Young Avengers Presents: Patriot Review
Author: Ed Brubaker
Penciler: Paco Medina
Inker: Juan Vlasco
Colors: Nathan Faibairn
There are two things I would like to mention before we jump into the review. One: I am such a sucker for covers where new characters are jumping out of old pictures or After pictures. Always have been and always will be. It all goes back to Giant Size X-men 1. This simple, yet complex cover by Jimmy Cheung is no exception. With a little borrowed from Jack Kirby, Mike Zeck, John Byrne, and John Romita for the images in the back it makes this a wonderful looking cover. Oh yeah, there was a second point I was going to make…..right. I miss the Young Avengers so damn much. I really wish Marvel would go ahead and give the green light to do a YA without Allen Heinberg.
Brubaker is the first writer of this six issue limited series that will focus on one member of the team in each issue. The first issue is of course Patriot, the grandson of Isaiah Bradley (the original Cap in Truth). After the death of Captain America Eli doesn’t know what his place in the world is and what the codename Patriot means to a black kid living in a country he really doesn’t like. So, yes race is the central theme in this issue, but it doesn’t come off tasteless, because Bru manages to tell an intelligent story without going to overboard on the black vs. white theme. Eli makes a special trip to talk to Bucky Barnes aka Winter Soldier and has a talk with him about why he fights and what made Steve keep fighting for a country he didn’t believe in all the time.
I am impressed with Paco Medina’s pencils, because for some reason it seems more polished than his work on New Warriors and certainly tighter than his run on New X-men. I expect great things from such a talented artist and the guy has still to find that style he is most comfortable with. While his young characters look great, he still seems to draw everyone with a young take such as Eli’s grandmother and grandfather, hell even Bucky looks like he is in his early 20s. This is an impressive story about legacy, loss, and the search for one’s motives and while it’s only a one-shot it really moves the character of Eli in a great direction. B+
