Different stories
Steve Rogers is dead. His costume was taken over by Bucky Barnes, who still thinks about the past and the times when he was the Winter Soldier and the enforcer in the service of the USSR. Now he must abandon the recently received shield and clean up the old enemy. He will not be alone in his fight. She can count on the support of her beloved, i.e. the Black Widow. Meanwhile, memories obliterated by Dr. Faustus begin to return to Agent Carter. The woman already knows that she lost the child, and earlier she pulled the trigger, killing Rogers. There is something wrong with all of this, however, and with Falcon, Luke Cage and the new Captain, she intends to solve this mystery.
It’s all about anniversaries
For the script for The Man without a Facecorresponds to a creator who does not need to be introduced to comic book fans. Ed Brubaker once again introduces us to the story of Captain America and creates it like a grim detective story, not a superhero notebook. He succeeds in this art brilliantly. Of course, there are a lot of actions, fights and acrobatic shows that are impossible for an ordinary person. Above all, however, together with the heroes, we solve new puzzles and learn new secrets. By the way, we are dealing here not only with beating the villains, but mainly with the internal dilemmas of individual characters. This time we can see several different longer and shorter adventures of Bucky Barnes. All of them are associated with several important anniversaries. First, the hero celebrates his birthday (thanks to this, even Spider-Man and Wolverine count their guest appearance at the party). In addition, the first anniversary of Steve Rogers’ death is being celebrated. In turn, in addition to the plot, readers read the 600 issue of the comic in the seriesCaptain America ! It was probably this fact that made the House of Ideas add to the aforementioned events. For fans, this means a notebook with many memories and flashbacks from World War II and the fate of Rogers later on. We also got a collective issue in which various cartoonists decided to celebrate the round issue. Egmont, in turn, also added a humorous scene with a certain Carl Zante, a story by Joe Simon, one of the creators of Captain America , about Jack Kirby and the “notice board”, as well as a short comic drawn by the legendary Gene Colan. All this makes The Man without a Face one of the most extraordinary numbers that fans will surely appreciate!
Cherry on top
If you’ve read the previous volumes from the Captain America series by Brubaker, the graphics shouldn’t surprise you. The screenwriter once again collaborated with Steve Epting and Jackson “Butch” Guice, whose works we could see more than once. The men still try to focus primarily on the faces of the characters, but there are also characteristic fight scenes in which we have some blurring reflecting the movement of the characters and the surroundings, and numerous details in the background. Luke Ross is the new cartoonist here. However, don’t expect any drastic changes. The artist apparently decided to follow the example of his colleagues and not introduce new things, which makes most of the frames look as if we are dealing with one, not three, illustrators.
The short stories in which old friends and enemies mention Steve Rogers are completely different. Here we have a whole range of different styles: from the history of Crossbones and Sin , which is associated with the old days , through the beautiful Delirium Red Skulla , to the line that dominates the notebook, and the present one, among others. in the Watcher . At the end of the album we will also find a funny anecdote about the life of Carl Zante, who is impersonating Captain America. A real treat for fans will be a masterpiece performed by the aforementioned Gene Colan. It is he who is called the pioneer of drawing referred to as “pencil painting”. The adventure presented in the discussed issue, entitled Red, white and bloody blueit’s a real masterpiece. By the way, Egmont took care of a short note about the artist so that we would know exactly what legend we are dealing with.
Extras better than content?
Captain America: The man without a face is unlikely to appeal to everyone. First of all, you need to know the previous volumes well to find yourself in history at all. The scenario here is quite gloomy, dark and a bit convoluted. There are numerous flashbacks and internal disputes of the main characters. Brubaker once again gives us a crime story with the Captain in the lead role. There are also new threads here, so if you intend to reach for the already announced Rebirth,this is the fifth volume you absolutely must know thoroughly. In turn, the accessories can make a huge impression on you. Stories, memories or demonstrations of illustrator skills are a great bonus, for which you should thank Egmont. It is also the anniversary of the 600 issue of the comic, so fans of the adventures of the title superhero cannot pass by this volume indifferently!
