Robert Morales (1958–2013)

I borrowed this one from my local branch of the public library. This is what I wrote about it in my blog back in May:

"Part of the Marvel Knights series. I finished this while I was traveling for TLA for my evening reading. Captain America gets drafted to serve in a trial for an alleged terrorist. The prisoner in question was an American citizen who happens to be Muslim, and he is suspected of aiding the enemy. When a prominent former Congressmember chooses to defend him, things get interesting. However, not all is as simple as it seems as Cap travels to GITMO. When some prisoners escape from the prison facility, it is up to our hero to get them back and foil their plans without causing an international incident in Cuba. This compilation features an appearance by Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. Overall, this was a very entertaining reading. Also included is a story about Bucky and there is some alternate universes time travel as well."… (más)

Truth: Red, White and Black provides a twist to the Captain America origin story—and is, I believe, now treated by the Marvel writers as mainstream canon. Steve Rogers was not the first American to be experimented on by the US army in order to create a super-soldier. Instead, a group of African-American soldiers were exploited and tortured without their consent, paralleling the real life Tuskegee Experiments. The final surviving member of the group, Isaiah Bradley, goes out on a mission while wearing the Captain America uniform, and he is treated appallingly by the government for being a black man who dares to wear this symbol of American power. The writing, while a little heavy-handed at times, is powerful and engaging and succinctly shows Cap—and by extension the reader—his unexamined privilege; I thought that Kyle Baker's art was poor, however, and not at all tonally suited to the subject matter.… (más)

Captain America’s origin story, except that to put it that way is to miss the point: this is the story of African-American soldiers cruelly exploited by the country they were fighting for even when it wasn’t fighting for them, sacrificed to create the serum that would make Captain America but not considered worthy of being Captain America. Heavy-handed and historically accurate racism is mixed with the fantastic elements, creating a lot of uncomfortable moments. At least Steve Rogers understands that this isn’t his story.… (más)