This could have been great in so many ways, but it was mediocre in some and downright bad in others. ( )

Truth: Red, White and Black provides a twist to the Captain America origin story—and is, I believe, now treated by the Marvel writers as mainstream canon. Steve Rogers was not the first American to be experimented on by the US army in order to create a super-soldier. Instead, a group of African-American soldiers were exploited and tortured without their consent, paralleling the real life Tuskegee Experiments. The final surviving member of the group, Isaiah Bradley, goes out on a mission while wearing the Captain America uniform, and he is treated appallingly by the government for being a black man who dares to wear this symbol of American power. The writing, while a little heavy-handed at times, is powerful and engaging and succinctly shows Cap—and by extension the reader—his unexamined privilege; I thought that Kyle Baker's art was poor, however, and not at all tonally suited to the subject matter. ( )

Captain America’s origin story, except that to put it that way is to miss the point: this is the story of African-American soldiers cruelly exploited by the country they were fighting for even when it wasn’t fighting for them, sacrificed to create the serum that would make Captain America but not considered worthy of being Captain America. Heavy-handed and historically accurate racism is mixed with the fantastic elements, creating a lot of uncomfortable moments. At least Steve Rogers understands that this isn’t his story. ( )

One of the best things I've read in a couple of years is the seven-issue Marvel series Truth: Red, White, And Black by Robert Morales (art, which is nowhere near as good as the writing, by Kyle Baker). It's the story of the Black Captain America -- or rather, the Black soldiers who served as test subjects for the super-soldier serum that created Captain America, and it's horrifying and fascinating and heartbreaking and all too realistic, given how America has treated its people of color over the years. The fact that we have real-life situations that are quite analogous to what happens in the series makes it seem that much more real and instantly believable in a way that most comics aren't. I'm so glad Marvel decided to make it canon, even though people howled about that. (Big shock.)

The previously-untold prequel to the Captain American story: before there was Steve Rogers, there were a handful of black soldiers who were given experimental versions of the Super-Soldier serum. Not only does this story cover those men, it also gives us an unflinching view of the 1940s and what life was like for black men -- military and otherwise -- in those days. By far the best thing I've read so far this year, maybe for the last couple of years. I loved it. My only complaint is the artwork; I didn't feel the cartoony look served the story as well as a realistic look would have. ( )