Captain America: Patriot #1

Karl Kesel is the popular writer and artist who has work on such books as Marvel’s Captain America: The 1940s Newspaper Strip, Marvel Apes, Fantastic Four, and DC’s Harley Quinn. This month he writes Marvel’s Captain America: Patriot, a miniseries illustrated by Mitch Breitweiser that stars Jeff Mace as Captain America. Westfield’s Roger Ash contacted Kesel to learn more about this project.

Westfield: People may not realize that Patriot is a character who goes back to comics’ Golden Age. What about the character appeals to you and how did you come to revisit him?

Karl Kesel: This all started when Tom Brevoort asked me to write the 2009 All Winners one-shot. The man in the Captain America uniform at that time was Jeff Mace— who had previously been the hero known as the Patriot. Researching Jeff, I thought there was a number of unique and very interesting things about him-as-Captain-America. First, he had no super-powers, no super-soldier serum in his blood, wasn’t even bitten by a mongoose. He had just been inspired by Cap to put on his Patriot costume and fight the good fight! So right away I was thinking: this guy doesn’t come close to Cap’s physical ability, and he’s trying to carry on Cap’s legacy? Not something I’d like to do. Second, Jeff Mace wasn’t military— he hadn’t even served during WWII— he was a journalist. That said to me that Jeff would have a very different outlook on what it meant to be Cap, and what it meant to serve his country— to be a patriot, if you will. Lastly, I was fascinated to learn that Jeff had actually walked away from being Cap! He was arguably the top superhero in the entire world, and he hung up the uniform? What’s the story there? So I wrote this miniseries to find out!

Westfield: Is this a look at the Patriot in WWII, or does it follow his whole career as a hero?

Kesel: The first issue leads up to Jeff taking over as Cap, so we get to see quite a bit of his time as the Patriot, including his origin— which as far as I can tell has NEVER been shown before. It’s been said that he was inspired by Cap, but it’s never been shown in print— until now! We get a chance to see what kind of person Jeff is, what kind of hero the Patriot is, etc. After that, we follow him through his entire career as Cap.

Captain America: Patriot #2

Westfield: What can you tell us about the story in the mini-series and who are some of the other characters involved?

Kesel: The story is really about Jeff’s struggle to live up to the name and reputation of Captain America— probably the toughest job in the entire world. And there are some people who definitely think he isn’t up to the job. In the All Winners Squad, Namor is fiercely loyal to Steve Rogers and flatly refuses to believe anyone else will ever come close. And then there’s Bucky— the second Bucky, Fred Davis— who has been Bucky longer than Jeff’s been Cap, so he pretty much thinks they should be called “Bucky and Captain America.” Luckily, Miss America helps Jeff with his public image as Cap— because he really needs the help! Other major characters are Betsy Ross— the FBI liaison who has been assigned to every Cap since Steve Rogers— and Mary Morgan— one of Jeff’s fellow journalists who gained super-powers and called herself “Miss Patriot.” Not something I made up— that’s right out of one of the Patriot’s actual Golden Age stories.

Westfield: In addition to Captain America: Patriot, you’re also working on Captain America: The 1940s Newspaper Strip. Do you enjoy writing stories that are set in the past of the Marvel Universe?

Captain America: The 1940s Newspaper Strip

Kesel: I enjoy writing stories set in Marvel’s past, present, or future! A while back I had an idea for Guardians of the Galaxy that I thought was pretty cool, but Marvel already had that team’s latest incarnation in development. Setting stories in Marvel’s past can be quite limiting, working around all the continuity, but on the other hand for the most part you know what pieces you have to work with, so you don’t have to worry about a character suddenly being off-limits because of some secret plan concerning them, stuff like that. Mostly, though, I’m really just interested in telling stories that are interesting to me! If that happens to mean they’re set in the past— or present, or future— so be it.

Westfield: You’re working with artist Mitch Breitweiser on Captain America: Patriot. What can you say about his contribution to the book?

Kesel: I honestly cannot say enough. All good. His work is jaw-droppingly amazing. Breath-taking dynamics, crystal-clear storytelling, excellent figure-work, an astonishing sense of place no matter where a scene is set, and a style that perfectly captures the humanity of the characters and storyline. Not to mention what happens when Elizabeth Dismang colors his art! I’d like to think this was a solid story when I wrote it. But Mitch’s art takes it to a whole new level. Really, miss it and you’ll be kicking yourself later. And no one wants that— not me, and especially not you.

Westfield: Are there any other books you’re working on that you’d like to mention?

Kesel: I’m wrapping up the art of the Captain America: The 1940s Newspaper Strip right now— another project I’m extremely proud of and hope people will check out, on-line or by picking up the 3-issue mini collecting the first storyline. I say “first storyline” hoping there will be more, because it’s been some of the most fun I’ve had on any comics project ever! I love the classic adventure strips, and writing and drawing this one, trying to capture the feel of strips from that time (while still keeping things fresh and modern) has been a real joy and dream come true.

Westfield: Any closing comments?

Kesel: All I can think of are the immortal words of Mary “Miss Patriot” Morgan: Loose lips sink relationships!

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