Chris Sprouse Takes Captain America Back to His Roots

All This and WWII

This September, rising star Tini Howard (best known for her work on Rick and Morty and Power Rangers: Pink) makes her Marvel debut alongside superstar artist Chris Sprouse (Black Panther), giving fans a glimpse into the past with CAPTAIN AMERICA ANNUAL #1. The World War II-era story finds Captain America and Bucky protecting the greater good on the front lines, when they come across a group of concentration camp escapees during a scouting mission – and make it their duty to protect them until the Allies can come to the rescue.

“Alanna and I are both huge Captain America fans, and she knew from my work on The Skeptics that I was also a big fan of historical fiction and period pieces. I’ve also long been an advocate of seeing more women writers take on these tentpole superhero characters – as a fan, it’s mind-blowing to get to put words in Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes’s mouths,” said Howard. “At the same time, we’re working with a time period that’s been often distilled into action stories that fail to recognize some of the realities. One of the great things about historical fiction is the ability to go back and amplify perspectives that may have been silenced – everyone deserves stories.”

“This story couldn’t be a better example of why a character — an idea — like Captain America matters and I am thrilled and honored to be a part of bringing it to life,” said Sprouse. “Just speaking purely personally, Tini’s Captain America Annual was exactly the Cap story I wanted to draw. Not only does it feature a couple of iconic Marvel characters that are a blast to illustrate, it’s set in a time period and setting I’ve long wanted to explore and deals with themes and ideas that have always been important to me, both in my work and in my life.”

“For this annual, we’re really trying to steer into a Kurosawa vibe through the lens of Captain America. I’m a big fan of Seven Samurai, so the idea of putting Cap and Bucky in a similar situation was immediately interesting to me,” said editor Alanna Smith. “Tini’s done a wonderful job capturing Steve’s determination to fight for those in need, as well as his perpetual willingness to recognize humanity in other people. And we’re so fortunate to have Chris on art — every single panel looks iconic! I can’t wait for readers to see what this team is putting together!”

“I feel like I’m surrounded by legends on all sides,” added Howard. “To step in and write an annual during Ta-Nehisi Coates’s run on the character, and to get to tell that story with an award-winner like Christopher Sprouse is more than I could have hoped. Does anyone else draw retro tough guys so well?”

Don’t miss Cap and Bucky’s new adventure in CAPTAIN AMERICA ANNUAL #1, coming to Atomik Pop! September 19, 2018 — add Captain America to your new comic subscription list today!