Captain America and the Falcon by Christopher Priest: The Complete Collection

Captain America and the Falcon (Collected Editions) #1-2

by Christopher J. Priest, Bart Sears (Illustrator), Joe Bennett (Illustrator)

They're best friends, teammates, brothers-in-arms - but that bond is tested to the limit when Falcon targets the Rivas drug cartel, and the Super-Sailor known as the "Anti-Cap" sets his sights on Falc! Can Captain America thwart his dark doppelganger before Sam Wilson's wings are clipped? Fingers crossed, because there's a Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing out there, and nobody's better at stopping him than Cap and Falc! But M.O.D.O.K.'s not the only big headache, with the Avengers about to be Disassembled and all. Is this really the best time for Steve to be kissing the Scarlet Witch?

Collecting: Captain America and the Falcon 1-14

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction

328 pages, Paperback

First published March 29, 2016

About the author

Formerly (before 1993) known as James or Jim Owsley.

Christopher James Priest is a critically acclaimed novelist and comic book writer. Priest is the first African-American writer and editor for Marvel and DC Comics. His groundbreaking Black Panther series was lauded by Entertainment Weekly and The Village Voice and will serve as the basis for the 2018 Marvel Cinematic Universe adaption.

Besides Black Panther, Priest has written comics for Conan, Steel, Green Lantern, The Crew and edited The Amazing Spider-Man. He also co-created Quantum & Woody along with Mark Bright and co-founded Milestone Media.

After a decade long hiatus he is currently writing comic books again and recently concluded a stint writing the comic book Deathstroke (2016-2019).

In addition to being a writer, Christopher J. Priest is also a baptist minister.

Reviews

[Acton Northrop]

Almost the best non-Kirby Cap book I've read. Priest does a lot of interesting stuff here, that's flawed for reasons beyond his control. Namely, Bart Sears' art, the timing of Bendis' opening Avengers arc (which messes with one of Priest's main plot points) and an abrupt cancellation. But for a while there Priest and the always reliable Joe Bennett manage to crank out some excellent superhero espionage comics. The definition of a great hidden gem.

[Jdetrick]

I really wanted to like this book, and while it has some good moments, it really doesn't gel as a story. Priest's writing can always be challenging, and unfortunately, some of his artistic collaborators aren't up to the task of telling his story in a comprehensive way. It's also too tied into Avengers Disassembled, although I suspect that was something forced on Priest rather than his choice.

[cardulelia carduelis]

A very weird run.
Sam's descent into hood runner felt borderline racist and why could he not shake Wanda's influence after Cap did?

The MODOK super sailor plot was incredibly convoluted but its goofiness made up for Luke Cage's weird writing.
I've been promised that Cage gets some better writing as the years progress, let's hope so!

==========
Why X-Men, why now?
I was really into X-Men during my teens.
It's such a classic story about acceptance and finding your place in the world that it feels catered to teens. Plus there's enough diversity in the cast's backgrounds and personalities to keep it interesting.
And look at the epic storylines back then: the dark Phoenix saga, Age of Apocalypse, House of M, Civil War - so much great stuff!
I grew tired of them at some point and moved on to other pastures (Runaways, then mostly Image) mostly because the big Marvel collections were huge, a long time coming, and they were so expensive! I didn't have a way to get single issues (this was pre-digital comics) so I ordered them from the USA.

But recently.. someone talked about how great the Hickman run is... And I wanted to get back in. Because let's face it: when Marvel is done well it's like being a kid again.

So with the help of comicbook herald I put together a little reading list. Books so far:
New X-men to House of M
New X-Men, Volume 1 by Grant Morrison
New X-Men by Grant Morrison: Ultimate Collection, Book 2
New X-Men by Grant Morrison: Ultimate Collection, Book 3
X-Statix: The Complete Collection Vol. 1
X-Statix: The Complete Collection Vol. 2
X-Statix, Volume 4: X-Statix vs. the Avengers
Wolverine: Origin by Paul Jenkins
Emma Frost: Ultimate Collection by Karl Bollers
Wolverine by Greg Rucka: Ultimate Collection
District X, Volume 1: Mr. M by David Hine
Mystique by Brian K. Vaughan Ultimate Collection
Astonishing X-Men Omnibus by Joss Whedon
Uncanny X-men: The new Age vol.1
Uncanny X-men: The New Age vol 2.
Uncanny X-men: The New Age vol 3.
Madrox: Multiple Choice by Peter David
Deadpool & Cable Modern Era Epic Collection, Vol. 1: Ballistic Bromance by Fabian Nicieza
Nightcrawler, Volume 1: The Devil Inside by Robertob Aguirre-Sacasa
Nightcrawler, Volume 2: The Winding Way by Robertob Aguirre-Sacasa
Rogue: The Complete Collection by Robert Rodi
Wolverine: Enemy of the State, Volume 1 by Mark Millar
Wolverine: Enemy of the State, Volume 2 by Mark Millar
New Mutants: Back to School - The Complete Collection by Nunzio DeFilippis
New X-Men: Academy X - The Complete Collection by Nunzio DeFilippis
Avengers: Disassembled by Brian Michael Bendis

[Emilie]

This was interesting, but pretty confusing. In the first few issues of the collection, the male characters all had strangely shaped chins and everted lips. The settings were dark much of the time, and I had trouble telling who was who. In later issues, the artwork was not so stylized, and I had an easier time telling the characters apart.

I knew who the Avenger characters were, and had some idea of their pasts. I didn't understand why Cap was having hallucinations.

[Nabil Hussain]

Fantastic and Brilliant Captain America and The Falcon Dramatic Tals

This graphic novel is fabulous and featured an excellent storyline with wonderful colourful artwork of a high standard. The graphic novel was gripping right to end. It was compelling to read. It was easy to follow and simply superb. It was well worth the price paid for (Kindle edition) and a worthy addition to my graphic novel collection!!

[Bryan]

There’s a strong editorial presence in these stories. It feels like Priest wanted to tell a different story than the one that wound up published. There’s some interesting stuff that keeps poking its head up, but it’s never sustained long enough to build momentum. And not to pile on Bart Sears, but that roid-rageous art style never did nothin’ for me.

[Mark Stratton]

Really enjoyed this book.

[Gary Lee]

The Great Marvel Readthrough, pt 386

[Ginger Wolverine]

Love this story, it drags a little bit more than it needs too. But an over all good plot and a perfect example of why Falcon and Cap are a great duo.

[Brent]

This reads MUCH better in this anthology, instead of the individual issues I read some half some years ago. Artists in this 14-issue run vary. You'll have to get past the muscular posturing of Bart Sears, who tells a story well, despite the hyper-steroid anatomy in his work. Reason to enjoy this is the scripting of Christopher Priest, who provokes much thought with his characters and characterization. This is about contemporary with his Black Panther run, which I recommend for the same reasons.

[Reuvenc]

The opening arc's mismatch between writer and artist nearly derailed this for me (much as it did when reading this back when it was first published) but things soon settled down well enough.