The Good
Last issue, after a standalone adventure of the wackiest possible proportions, Jennifer Walters was introduced to her next client: the newly aged and depowered Captain America. This issue we get to see Jenn’s shocked reaction to Cap’s new situation as well as the introduction to his unexpected legal woes stretching all the way back to Los Angeles in the 1940s. Charles Soule remains in fighting form, weaving humor and intrigue in equal parts, though leaning far more toward the former. It’s also interesting to note that this is about as legal jargon-y as this book has gotten and worth pointing out that Charles Soule’s original occupation was as a lawyer (which he can still practice, unless I’m mistaken) and while I’m sure not everything in the comic is 100% accurate (that would be absolutely interminably boring and also likely require a $7.99 price point to account for the length), there’s a certain feeling of accuracy and legitimacy to the issue's legal goings-on. It’s also a nice touch that, even aged to well beyond 90, Cap still radiates not only dignity but charisma and even a hint of his down-home good looks, much to the delight of Patsy Walker, Angie Huang and even Hei Hei.
Javier Pulido is on linework and while this issue is less surreal than his previous ones have been, there’s still plenty of that Silver-Age spark to make his visual style feel right at home. The characters are all defined with thick lines and fine details that make each stand out from the other and while there’s next-to-no action, the visuals make each panel interesting to behold on their own just fine. A huge part of that is Muntsa Vicente who uses a very basic color palette about as well as anyone I can think of. The characters and backgrounds are all bright and full of beautiful bombast giving even more excitement to what could have been a very visually dull issue.
The Bad
This issue dances around what the case against Cap is to a frustrating degree. The characters obviously know it, Shulkie pulls an all-nighter looking the case over, but we have no clue and therefore are unsure what the stakes are.
The Verdict
If last issue was a delightful return to form, this one is the book settling back in for the long-haul. It’s the first in an ongoing arc and Jenn’s back in full-time lawyer-mode, which is what this book does best. The book definitely has serious moments and takes its subject matter with the sincerity it so richly deserves, we get still more shorthand examples of the kind of person Cap is, even without his powers, but it never loses sight of making the reader smile nor having fun with its core cast.