Captain America & Volstagg (2025) #1

by J. Michael Straczynski, Bernard Chang (Artist), Marcelo Maiolo (Colorist)

AS VOLSTAGG RECRUITS THE SENTINEL OF LIBERTY! When a war breaks out in the Nine Realms, Volstagg of the Warriors Three turns to the only man skilled enough to end Steve Rogers, Captain America! JMS teams with visionary artist Bernard Chang for the second in a series of one-shots bringing unlikely Marvel characters together for tales unlike any other!

Genres: Marvel, Comics

Kindle Edition

Published February 26, 2025

About the author

Joseph Michael Straczynski is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is best known as the creator of the science fiction television series Babylon 5 (1993–1998) and its spinoff Crusade (1999), as well as the series Jeremiah (2002–2004) and Sense8 (2015–2018). He is the executor of the estate of Harlan Ellison.
Straczynski wrote the psychological drama film Changeling (2008) and was co-writer on the martial arts thriller Ninja Assassin (2009), was one of the key writers for (and had a cameo in) Marvel's Thor (2011), as well as the horror film Underworld: Awakening (2012), and the apocalyptic horror film World War Z (2013). From 2001 to 2007, Straczynski wrote Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, followed by runs on Thor and Fantastic Four. He is the author of the Superman: Earth One trilogy of graphic novels, and he has written Superman, Wonder Woman, and Before Watchmen for DC Comics. Straczynski is the creator and writer of several original comic book series such as Rising Stars, Midnight Nation, Dream Police, and Ten Grand through Joe's Comics.
A prolific writer across a variety of media and former journalist, Straczynski is the author of the autobiography Becoming Superman (2019) for HarperVoyager, the novel Together We Will Go (2021) for Simon & Schuster, and Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer (2021) for Benbella Books. In 2020 he was named Head of the Creative Council for the comics publishing company Artists, Writers and Artisans.
Straczynski is a long-time participant in Usenet and other early computer networks, interacting with fans through various online forums (including GEnie, CompuServe, and America Online) since 1984. He is credited as being the first TV producer to directly engage with fans on the Internet and to allow viewer viewpoints to influence the look and feel of his show. Two prominent areas where he had a presence were GEnie and the newsgroup rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated.

Reviews

[Tyler Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better than I thought it would be. This pairing works well together and the story is good and surprisingly touching. After liking the last one I look forward to the rest of these much more now.

[Craig Schorling · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was enjoyable with a bit of emotion to it. It was my first time reading anything with Volstagg and he seems like a fun character.

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did you just hit me in the feels with jolly ol’ Volstagg?

I actually quite enjoyed this one. It does make sense that it would be Steve that he turns to. It makes me sad, though, that despite his constant sacrifice for his friends Volstagg is unable to truly be himself. There’s something to be said about trapping oneself into caricatures without being allowed to expand and grow. Solid one shot.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay... wow. I've been reading Thor off-and-on since Simonson and then fell off the title after Jason Aaron's run because I didn't like the direction Thor was taking and, in all those years of reading, I don't think I've ever seen Volstragg treated with the absolute respect and dignity that he has here. Truly exceptional storytelling on something that I didn't think I needed.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite liked this other side of Volstagg and how he's not really the buffoon he's often seen as. Cap definitely takes second stage in this story.