Captain Confederacy

Captain Confederacy #1

by Will Shetterly, Vince Stone (Illustrator)

In a world where the Confederacy won, the government uses a propaganda super hero to shape its peoples' opinions. But who will shape his?

"...plots are intricate and creative.... This is not a comic book for children." - Southern Magazine

"...excellent alternate-Earth science fiction." - Comics Buyer's Guide

"Written with intelligence and no fear of controversy. Buy it!" - Graffiti

"From the retooled Stars and Bars of Captain Confederacy's costume to the mapping of urban and rural southern places, the series takes up the symbols of the South and imaginatively reconstructs them, shaking loose the stock figures, geographies, and temporalities of southerness. If Octavia Butler and Kara Walker alter the meaning of the southern lady, Shetterly reconfigures the southern gentleman, unfixing his location in an idealized Civil War past, instead deploying him for a different understanding of our present." - Reconstructing Race, Gender, and Nostalgia in the Imagined South , by Tara McPherson (Duke University)

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2008

Reviews

[Mark Schlatter · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the many products of the independent comics boom of the late 1980's, Captain Confederacy was primarily the tale of Jeremy Gray, a recipient of a super-soldier serum who starts out as a PR stunt for the Confederacy (in an alternate history where the South won the Civil War) and ends up trying to change his country to offer equal rights to all. It's well meaning with a diverse cast, but it still puts the primary focus on white people trying to be rescuers. Shetterly does some interesting plot twists with the super-soldier serum (including the development of mental abilities), and a few issues play around effectively with different narrative structures. The ending, however, is a bit of a mess (especially with the action sequences). There's copious use of the n-word, both in the derogatory and affectionate senses.

The letter columns (which I didn't reread this time) are chock full of alternate history speculation, and the title has several back up strips, including Ant Boy by Matt Feazell. I liked this title a lot when it came out, but this reading left me mostly lukewarm.

[Sean Chick · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the greatest comics ever written and a real treat for Civil War buffs. Very much in the tradition of Alan Moore.

[Brent · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actually I read this issue by issue, often from cutout/overstock bins, and I was not overly impressed. I would actually like to reread this alternative-history superhero story...
Anyone else?

[Dan Oldermusicgeek · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of interesting ideas in here. Worth a read for that. Some interesting characters too. The story, though, meanders and bounces around.