REVIEW: ‘Captain America Annual,’ Issue #1

Captain America Annual #1 is published by Marvel Comics, written by Gerry Duggan and Jed Mackay, art by Juan Ferreyra and Marco Castiello, inks by Vincenzo Acunzo, colors by Ruth Redmond, and letters by Joe Caramagna. With individuals already appearing wielding the Reality and Space stones, it seems the Time stone is ready to make its debut. But who has the stone bonded to? And more importantly, what do they intend to do with it?

Ever since I first read the classic 1991 story Infinity Gaunlet, the presence of the Infinity Stones in a story has been a consistent source of hype for me. These iconic McGuffins always herald big, cosmic-level events. Many of my favorite stories have revolved around them, not to mention they were key to the big finale to the opening saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

But while they always bring with them the promise of huge, cosmic-level adventures, they have always remained rather static in their function. Remaining simple objects that bequeath their powers to whoever may possess them. Now, however, with the introduction of the Infinite Destinies storyline, it seems Marvel is looking to shake things up with the introduction of the Infinity People. Individuals who have found themselves bonded to one of the iconic stones. And while I can’t imagine that any good will come of this for Earth’s heroes, I can’t wait to see where Marvel is going with this storyline.

Captain America Annual #1 sees Captain America and Black Widow pursuing the newest Infinity Stone wielder. This individual, who goes by the name Overtime, utilized the power of the Time Stone to escape from prison. Having managed to track Overtime to a town in Texas, the duo hopes to bring him in peacefully. But what are the odds of that happening?

Under normal circumstances, Cap and Widow would be completely out of their league facing someone wielding an Infinity Stone. But as Overtime doesn’t seem to yet fully grasp the power he is manipulating, Captain America Annual #1 presents an interesting clash of raw power versus seasoned skill.

Throughout the story-long confrontation, writer Duggan does a great job of playing Steve and Natasha off of each other. As the pursuit wears on, Natasha’s desire to take a more forceful approach to their potentially cosmic-level problem clashes with Steve’s need to give Overtime a fair chance. Duggan never takes this dynamic too far, however. After all, Natasha knows how Steve will respond to her suggestions before they are ever made. And these personality clashes land more like stress-induced banter than like actual personality conflicts.

The art in Captain America Annual #1 does a solid job of delivering the story visually. Artist Castiello’s lines bring all the action to life, and colorist Redmond’s work helps to emphasize the story’s mood thanks to some quality lighting implemented through the colors.

In the back of this issue, we have a secondary story written by Mackay that sees Captain America enlisting the help of spymaster Nick Fury in searching out the Infinity People. Mackay does a great job with the dialogue in this story. The writer manages to mix the casualness that the two men have toward each other with the severity of the topic they discuss nicely. It manages to create a unique atmosphere of both comfort, and uncertainty.

This unique atmosphere is further built out by artist Ferreyra. The most interesting aspect of Ferreyra’s approach to this story’s visuals is the decision to color the story using only red, white, and blue. While the reasons for this are easy enough to guess, it still surprised me. What’s more, it oddly works, instead of coming across as campy or too on the nose.

Wrapping up the book’s presentation is Caramagna’s lettering. The lettering throughout both stories flows nicely, providing the reader with a smooth, easy-to-follow read.

When all is said and done Captain America Annual #1 provides an interesting chapter to this developing storyline.

Captain America Annual #1 is available June 16th wherever comics are sold.