Captain America Marvel Knights

Collected last year, “Captain America: Marvel Knights” originally started publishing as a monthly comic in 2002.

The memories of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on American soil loom large in these tales of Captain America.

The book opens with Cap’s alter ego, Steve Rogers, hoping to find survivors in the rubble of the World Trade Center, hoping to find life, grieving for the nation and filled with remorse he was unable to stop the attacks. Under the “Marvel Knights” heading, the collection presents a grittier, more street-savvy Captain America.

He battles terrorists targeting a small town; he reveals his secret identity on national television; he seeks to live life as Steve Rogers, an American, rather than the symbolic embodiment of America.

The art is detailed with more realistic seams in his red, white and blue uniform; the chain mail is drawn as with individual interconnecting platelets. The seams show in the characterization of the title character, too. Captain America remains the superhero but he is a human being here more than a symbol. 

“Captain America: Marvel Knights” quickly evokes the atmosphere of America in the months following 9/11 but the storytelling of writing and illustrations still feels relevant.