digital tales of graphic narratives: buck rogers in the 21st century

Thursday, January 31, 2008

buck rogers in the 21st century

well, that's what we should call James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes, nee The Winter Soldier, now currently wearing the colors of his mentor and best friend, the late Steve Rogers.

the shiny design by the great Alex Ross actually contradicts the dark tone of the book, where Steve Epting's gritty illustrations are perfect for all the (Red) skullduggery going on.

the country is in crisis (no shit, Sherlock) - due to the machinations of Herr Johann Schmidt (a.k.a. Crimson Skeletor, a.k.a. Boneface, a.k.a. The Red Skull), Rogers is dead, oil prices are skyrocketing, nobody can sell a house, the people are rioting, the economy is going down the toilet, and the Big Mac ain't what it used to be.

to honor Steve's last request, Tony Stark (the polarizing Iron Man/Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.) wants Bucky to wear the mantle of the world's greatest fighting machine to take the fight to the Red Skull. Bucky wants independence from Stark/S.H.I.E.L.D., and Stark doesn't want to be associated with an "unregistered superhero".

to protect American interests (from gold-grubbing cannon fodder such as A.I.M. a.k.a. the beekeepers), Captain America must live again!

let's try out his fight humor, shall we?

ehhh ... well, let's not put him to task for watching the Seinfeld 'Soup Nazi' episode last night. any one donning the colors would feel a little jittery.

as for his combat methods, well, let's just say he's not Steve Rogers.

while the new Cap goes through the paces, his current (arm's length) benefactor is fighting a different kind of war - against unprincipled politicians who care more about the bottom line than anything else.

add to this, some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents tasked to guard the White House are under the remote control of Dr. Faustus (He Who Programmed Sharon Carter to Shoot Steve) and are now ordered to scratch their itchy trigger fingers.