Re-Discovering History: A Review of Captain America #702

written by Mark Waid
drawn by Leonardo Romero, Rod Reis and Howard Chaykin
colored by Jordie Bellaire, Rod Reis

Mark Waid's swansong on Captain America continues as Jack Rogers, Captain America's distant descendant, finds himself on the run, having uncovered a sinister Kree plot that lay under the seeming paradise that America had become. He flees to a safehouse run by a secret guild of historians, where he learns that he must find Captain America if he is to have any hope of saving his son, and America from the clutches of the Kree. Time, however, is not on his side.

Having given readers a rather run-of-the-mill dystopia tale leading up to the series' landmark 700th issue, Mark Waid continues to play with the notion of what the future may hold, and while this story isn't what I'd call groundbreaking, the narrative is still wonderfully taut. As he did last issue, Waid intersperses flashbacks involving Cap (drawn brilliantly by Rod Reis and Howard Chaykin) with the present day, and the effect is so much better than it is in other "jam" issues (such as the ones Brian Michael Bendis used to be so fond of) where the shift in artist usually feels somewhat jarring. Here, there's a well-established context for it. Also, Leonardo Romero's Samnee-eqsque art is even better here than it was last issue, with his rendering of the historian's guild's safe house being a particular highlight. I hope to see this guy around a lot more after this story is done.

What I really enjoyed about this narrative was how there wasn't a single page wasted; everything that happens feels like it serves the overall story, which was something sorely lacking form some of the earlier issues of Waid's return to this book, even the well-received first issue. So much happens in so few pages that it's hard to believe that this issue only has as many pages as Avengers #2 (which I'll review shortly), which is a marked contrast in pacing.

This issue ends on a doozy of a cliffhanger, so I'm now waiting on bated breath for the next installment!

8.5/10