Writer Robert Morales talks about his new, controversial Captain America series Truth Sometimes the truth hurts. Writer Robert Morales is learning that lesson now. His controversial new mini-series, Truth, which chronicles three African-American men, one of who will be the first to be injected with the super-soldier serum that turned Steve Rogers into Captain America, has made Morales, artist Kyle Baker and even Marvel Comics a target for ire. According to Marvel the complaints surrounding the series have ranged from fans, who don’t like to see anyone besides Steve Rogers get the super-soldier treatment, to downright racist remarks. But Morales and Marvel aren’t flinching.

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COTTON: How did you first become involved with Truth?
MORALES: While he was at Vertigo, Axel [Marvel Editor Alonzo] was interested in a property I was developing with Kyle Baker, along the lines of the satirical cartoons we used to do for Vibe, the hip hop magazine. The deal never went through with DC, but I remained friendly with Axel. Then while I was working as Vibe’s Arts Editor, he made his move to Marvel and called to see if I’d be interested in doing some work for them, toward the end of ultimately doing my book with Kyle as a Marvel project. Axel and I kicked around some ideas—including a spirited debate over the Luke Cage relaunch—and in early 2001, he asked if I had any interest in Captain America. I laughed, because I knew my dad would think that was cool, so I said sure. Then Axel explained Bill Jemas and Joe Quesada wanted to do a comic about the experience of Black Americans during World War II, for which Axel had come up with a really great—and unsettling—premise. So the four of us went out to lunch and argued for two hours, and that—followed by months of fine-tuning emails— was that.

COTTON: What excited you the most about telling this story?
MORALES: a) Just as in films or TV, too often in comics the non-Caucasian world is set down by tourists who, however well-meaning, don’t get it right. (When I was a kid, the big exception to this was Denny O’Neil, who was much better than he ever gives himself credit for.) Either they focus on the superficial or the stereotypical and slip into half-assed racism—or they over-compensate in the other direction, and preach for racial harmony in ways that are equally superficial or stereotypical. Blacks aren’t only hoop stars and gang bangers or doctors and cops, for example. So Marvel’s commitment to giving this story to a multiracial team was an opportunity you don’t want to blow. b) There’s a huge crossover audience between hip hop and comics, but not necessarily between fans and the general readership out there, who hasn’t even heard of Maus. It’s an interesting problem—so much with comics has to do with visual shorthand, so how do you create a racially driven story in a historically accurate racial context that’s clear to both traditional comics and non-comics readers? c) It’s always fun working with Kyle and trying to find ways to challenge him. It’s also a chance to do something with Axel, who is supremely overworked yet still manages to put out two of the best comics out, X-Force (another exception to 2a above) and Amazing Spider-Man.

COTTON: How do you feel fans will react to this story?
MOARALES: I have no idea. I remember Frank Miller once telling me while he was working on 300 that it was probably too far a field to find an audience. The fans proved him wrong—and while I’m certainly not Frank, I hope they’ll find something in this book for them.

COTTON: How do you feel fans will react to this change to Captain America’s origin?
MORALES: It’s not a change as much as it is a deepening of Cap’s myth. Heroism has as much to do with sacrifice as it does bravery; and here we learn about the terrible sacrifices that led to Steve Rogers’ transformation.

COTTON: Some fans will say this story is just a gimmick or stunt to drive sales.
MORALES: Believe me, there are easier gimmicks. My Sue Storm diet book and Hulk workout manual were soundly rejected; perhaps rightly so.

COTTON: What would you say to them? What makes this story special to you?
MORALES: I learned to read from comics in the early ‘60s, so it’s a medium I have great love for. Marvel stories were always set in the real world—mainly in New York City, which is where I’m from—and it’s a great challenge to work within that tradition, introducing fans to facets of the Black experience as arcane as the dining habits of the Kree, and to characters as diverse as Dr. Doom and Gwen Stacy.

COTTON: Axel says you’ve done a lot of research to make this story as accurate as possible, what have you done and what have you learned?
MORALES: At this point, revealing much of the research would spoil the story, but I’ll stick to the basics. Interested readers should start with the Library of America’s two-volume Reporting World War II, John Keegan’s The Second World War, Bill Mauldin’s Up Front, William Manchester’s The Arms of Krupp (recommended by Frank Miller), Philip Wylie’s Generation of Vipers, and filmmaker Samuel Fuller’s The Big Red One. Fuller’s widescreen adaptation of his novel is better than "Saving Private Ryan" and less hokey; his other films are a must for their hardboiled plots and social observation. Ditto Stanley Kubrick’s "Paths of Glory" and "Full Metal Jacket"—different wars, but SNAFU. Harlem’s famed Schomburg Center For Research in Black Culture was invaluable in a thousand ways. For example, looking into "Negro Week’" at the 1940 World’s Fair meant actually reading the Fair’s official correspondence, and holding actual letters from W. C. Handy and George Washington Carver or lecture notes by W. E. B. DuBois. What I learned is that World War II happened on a scale only hinted at by the comics art of Jack Kirby (a W.W. II vet). Fifty million people died. And not very many of them were villains. I learned that all wars start the moment the previous one ends, hence all wars are conceivably avoidable. I also learned that the cost of war is so great, wars are never solely for ideological or defensive purposes, but for material gain. People need to ask if that gain—like the cost—is worth it.

COTTON: How would you describe the feeling you want fans to have after reading the last chapter of Truth?
MORALES: Particularly as a New Yorker, I think this book is a different one than it would’ve been pre-9/11—but I also feel it’s what it should’ve been all along. Captain America was a positive icon during W.W. II. In the ‘60s, Kirby, Steranko, Gene Colan and Stan Lee had him appropriately questioning that same iconic status during the Vietnam War. Who is he today? What world does he serve? In the words of mystery writer Michael Connelly: "Everybody counts or nobody counts." While it’s centered around Black characters, this isn’t only a "Black" story. All history is shared history, and I hope fans will leave the book mindful of the different worlds we all live in.

WRITER’S BIO: Mike Cotton is a staff writer for Wizard: The Comics Magazine. For more on Truth and all the comic book news fit to print, check out Wizard on sale every month at comic book specialty shops and newsstands everywhere.

The Cotton Club Archive

August 7 , 2003 - HOLLYWOOD RUN DOWN July 31, 2003 - SPIDER-MAN 2 July 24, 2003 - BAG MAN July 17, 2003 - Moore or Less July 10, 2003 - Ink Test July 2, 2003 - HURRICANE WARNING June 25, 2003 - BANNER BANTER June 10, 2003 - PETER DAVID June 3 , 2003 - PAUL JENKINS May 28 , 2003 - GEOFF JOHNS May 21 , 2003 - BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS May 14 , 2003 - PHIL JIMENEZ May 9 , 2003 - Don't F[l]inch April 29 , 2003 - The X-Factors April 17 , 2003 - X2 Reviewed January 13, 2003 - Game Boy - WizKid’s HeroClix January 3, 2003- 2003 Bigger than 2002? December 20 , 2002 - Ring Bearer - A two-bit tour for ‘Two Towers’ novices December 13 , 2002 - ‘Sine of the Times December 6 , 2002 - Killer Read November 30, 2002 - Lex's World November 23, 2002 - Truth and Consequences November 15, 2002 - Triple X November 8 , 2002 - Giving the Devil his Due October 31, 2002 - Superhero DVD Preview October 25, 2002 - Mad Cow October 18 , 2002 - 80's a Go-GO October 11 , 2002 - Best Bets on Bats October 4, 2002 - Hunters & Pray September 27 , 2002 - The War Within September 19 , 2002 - Lee-Der of the pack. September 13 , 2002 - The Next Generation. September 6 , 2002 - Marvel Melee. August 30, 2002 - Breaking In. Joe Quesada reveals the ins and outs of getting work at Marvel. August 23, 2002 - Painted Into a Corner. An Interview with Greg Hildebrandt. August 16, 2002 - X-citing News on X-Men 2!