Review by Ian Keogh
In 2022 Captain America was rebooted for the umpteenth time, the novelty being that two series resulted. Symbol of Truth stars Sam Wilson as the patriotic crimefighter under the guidance of Tochi Onyebuchi, but for the Sentinel of Liberty it’s the writing partnership of Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing dealing with Steve Rogers as Captain America.
Both spin out of a battle with Arnim Zola in New York on which all three writers collaborate and which is drawn with some style by Mattia de Iulis. It opens the first volumes of both series and sets exceptionally high artistic standards. Carmen Carnero may not be as overtly showy, but he’s one hell of a storyteller, detailed and complete, and knows his way around an eye-catching action page. A speciality is spreads with multiple images of Cap moving from one place to another battering villains all the way. Furthermore, he’s equally good whether he’s drawing Steve Rogers in costume or lounging around his apartment. His one downside is the primary threat too closely resembling the morphing Terminator.
Kelly and Lanzing set up their version of Captain America as an exceptionally good man keen to help those unable to help themselves, steeped in nostalgia for the times he grew up in, and constantly remembering old allies. The gap of decades frozen in ice weighs heavily, and he seeks the familiar, not the new. Some good moments occur when younger friends find information via modern methods that hadn’t occurred to Steve.
His nostalgia is contrasted with an idea that’s gained so much 21st century traction: the conspiracy theory of a shadowy cabal controlling the United States. Their symbol of a star embedded on three rings is exactly the pattern of Cap’s shield.
Bucky Barnes also features, no longer calling himself Winter Soldier, but Revolution, hence the title. Whatever the name, he possesses all the skills and training associated with him over the years. Kelly and Lanzing follow up on their Devil’s Reign story revealing the contents of the file he acquired there, and he’s an important co-star, integral to what plays out.
Having made so much of Cap’s inherent goodness, it’s pleasing that this isn’t just a convenient emotional sideshow, but directly affecting into everything he does. There’s some clever sleight of hand in Revolution, which seems to be building to an overall climax, but in fact cuts off with a cliffhanger moving the ground entirely. How things play out is relayed in The Invader.
