****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
This Masterwork contains the back half of Jack Kirby’s 1976-1977 run on Captain America, specifically issues #201 thru 214 & Annual #4. And it is one heck of a ride.Along the way Cap and the Falcon will encounter the Night People from another dimension, Agron a time traveling entity, The Swine a sadistic prison commandant, Arnim Zola bio-geneticist and his genetically engineered creatures, the Night Flyer a self-actualized hitman, Magneto who needs no introduction, and even Hitler’s Brain! Also worthy of mention is the unflappable supporting character Donna Maria Puentes who pitches in more than you’d expect.While the story arcs at the bookends are a bit on the pedestrian side, the meat of this Cap Sandwich (#204 thru 212, & Annual #4) is pure unfettered Action and Sci-Fi, resulting in captivating page turning reading.But these are not just simple tales of Good vs Evil, underneath it all Jack has a strata of societal issues which resonate just as strongly today as they did in the 1970’s – the treatment of the mentally ill, the large gulf between the 1st and 3rd Worlds, cruel prison systems, resurgence of fascism, and even the ethics of tinkering with genetic codes.This volume and the one proceeding it have my highest recommendation.
