Broken Frontier

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The death of Steve Rogers in Captain America #25 has caused a frenzy in the mainstream media both in and outside the US. BF collects the headlines in a continuously updated overview.

Tuesday, March 8

Tonight at 11:30 EST on Comedy Central, comedian Steve Colbert weighs in on the death of Captain America as he tells the Colbert Nation just how he’s dealing with the loss of the Star-Spangled Avenger. Stay tuned!

Captain America Is Dead; National Hero Since 1941
New York Times
“It seemed a little radical when it was first brought up,” said Dan Buckley, the president and publisher of Marvel Entertainment, about the hero’s death. “But sometimes stories just take you places.”

“We as publishers and as creative people knew where the ending was going to go for a long time,” he said. “We knew people might not like it, but I think we delivered a compelling story that made everyone think.”

He added: “The stories we have planned dealing with Cap’s death are really compelling too.”

Superhero's death stuns the faithful
The Boston Globe
Fred Grandinetti , a comic book historian from Watertown , said the decision to kill off Captain America is part of what he termed an unfortunate trend. "Rather than have heroes just hang up their cape in a closet to use them again, they kill them, because they want to boost sales," he said. "It's an insult to the fans that have grown up with these characters all these years."

But might Captain America be resurrected somewhere down the line? "There's no plans for that right now," said Quesada, before adding: "I can't sit here and tell you absolutely not."

In the meantime, Quesada said, there is a momentous question to be answered in the days ahead: "What is a world without Captain America in it?”

Captain America loses this one
Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Cap's death is interesting because he's a symbol of America," said Scott Rudge, owner of Astound! Comics in Westlake, who sold out of all his copies soon after opening Wednesday. "Marvel has been trying to show a correlation between current events in the country and the events in 'Civil War.' This will have some impact."

Captain America is WHAT???
San Francisco Chronicle
Marvel's lips were so tight that nary a rumor had swirled at WonderCon, which just passed through San Francisco this weekend.

Lee Lewis, proprietor of The Comic Shop in San Leandro, told me he literally found out about the Sentinel of Liberty's death when he walked into the store this morning. Had he been given the heads up from Marvel, Lewis said, he would've ordered extra copies of what is now a sold-out issue.

It's been a tough week for geeks. First, Starbuck dies when her Viper explodes. Now this. I betcha ten bucks that as you're reading this, John Locke is probably getting pummeled to death by the smoke monster on "Lost."

Captain America: Dead, Shmead
African News Dimension
Disco is dead. Captain America is only dead-ish. Despite being gunned down in the latest issue of his own comic book title, the red-white-and-blue-clad hero's planned big-screen adventure lives, a Marvel Studios spokesman said Wednesday. "The movie is still going," the rep said. Screenwriter David Self ("Road to Perdition") is on script duty. No other names have been announced. Ditto for a release date. In comic book stores, meanwhile, Captain America's prospects looked bleak with Marvel's "Captain America #25," on sale Wednesday, featuring the bloody demise of its iconic namesake.

Sad death of a comic avenger
The Australian

Who will defend US? Captain America killed
Chicago Sun-Times

Comic-book veteran Captain America fights his last good fight
Montreal Gazette

Captain America doomed?
Toronto Star

Wednesday, March 7

Shocking event for Captain America - Video 
CNN
He fought and triumphed over Hitler, Tojo, international Communism and a host of supervillains, but he could not dodge a sniper's bullet.

Comic book hero Captain America is dead.

After close to 60 years in print, Marvel Comics has killed off Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, one of its most famous and beloved superheroes amid an already controversial story line, "Civil War," which is pitting the heroes of Marvel's universe against one another.

The character's death came as a blow to co-creator Simon, the Associated Press reported.
"We really need him now," Simon, 93, told The AP.

Comic hero, foe of Hitler assassinated by sniper
AP New York
Captain America is dead!

Assassinated, in fact, as he walks into a federal courthouse in New York, under arrest and in handcuffs, headed to his arraignment for refusing to sign the government's Superhero Registration Act and forcibly revealing his true identity.

What does this mean? Can the pulverizing patriot really be dead, shot down on the courthouse steps after 66 years of battling villains from Adolf Hitler to the Red Skull? Will the killer or killers be captured?

The only way to find out, says Dan Buckley, president and publisher of Marvel Entertainment, is to "read the book" as the story line unfolds.

Buckley said that despite being handcuffed and without his shield, Captain America saved the life of another person by taking the bullets. He did not know whether the Captain's lawyer was present.

He said he did not anticipate widespread reaction to the slaying of the red white and blue superhero. "We'll get a few people upset, and I don't expect to hear, `Yeah, Captain America's dead,"' but the story continues.

Captain America killed!
NY Daily News
As Captain America emerges from a courthouse building, he is struck by a sniper's bullet in the shoulder and then hit again in the stomach, blood seeping out of his star-spangled costume.

His death is sure to ignite controversy in the comic book world - still reeling from Superman's death in 1993 and resurrection the following year - and even political pundits, who may see Captain America's demise as an allegory for the United States.

Comic book deaths, however, are rarely final. Marvel's archrival, DC Comics, provoked a media frenzy when it killed off Superman in 1993, only to reanimate its prize creation a year later.

Joe Quesada, 43, Marvel Entertainment's editor in chief, said he wouldn't rule out the shield-throwing champion's eventual return. But for now, the Captain's fans are in mourning.

"I was shocked. I was not expecting it," said Gerry Gladston, co-owner of Midtown Comics in Manhattan. "I'd rather they didn't kill him - but it's going to mean great sales."

Marvel Comics kills Captain America
LA Times
Captain America is dead. But will he stay that way?

In the latest issue of the comic book, Steve Rogers, the star-spangled hero with the gleaming shield and World War II roots, is shot to death - and his publisher, Marvel Comics, pledges that it is neither a dream, a hoax nor a short-term stunt.

Marvel has plans for a "Captain America" movie in the next few years so there is cause to wonder whether the character (or at least the costume) will make a return.

"Captain America" will continue publishing for at least several issues (next month's edition will involve his autopsy), and fans will certainly debate the "realness" of this death.

Captain America bids farewell
Variety
Captain America, one of Marvel Comics oldest and most iconic characters, was killed in the latest issue of his self-titled comic book. He was 66 years old.

In the last seven decades, Jack Kirby and Joe Simon's creation has sold 210 million comic books and has been printed in over 70 different countries.

Captain America Killed Off in Latest Comic
Fox News
"We've had deaths in the Universe, but with Cap being our oldest character, it gives it a little more resonance," Dan Buckley, the president and publisher of Marvel Entertainment's publishing group, told FOXNews.com.

Captain America's death "doesn't mean patriotism is dead," Buckley said, explaining that while the man in the costume died in this latest story, the ideals of Captain America did not.

Video interview with Joe Quesada
ABC News

Ahead of the Bell: Captain America KO'd
Forbes
Marvel Entertainment Inc. is taking the "risk" of killing off one of its iconic characters.

Captain America Killed Outside Courthouse
CBS News

Captain America reportedly dead
USA Today

Goodbye America
Metro

Captain America is killed off
The Sun