Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #9 Review

Written by: Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing
Art by: Carmen Carnero
Colors by: Nolan Woodard
Letters by: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover art by: Carmen Carnero, Nolan Woodard
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: February 1, 2023

Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #9 finds the new Invaders team assembled to attack A.I.M head-on after the invasion of NYC. Does the new Invaders team have what it takes to save the day?

Is It Good?

If you were to summarize this issue with a brief descriptor, it would be this: “The first half is just okay, and the second half completely falls apart.” What is the point of this comic? Do Lanzing and Kelly know where they’re going and what they’re trying to do? Oy!

When last we left Cap, he assembled a new (and much less exciting version of) the Invaders to attack A.I.M. and free NY before the techno-terrorist group gets a hold of MODOK’s Neganite Reactor. Now, the team arrives in NYC and begins the assault on three fronts – disrupt A.I.M.’s coordination network, rescue civilians, and get to the Neganite Reactor before A.I.M. does.

At a high level, the issue starts off with plenty of exciting action/adventure. Terrorists get punched, bad guy buildings get blown up, and everyone succeeds at their respective goals… too quickly. Between the action is a collection of wildly uneven, sometimes awkwardly painful, dialog, but it all makes sense. Suddenly…

It stops making sense when it’s revealed that all is not as it seems. MODOC (with a ‘C’) is playing a game, and it’s unclear why or for what purpose. The scene transitions after the first half are jarringly muddled, and the “evolution” of MODOK to MODOC is so confusingly drawn, you can’t tell what’s happening. By the time you reach the last page, you don’t know if the story went anywhere or accomplished anything.

To be clear, the art is decent. Plenty of action and movement keeps you interested, but the art progression in the second half is a mess, so the art is a mixed bag.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Final Thoughts:

Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #9 appears to be moving the story in a clear direction until it stops and throws everything away for some unknown purpose. Half of the dialog is painfully awkward, half of the art is chaotically confusing, and half of this entire issue appears to be a waste.