Captain America: White #1 (Marvel)
From November 2015
writer: Jeph Loeb
artist: Tim Sale
I'd already read this issue when it was originally released, but it came in one of the packs of slightly oldish comics I picked up recently (I love that comics are being packaged and sold in diverse retail environments again), so here I am, reading and writing about it again.
I've continued to be a fan of Loeb/Sale even after they've stopped being popular (I tend to do that), especially in a project (this one) that didn't seem to interest anyone, even though Marvel does few enough projects like it, and for fans like me it's an ideal way to read a company that more often than not alienates me.
Like Loeb/Sale's other Marvel projects over the years (Spider-Man: Blue, Daredevil: Yellow, and Hulk: Gray), Captain America: White is a kind of origin story that takes the form of a reminiscence over a lost loved one. In this case, Steve Rogers lamenting Bucky Barnes.
It's kind of odd, because Bucky finally came back from the dead (you may have heard about it), and so trying to get people interested in a concept that's now completely retro is probably one of the reasons nobody cared about this. Marvel fans are hopelessly nostalgic to a fault, but they also love the idea of being eternally current. If that makes any sense. Very few Marvel stories stand the test of time in the ways DC's routinely do. It's more about nostalgia, like I said, and whatever's happening now (heh).
It comes off as a little homoerotic (not that there's anything wrong with that, but unlike Batman & Robin I don't think anyone ever really suggested such a relationship before) for Steve to be pining away for Bucky in the classic Loeb/Sale/Marvel manner, which I think is another reason fans skipped over this one. The biggest problem is that other than Peggy Carter or her descendant Sharon (a thing that mostly has its roots in the movies), Steve Rogers has never been depicted as someone with any close relationships. He's a soldier, and soldiers bond with other soldiers. But Bucky is usually depicted as much younger than him (Loeb describes the relationship as father/son). The great irony of Steve that few writers choose to spotlight is that in a lot of ways he's still the skinny little guy who originally couldn't make it into the army. Loeb/Sale bring this up in terms of his relationship with women, but even in that it just makes it seem that much more that the real problem is that he's gay and just doesn't seem to know it. You don't have women throwing themselves all over you and remain totally oblivious to it, just because of who you used to be. You can probably ask any given celebrity about that sort of thing.
The issue prints not only the first one but reprints the zero issue as well, from nearly a decade ago. For whatever reason there was a massive delay between the start and completion of this project, whether because Loeb got too busy in Hollywood or Sale just wasn't feeling motivated, or whatever. Neither really deals with Steve's transformation, but rather throws him and Bucky into the war (there's a little contradiction as to whether the story starts with their first or last excursion).
Regardless, if you'd never read Loeb/Sale before, I'm sure this would all read a lot better. I tend to read too much into things, or think too much in general. But then, this series hasn't exactly been a blockbuster, either. But it's definitely worth a look, as a curiosity at the very least.
The original Captain America comics are pretty hilarious and kind of creepy that he lets this 10-year-old kid hang around all the time. It was especially funny when Steve dressed as an old lady so they could go overseas to track down a bad guy. The conclusion of this series was pretty ill-timed as the main comic had just transitioned to Sam Wilson and then you release something called "Captain America: White." Awkward. Anyway, what's Loeb's deal with the colors?
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