Adam's Adventures: Young Allies 70th Anniversary Special #1 (Marvel Comics) Review by Adam P.

Blast from the Distant Past

We usually think of Marvel Comics as beginning in the early sixties with Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, X-Men and all the rest, but its roots can be traced back even further to the company called Timely Comics. Characters like Captain America, Bucky and the original Human Torch actually debuted at Timely Comics in the late thirties and early forties, which allow Marvel Comics to celebrate their 70th anniversary this year.

Marvel is thus releasing a number of 70th anniversary one-shots, putting the spotlight on those original heroes with new stories and reprints. The credits page of Young Allies 70th Anniversary Special #1 has an image from the 1941 cover of Young Allies #1 drawn by none other than Jack Kirby, showing Bucky giving a left hook to not only the Red Skull but Adolf Hitler himself. That’s pretty heavy stuff. We're also treated to some prose stories by Stan Lee that appeared during the war period.




The main feature, which is a new story by Roger Stern and Paolo Rivera, has Bucky (who is now Captain America) tracking down two of his former war comrades from the Young Allies, who are now in very old age, having not benefited from cryogenic freezing like he did. Although we see an adventure of these Young Allies from war-time Paris, the most interesting bits are seeing Bucky reminisce with his two old friends. One of them is on his death-bed, and the story-telling is remarkably poignant as the frailty of life is front and centre. The artwork is positively scrumptious, with deep shadows and sharp lines. It is a delightful style which eschews unnecessary detail without sacrificing realism.

Be forewarned, however, the fifteen pages of reprints are extremely juvenile and downright groan-worthy in parts. Their main value is to get a glimpse into the zeitgeist of the era rather than actually reading something enjoyable. They are also unbelievably patriotic, with Captain America and Bucky asking the youth of the nation to join their fan club, receive badges and help in the fight against spies and traitors. The theme of the reprints tends to be young children foiling evildoers with the help of Cap, which strikes the modern reader as unrealistic and downright dangerous. The main reprint, a seven-page feature where a junior science nut, a kid reporter and a pet monkey foil a kidnapping is too serious to be campy and too impossible to be enjoyable.

However, the tales must be read in their context, and understandably, children in wartime must have felt a strong desire to participate in stamping out the bad guys. I know I would have wanted to.
7.5/10
Adam P.
Review Co-Editor