Captain America Man Out of Time

In honor of the Captain America 2 movie I decided to read Captain America Man Out of Time. Yes, I know the Captain America 2 movie follows the Winter Solider story arc, but I couldn't get my hands on that comic. Plus, this comic was written by Mark Waid, who is doing an excellent job on Daredevil, and I wanted to read more of his work. So here's my review...I kind of liked it.

I really don't care about Captain America, I find him kind of boring, but Waid does a good job of making Cap a very sympathetic character. I really did feel bad for our hero displaced in time. Here's the story if you haven't heard it already. In the 1940's the US government was getting tired of the Nazi's messing with their toys so they made a superhero and called him Captain America. If the name didn't scream patriotism, they also dressed him up in the United States flag so you'd know for sure which country was kicking your butt. While on a botched mission, Captain America gets frozen underwater somewhere in the north pole and is reawakened by the Avengers in present day. Captain America must come to terms with the a new culture that surrounds him, mourn the loss of all his loved ones, and still kick some bad guy booty. Geez does this guy get a break?

This series is not the action pact superhero punch-athon I was expecting. In fact, a lot of the fighting happens off the page with only a panel or two depicting Cap and the Avengers rushing into battle. Instead, this graphic novel is a character study about a man who has to rapidly change with the times and figure out his identity in this brave new world. 

What I liked most is how Waid chose to handle the topic of loss. Our hero is fixated on Bucky, a friend who "perished" in that botched mission I mentioned earlier. With some sage words from friends and some heart breaking scenes, Waid delivers some very powerful and thoughtful insights on coping with loss of loved ones.

I feel that because this is a comic book, I have to mention the art. The comic also looks good, but it doesn't stand out from the pack. Jorge Molina was no slouch when it came penciling this story and my eyes did enjoy, but as I said it's almost indistinguishable from many of the other Marvel artists, which isn't a bad thing in my opinion.

So yeah, give Captain America Man Out Of Time a shot if you're interested in reading about a guy trying to figure out life and who also happens to be a super hero.