. I also like that Remender is going deeper into Cap's childhood, as it show that life wasn't always like it is now, but I'll talk more about that further down my review.

I actually really enjoyed the art in this issue, and thought that John Romita Jr did a brilliant job. There are a lot of haters of JRJR's art, and it is noticeable why. I personally try to like his art, but most of the time it's very inconsistent, and not good enough, with Kick-Ass related series being the only exception. I did however think that he did a much better job on this issue, ans although there are still lots of inconsistencies it is better than most of his previous work. I wasn't too sure on how he drew the Dimension Z creatures, as I liked the initial shape, and look of them, but felt that they lacked detail, and looked very rough, which didn't appeal to me. I also wasn't to sue on the way he drew Ian. Don't get me wrong detail wise he was brilliantly drawn, but at certain points he looked to much like Hit-Girl, which isn't a good thing especially considering he's a boy.

One Year Later

The fact this issue is set 1 year after the first was interesting, and although as I said I didn't initially like this, I felt that this was one of the things that made the comic as interesting as it was. The way Cap, and Ian have bonded over the last year, being the only person each of them has really seen, with Cap looking after Ian, like he was his own son was easily noticeable in this issue, and probably the thing I liked most about the issue. The way that Ian has grown as much as he has in the space of a year, being a small infant in the last issue, and looking like a 5-7 year old was probably the most shocking, and interesting thing about this issue, and this issue had weird creatures. The way Ian sees Cap as his father is also an interesting thing, and I'm sure that Zola won't be happy if he finds out that Ian lives. I am looking forward to seeing the development of this character over the next few issues, as I have became very interested in the character after reading this issue, and think he'll have a bigger role to play than he already has.

Steve's Childhood

This series so far has also shown you Captain America's childhood. Although they seem slightly irrelevant (sure there will be a reason for them) I've enjoyed seeing Steve's childhood, as it's always nice to see that Captain America wasn't always the strong brave hero he's known as. The thing that has shocked me in these sequences however has been the violence, as there's always someone getting a severe beating, whether it's Steve or his mother. It was also interesting to see that the person bullying Steve went on about his dad being a bum, and also saying nasty things about his mother. I do however hope that Steve sticks up for himself some point in this part of the story, as it will show the courage, and pride that has been built up in him, and will also show that he's always had the traits he's know for as Captain America.

Captured

Dimension Z itself is very interesting, as it has all these weird creatures that speak a funny language, and all appear to know who Zola is. The late part makes total sense however, but besides that I'm more curious to where this dimension actually is let alone what inhabits it. I'm also looking forward to seeing how Cap deals with the creatures of Dimension Z more in the next issue, as he was doing a good job before getting captured. I'm also interested to find out more about the leader of these people who Captain America tries to talk to at the end of the issue. It will also be interesting to see how Cap deals with having to look after Ian at the same time.

Final Verdict

This was a brilliant issue, and I'm really looking forward to how it progresses. I would highly recommend this issue to anyone, and if you're not a fan of JRJR's art Id' still recommend as the story itself is defferent, as well as being very good, and very interesting.

Rating 4.5/5