Eternals #4 (January 1986)

It's that time again! It's time to join the Eternals as they battle their greatest threat: Ghaur, Priest Lord of the Deviants! Last time, we got formally introduced to the Eternals' resident inventor Phastos, and the fun-loving Sersi was trying to help a suicidal man re-embrace life. And the Deviants got ready for a massive attack. So, what will happen next? Let's find out in Eternals #4! 

The cover is a Keith Pollard piece, and I have to say, it's my favorite of the covers so far. It's very dynamic, showing the Eternals fighting a monster. It's a cover that promises some big monster-fighting action, and who does not love that?

"Masked Gods!"
Writer: Peter B. Gillis
Penciler: Sal Buscema
Inker: Keith Williams
Colorist: George Roussos
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The story begins with the Eternals and their human ally Margo Damian trying to convince Phastos to help them in their latest war. But Phastos adamantly refuses to help.

Phastos has no desire to help as he does not want to ravage the Earth with more war. Phastos sees war as just an endless source of pain and madness. Kingo tries to convince him that not moving against the Deviants could just as easily result in the ravaging of the Earth as well. Phastos tells them if they need a mystery solved or a device built, he will happily do it, but he will no longer fight. The group goes through a portal that takes them to a steel plant in Germany. The group are disguised as simple workers.

Phastos has a secret identity of his own: the chief engineer of this plant. And he's actually quite happy with that. The plant gets a special alert. The plant has a special hidden system that picks up warnings of Deviant attack. And this one is big.

"Ahhhh, poopsicle."

Yeah, the Deviants are unleashing a full armada. They're going big with this one.

Ikaris feared this was happening. Phastos wishes the Eternals luck. As they leave, he wonders why they don't understand his position. He has a goal of his own, and that is all he cares about. Out in the Pacific Ocean, the Deviant fleet is heading towards its destination. On the flagship, Kro is thinking. he's now the ruler of the Deviants, but yet...he is still a puppet. A puppet of Ghaur and the Priests. Kro has long sought the rulership of the Deviants, and he understands the symbolism of the Priest stepping on the circlet in issue #2. His quest is a failure. He is still held down. However, this doesn't keep him down. Kro vows to learn Ghaur's endgame...and he will bring the blue monster down. 

He starts to activate a small gem but puts it away when he gets a visit. 

"Put that away, Kro. Nobody wants to see what you look at on the Internet."

The green-hooded figure claims that he thought Kro had summoned him. I'm presuming this is the same figure that appeared at the end of issue #2. He asks to inspect Kro's command chair, as he believes the mistaken summons may have been due to a glitch in the chair's system. Kro allows it.

The figure easily diagnoses and fixes the problem: A faulty sequencer. The figure leaves, and Kro is wary of him. He knows that the figure is not one of Ghaur's spies. He will have to keep an eye on the jade-cloaked being...

Over in Olympia, Thena and Karkas are observing the Deviant fleet. Karkas notes the sensors are picking up a signal from the flagship. It's not on the standard Deviant channels, and it's omnidirectional. Thena realizes what it is.

Thena swore never to do cocaine with that bear again.

Thena tells Karkas he has to keep secret what she's about to do. She places the crystal in a special dais, and it starts broadcasting.

"Every streaming service and STILL nothing good on!"

Karkas is naturally shocked. Kro was supposed to have been dead. How is he still alive?

This causes Thena to have a flashback...

A younger Thena is shown angrily asking her father Zuras why they don't just wipe the Deviants off the face of the Earth, considering the threat they face? Zuras points out that there must be a balance between Human, Eternal, and Deviant. This causes an infuriated Thena to storm out of Olympia. She is stewing over this on the cliffs of Greece when she gets a visitor.

"Can't an Eternal brood in peace, man?!"

A younger Warlord Kro. You see, Thena and Kro have one of those Romeo and Juliet-type things going between them. Because of this, and Kro's new position, she's in a bit of a bind. She loves the bald pink Deviant, but he's moving against the world. She orders the launch of the Alpha Craft. Karkas is shocked.

You see, the Alpha Craft is only supposed to be deployed in the most dire of emergencies. Even Zuras refused to it because it can really wreck some stuff. Thena pulls rank on the Deviant defector (alongside threatening to outright kill him), and he obeys. 

Out in the Pacific, Kro's ships pick up a vessel heading towards them. 

"WAHHHH-HOOOOOOOO!"

The vessel contains our heroes. Makkari, Ikaris, and Kingo engage the Deviant ships. And it's a slaughter. With the help of Ransak, the group decimate much of the Deviant fleet. But Kro has a nasty little surprise for our heroes. 

Well, not a Kraken, but he does have a powerful beast under his command.

"HUGGGGGGGGGG!"

Say hello to the Banderhude! This big kaiju is known as a "mind-siren", and it shows why when it sings its song. The song torments the minds of the heroes, but we only see Ikaris's torture. He finds himself standing at a cliff, lamenting that he lost someone. He will no longer fight for Earth if love is the price for it. A bit of foreshadowing there...

He finds himself back in reality. A certain party animal brought him back.

"🎵 Here I come to save the dayyyyy...🎵"

Yup, our girl Sersi used her own telepathic powers to free Ikaris and the others. Ikaris engages the warships further. They rise into the air. Ikaris tries to bring them down, but something stops him, and the dreadnoughts flee. Kro orders the fleet to head north, quickly. The Eternals are unable to pursue, the battle having drained them. Margo wants to know how they escaped. Ikaris realizes only one thing allowed that to happen: The Alpha Craft. The ultimate weapon of the Eternals. And only Thena, as the ruler of the Eternals, could authorize its use. She betrayed the Eternals.

I did like this issue, although it does feel like it's one of those issues that is read best as part of a whole than on its own. I like that we do learn a little bit more about Phastos, and his desire for neutrality. His position is understandable, but I hope his arc here is that he does realize that Ghaur is not going to care, and he's going to have to fight. This episode has plenty of action, and we get to see Thena give in to her feelings for Kro. A little bit of intrigue, a bit of action, and some characterization. This issue had it all. I did wish it touched on Sersi's trying to help Dave embrace life again, but that took up quite a bit of the last issue, so I can forgive it.

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2020 trade paperback The Eternals: The Dreaming Celestial Saga. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!

Blue Beetle Trailer, My Thoughts

The DC Cinematic Universe marches on! This universe has had its share of bright points (Shazam!, Wonder Woman, Aquaman) and very dark points (Batman v Superman). With the ascension of James Gunn and Peter Safran as the new heads of DC Studios, it's been announced a reboot is in the works. But there's still a couple of last pieces of business that the old DCEU needs to take care of. One of them is the live-action cinematic debut of the Blue Beetle. 

This film will focus on the newest incarnation of the Beetle: Jaime Reyes. First appearing in a cameo in Infinite Crisis #3 (February 2006), Reyes is an El Paso-born teenager that bonded with the scarab that originally belonged to his predecessors Dan Garrett and Ted Kord. Unlike with Kord or Garrett, the scarab created a special alien armor that grants Jaime various powers. In the comics, Reyes would end up becoming involved with Ted Kord's former allies in the JLI. 

The character has appeared before in other media. He's appeared in various cartoons and in video games. This film is his first live-action cinematic appearance, where he will by portrayed by Xolo Mariduena. Let's look at the trailer!

Jaime Reyes is a kid who lives big.

...oh, never mind.

Welcome to Palmera City! I can imagine that this will be Jaime's Metropolis. Although I wonder why they didn't just have him in El Paso, Texas? I mean, he is from there in the comics, and the movie was partially filmed there.

I like the idea of Jaime going to work for Kord Industries. I personally always felt that Ted Kord would have fit perfectly in the mentor role for him.

From what I understand, Jenny Kord is Ted's daughter here. At least, that's what I got when I looked this film up. 

Jaime's transformation reminds me of Venom.

"I am an alien probe and you have bonded with me. WE'RE BUDDIES NOW."
"...aaaaaaah, nertz."

Those bus riders are going to have an interesting story to tell.

Wait, was that the Reach?!

Susan Sarandon is playing Victoria Kord, Jenny's mother. I think it can be presumed that She was Ted's wife and she's after the Scarab because she believes it should only be used by the Kord family.

THE BUG! TED KORD'S BUG!

Scarab: "I can make any weapon you want."
Jaime: "Gimme a Buster Sword, please."

I do like that the film will establish that Dan Garrett and Ted Kord existed and held the mantle of Blue Beetle in the past. If there's something that the DCEU was sorely lacking, in my opinion, it's a feeling of having a history of superheroes, a feeling there has been legacies. Heck, I've long said that the second Wonder Woman movie should have been about her forming and leading the Justice Society of America.

I'm not one of those guys who will grumble about changes when it comes to adaptations. Adaptations by nature have to make changes, and the reasons for that can be varied. However, I do think it's sad that we don't get to see Brenda or Paco in this film. They're friends of Jaime's from the first series. But still, I think this will be a fun film. thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, everyone!

Hope you have a good day!

Amazing Adventures #18 (May 1973)

When I started writing about comics on this blog, I eventually realized that one of the things I wanted to do was show off something: my love of obscure and lesser-known characters. I can't really say why I like such characters, I just do. I want to expose people to the lesser-known characters of superhero comics, so this week, I thought I'd tell the origin tale of a character from the 1970s: The Bane of the Martian Masters. The Man who Helped Free Earth. Jonathan Raven, aka Killraven.

The character was originally conceived by the late Neal Adams. Adams's original conception for Killraven was that he would be the son of a Doc Savage-type character. Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway would help retool the concept and tie it into H.G. Wells's 1898 novel The War of the Worlds. 

Killraven himself never had an ongoing title, his original 1970s adventures being chronicled in the anthology title Amazing Adventures. Thomas, Adams, and Conway didn't stay with Killraven for long. Starting from Amazing Adventures #21 (November 1973) to its final issue, Don McGregor would take over writing duties for the gladiator-turned freedom fighter. He did work with several artists, but most notably P. Craig Russell. Their work on the character is considered a hidden gem of Marvel's 1970s output. The series became notable for showing color comics' first dramatic interracial kiss, shared between the white Carmilla Frost and the African-American M'Shulla Scott.

Killraven would remain a cult character in the Marvel Universe in the decades since. He's met the mainstream Marvel heroes a few times (His home timeline is designated Earth-691), and has been given a couple reboots over the years. But how did it all start for the redheaded bane of the Martian Masters? Let's look at Amazing Adventures #18!

The cover is a John Romita Sr, Tony Mortellaro, and Gaspar Saladino piece. It's a pretty basic cover, showing our man Johnny Raven himself front and center, angry-faced and ready to fight. He's got sword and blaster in hand, ready to rock. He's standing in front of a devastated landscape that is being attacked by Martian tripods. What's interesting here is his costume. This is actually his first costume. He would later adopt the iconic blue chainmail. His first outfit makes him look like he's auditioning for a Magic Mike movie.

"The War of the Worlds!"
Writer: Roy Thomas, Neal Adams, Gerry Conway
Pencilers: Neal Adams, Howard Chaykin
Inker: Frank Chiaramonte
Colorist: Petra Goldberg
Letterer: John Costanza
Editor: Roy Thomas
Editor-in-Chief: Roy Thomas

The story begins with a man fighting his way through some marauders. A man who hungers for blood, blood that runs as red as his hair. He is after a mysterious being known as "Keeper", and he will let nothing stand in his way. This man is known by one name: Killraven. And he will not rest until his sword tastes the Keeper's blood. Killraven slinks his way through the remains of New York City's Grand Central Station.

He goes through some mutated monsters, creations of the Keeper. He must be a desperate man at this point, as unlike his human minions, the Keeper values these creatures. Despite their strength and power, Killraven is able to get past them. The Keeper taunts him, but Killraven's only answer is blasting the door open. 

"This gun is weird."

The Keeper fires at him, noting that the warrior used up the energy in his blaster making his way in. But Killraven does not care. He doesn't need a gun to kill this man. The Keeper blasts away at the redheaded vengeance-seeker, but Killraven grabs a piece of sharp metal and tosses it like a spear. He hits his target.

"Agh, my heart! MY POCKET PROTECTOR!"

Yeah, that's gonna hurt.

The redheaded fighter stands over the dying Keeper. Killraven was a man on a mission. And now he has accomplished it. But he feels no satisfaction, no joy. Instead, he feels...empty, like he has no reason to exist anymore. The Keeper speaks up, and thanks Killraven for this. 

Thanks to the redheaded warrior, the Keeper is now free. After all, death is the only way out for him from his masters. He opts to tell Killraven a tale. A tale that started in the year of 1901, in a field outside of London. 

A strange light beamed from the sky, a light that revealed a menacing war machine on three legs.

The Tripods had arrived. The First War of the Worlds had begun. The Martian machines were able to easily trounce their way through humanity and its defenses. However, the Earth did have one saving grace: germs. The little microbes that humanity had long been used to were a bane to the Martians, having no such immunity themselves. But some of the Martians observed this and prepared for another invasion. In the year 2001, they returned.

Humanity tried using nuclear weapons and biological warfare to fight the Martians, but they didn't work. 

Humanity fought desperately, but in the end...it was all for naught. As the Martians wrecked the cities, people tried to flee. One of them was this woman.

Meet Maureen Raven, Killraven's mother. She and her two sons, the elder Joshua and the younger Jonathan, flee to Welfare Island. She gets attacked by two crazed men, but she has a guardian angel.

Dr. Ann Carver here was a doctor at a mental hospital when the Martians invaded. She saved Maureen and her sons from a pair of crazed patients. She lets Maureen and her boys stay with her. For two weeks, the four stayed on Welfare Island, scrounging for food and water. The two notice a chopper arriving, containing a pair of humans. One of them was a young Keeper. He and the other man kill Carver and Maureen. The Keeper tells the other man to do what he wants with Joshua, it's Jonathan the Martian Masters want. So, what do the Masters want with Jonathan? Well, the Martians have taken a lesson from Ancient Rome, and started themselves some gladiator games.

Jonathan was trained to fight from a young age, and he became one of the best gladiators out there. His skill as a gladiator earned him the name Killraven thanks to the chants of the Martian crowds: "Kill! Raven! Kill! Raven! Kill! Raven!"

As a young man, Killraven managed to do the impossible: escape the gladiator pens. He always wondered how he was able to escape when others could not. The gladiator spent the next year foraging in Queens. He would also spend time in wrecked libraries, learning all he could about the pre-Martian Invasion world. The warrior found ways to survive and escape the various traps and hazards around the cities, most notably the Sirens, enhanced women the Martians used to lure men to their doom like their mythical inspirations. 

He would make his way to Staten Island, where he spent the next six years with a cell of resistance fighters, eventually becoming their leader. On New Year's Eve, the cell welcomed the year 2017 by attacking a ferry that had some human slaves as cargo. The ferry also had New York's Martian puppet mayor on board. This made Killraven famous.

The mayor's public attack on Killraven made him into a legend. He unwittingly turned the man into a symbol of hope for the people of Earth. But Killraven isn't interested in that. He's not after fame, power, or money. He's after revenge. And that's how we got here. Before finally dying (took a long time to do so), the Keeper hints that Killraven is special. That Killraven has the power to destroy the Martians once and for all. This befuddles the redhead. As far as he knows, he's just a warrior. A good one, but still an ordinary man. But before he can ponder this any further, he gets attacked by a mutated being. Thing is, Killraven's had his fill of fighting today, so he tries to end this quick. However, the story ends with Killraven encountering a new problem he really did not need today.

The Sirens of 7th Avenue are here, and they're here to give our man some brand-spanking new headaches. 

Ehhhhh, I have to admit, I didn't think too much of this story. It's a basic origin story. We don't really get to learn much about Killraven the man himself. What I mean by this that I didn't really get much of a bead on Killraven's personality. He himself just comes off here as just a dude who wants a man dead, and is really good at fighting. There is a hook, though. The post-apocalyptic setting was rather new for the time, and the implication that ol' Johnny Raven is special in some way is rather intriguing. This is a basic story, but our man K.R. will reach some great heights, especially once he starts getting some fellow Freemen to hang around with.

I admit, when I first read the comic, I was surprised to learn that Adams didn't draw the whole thing. Howard Chaykin steps in for Neal Adams in the final few pages. It is noticeable when I reread it knowing that. Adams's style is pretty distinct. I thought it did a good job.

If you want to read this story for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2021 trade paperback Killraven Epic Collection Vol. 1: Warrior of the Worlds. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!

9th Anniversary!

Hello, everyone! Today is a very special day! It's the ninth anniversary of the Random Rockin' Blog!

Nine years ago, on my 30th birthday, I started this blog because I thought have one to write in would be fun. And it has been nothing but fun. I have really enjoyed writing on this little blog. It has brought me a ton of joy. I want to thank everyone who has ever read any entries or written a comment. I hope that this blog has made you all smile. Thank you for nine years! Here to nine more!

Captain America Annual #13 (1994)

The past can be a funny thing. Things from the past can linger for decades, well into the present time. One example of this is the enmity between Captain America and the Red Skull. These two first started clashing in the fires of World War II. Even the decades in suspended animation have not put an end to the clash between these two. I thought it would be fun to take a look at one of the clashes between these two men. Let's look at Captain America Annual #13!

The cover is a Brian Kong and Don Hudson piece. It's...not a great cover. Well, it's not a very well-drawn cover in my opinion. It depicts Captain America and Bucky breaking through what I think is a glass wall with a giant Red Skull peeking out...behind them? One detail I do like is that the glass shards show various other characters that appear in the story. 

"Heritage of Hatred"
Writer: Roy Thomas
Penciler: Arvell Jones
Inkers: David and Dan Day
Colorist: Dave Sampson
Letterer: Diana Albers
Editor: Mike Rockwitz
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The story begins with Captain America busting into a house. No, he's not here to steal anything. He's actually after his old nemesis since the Second World War: Johann Schmidt, the Red Skull. Ol' Skully has broken into this house, the former home of a new-deceased Russian emigree to retrieve an item that is believed to be there. 

The good Captain fights with the Skull's hired men, and they briefly are able to overcome him thanks to superior numbers. The Skull cracks open a safe and retrieves the item he's after: A book with an iron lock on it.

This book evidently contains information on something called "Der Tag". "Der Tag" translates to "The Day" in German, and in this case, it has two meanings. One was what the Nazis would have called their ultimate victory in WWII. A day that thankfully never came. After the war, "Der Tag" gained a second meaning: when the robots known as the Sleepers would be activated to destroy the world. However, Captain America destroyed the Sleepers in various comics, starting with Tales of Suspense #72 (September 1965) onward. Skull orders his men to execute the Sentinel of Liberty. Cap is able to fight back, and Skull flees to his helicopter. But Captain America will not be deterred. He manages to grab on to the Skull's helicopter.

The Skull shoves the pilot out, knowing Cap will try to save him. True to the Red Skull's prediction, Cap does so, allowing the saboteur to get away. It's here we start flashing back to the last days of World War II, in the bunker of Adolf Hitler. The tyrant entrusts the Skull with a strongbox containing his supposedly "greatest achievements". Unknown to the Skull at the time, a certain trio of men parachuted into the besieged Berlin.

Accompanying Cap is The Spirit of '76 (William Naslund) and the Patriot (Jeffrey Mace). Both of these men would take up the mantle of Captain America in the future. But those are stories for another day. The trio are here to get the strongbox. The trio eventually becomes a quartet.

Meet Aleksey Lebedev, the World War II-era Red Guardian. He first appeared in Namor Annual #1 (1991). Mace and Naslund aren't too welcoming to the man, foreshadowing the Cold War. Lebedev informs them of a way into the Red Skull's bunker. Naslund, Mace, and Lebedev fight their way through the Nazi guard, allowing Rogers to go after the Skull. The Skull tries to blow Cap to bits with a grenade, but ends up eating the explosion himself thanks to Cap's mighty shield.

Skull survives thanks to his suit being armored. He still took a beating, but taunts Cap about the Sleepers. In the sky, Allied bombers start dropping their payloads. It causes a cave in, burying Skull and the strongbox. Despite this, the Skull still did not die, obviously. The way the debris fell kept him from being crushed, and he would end up in suspended animation for decades thanks to special gases that were released from the cave-in. On that day, Cap also headed out for another mission. A mission in England. He and Bucky are going to guard an airdrome in England. This mission would lead to Bucky's seeming death and Cap being in suspended animation himself. Despite that, the strongbox was missing when he was eventually found by HYDRA.

So, what as the book the Red Skull obtained? Well, it was the journal of a spy named Albert Malik. After the mission in Germany, Lebedev was summoned back to Moscow by the then-Premier of the Soviet Union himself, Josef Stalin. Stalin is not happy with the mission being a bust. Lebedev had secretly returned to the site of the cave-in and searched for the strongbox but found nothing. Stalin tells him to get out, and that the only thing that saved him from getting shot was that he's a Hero of the Motherland. 

Time passed on. In 1953, Stalin died. He was succeeded as Premier by Georgy Malenkov (the comic misspells his name as "Georgi"). Malenkov wanted the strongbox, and has assigned a man to get it: Albert Malik himself.

Malik had been called up from a spy cell in Algeria he was leading to pose as the Red Skull, to make it seem like the Skull had not only returned, but also was now promoting Communism. His first task was to attack the United Nations. This was the very mission that the Skull undertook in Young Men #24. The attack was a cover for the real mission: Find the strongbox! This Skull would be foiled by what seemed like an also-returned Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes, but was actually William Burnside and Jack Munroe. At that time in the 1950s, those two had taken up the mantles of Captain America and Bucky, respectively.

Not long afterwards, the Soviets created another supervillain called Electro, first appearing in Captain America #78 (September 1954). The villain seemingly died after fighting Burnside and Munroe, but that turned out to not be the case. Malik found Electro's body in the morgue and waked him up with a surge of electrical power.

Electro...lives.

He lives, but his brain is a bit addled from being not quite dead.

The two steal a car and drive off to the UN Headquarters. Malik reveals how the strongbox ended up at the UN's HQ. Evidently it was found by an unnamed person after the war, and was given to them by said person after the HQ was built. Electro spies Captain America on TV, and gets angry because he wants to fight Cap again. But it will have to wait. They have a mission, after all.

The two villains manage to make their way to UN headquarters and get the strongbox. They try to leave, but get stopped by Burnside and Munroe again. Malik wants to flee, but Electro decides to stay and fight.

Electro is more powerful than ever, but Munroe is able to stop him with the aid of a car and a brick wall. Ouch. 

Malik is able to get his hands on the strongbox. However, the box doesn't contain anything...except for a plaque. The plaque states that the man who found the box has the real one, and demands that the UN pay him for it. The UN refused, but Malik was undeterred. He spent decades looking for the strongbox, and only discovered its location while he was in prison. Shortly afterwards, he would be killed in Captain America #347. The strongbox is located in an uninhabited German castle.

Cap follows the Red Skull into the castle. The Sentinel of Liberty manages to make his way through the various traps in the castle, and the Red Skull holds him at gunpoint. The villain uses the journal as a key to open the door to the vault the strongbox is contained in. Cap engages the Skull, but the fight causes a cave-in. Red Skull takes advantage of the confusion to escape with the strongbox. The Skull tries to use Cap's Avengers Quinjet to escape, but Cap hangs on. The Skull figures he can let the Star-Spangled Avenger see what's in the box. After all, it's not like Cap is in any position to stop him from opening it up.

Red Skull is infuriated by what he finds.

Yup, it wasn't some powerful new weapon. It was just some momentos from Hitler's younger days. Drawings and the like. Yeah, it seems that when Hitler said the box contained his greatest achievements, the madman meant stuff from his life before he became one of history's greatest monsters. Cap and Skull struggle, and the Skull nearly falls out of the Quinjet. Cap tries to rescue him, but Skull ends up with a strongbox to the face.

The Skull falls, and Cap is barely able to save himself from being splattered across the German Alps. The story ends with Cap flying off, and the Skull predicting that he and Cap will face off again. After all, he was narrating this story, and he's not doing it from the grave...

I enjoyed this story. It was very action-packed, and it was fun to read. You can tell that Roy Thomas was having a blast writing this story. One thing I did really love about this story was that it used and built on previously established canon. It's something I think most modern Marvel writers refuse to do nowadays. And that's pretty sad, in my opinion. 

The art is...interesting. The best way I can describe it is that it seems to have some of that Golden Age grit, but at the same time, it does feel a bit 90s. I do like the artist's rendition of the Red Skull. Makes him look truly inhuman and monstrous, which fits his nature.

If you want to read this story for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2011 trade paperback Captain America vs. The Red Skull. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!