Sunday 6 October 2013

Captain America: Living Legend #1 Review

Writer: Andy Diggle
Artist: Adi Granov

The creative team of this series really interested me, as although I don't normally get many mini-series I felt that I had to at least try the first issue of this, as with Adi Granov's artwork is simply phenomenal and added with Andy Diggle's writing should make this an interesting story.

Plot


Following his time working with the Russian army in World War II, Captain America is faced with a current situation that involves one of the men he knew back then.

Review


This was overall a good issue, but it was very far from being perfect, having a lot of problems. Andy Diggle did a great job of giving a unique Captain America story, though this first instalment has been rather dull and at times slightly confusing. I do however feel that Diggle will improve throughout the remaining three parts, but that so far this series that has taken over two years to be released isn't showing it's worth. Back to the positives, Diggle managed to add a great atmosphere to this issue, and overall it had a brilliant tone. It was however trying to develop too much at once, and this was what lead to the dullness and confusion, though I still have high hopes for the rest of the series.

The artwork in this issue was easily the best thing about it, and Adi Granov did a phenomenal job. I did however at first question why Cap was wearing his newest suit during the war, but after remembering that this was originally meant to coincide with the Captain America: The First Avenger film it made sense. Overall the layout and detail of Granov's artwork was brilliant, with eveything being so intense and dramatic, adding brilliant tone to the issue. It is however upsetting that this is the only issue that he'lll be doing interiors on, as after him being the reason for the long wait it would have been nice if he'd done the entire mini-series.

The start of this issue would see the Russians fighting the German's during World War II, with Captain America and a group of American soldiers coming to help the Russians. Now it was very nice to see some of Cap's war time in this issue, and the fact that it would be shown from a different viewpoint made it a little more interesting. I did however not like the Russian sergeant named Volkov, who would be a key feature in this issue, as he seemed rather arrogant and self centred, not really appearing to want help. It was however still amazing to see Cap throwing his shield at Nazis.

The issue would then go onto show the space race between the American's and Russians, showing the Russians attempt to get to the Moon one year earlier than the American's would. It was nice to once again see the connection between the American's and the Russians, especially due to the changes that took place between both events. I did however at the same time find it to be slightly boring, and it seemed to only function as set-up for what's to come later in this story.

The story would eventually come to the present near the end of the issue, as without going into any details, I will say some of my thoughts on this. Once again it was nice to see the change that the years have had on the world, and on top of that it was nice to see Captain America and Sharon Carter together again considering the recent events of the current Captain America series. Overall I also enjoyed this sequence more than any other, as it is what shows the great promise for the future of the series, being a brilliant ending for the first issue.

Final Verdict


This was a good start to this mini-series, but so far it feels like the long wait hasn't been worth it. The story so far is slightly dull, being confusing at times, and overall tries to develop too much at once. The issue did however have plenty of drama and suspense and overall shows promise for the remaining three issues, even if Granov isn't going to do art. I would recommend this to any fan of Granov's art, but otherwise I'd recommend waiting to see if the series gets any better, as although this was a decent start it would be a slight waste of money if the series is like this for all four issues.

Rating: 7/10

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