This follows Bucky as Cap remembering and encountering some old allies now much older than he. As one of them passes on a villain from their past shows up at the funeral and the hunt is on. I picked this up very inexpensively since it contained a short story run that was unlikely to be included in an omnibus edition down the road. The art was decent but won't blow your mind. I could say the same for the story. ( )

Honestly, I'd never heard of the Young Allies before this one crossed my desk. Apparently, it was a team of teenagers led by Bucky Barnes when he wasn't fighting alongside Captain America--a group of four "ordinary" teenagers representing a variety of NYC backgrounds.

The story jumps between contemporary Bucky, who has taken up Captain America's mantle, and 1941 Bucky and his friends. Both times, the enemy is the unfortunately-exoticized Lady Lotus, who can control people's minds with a power gem, wants to raise an army and take over the world, etc. The plot itself isn't remarkable aside from the connections Bucky makes between past and present. I did really like that the "flashback" Lotus is drawn in the style of a 1940s femme fatale, while the modern Lotus is drawn in a more current style.

The comic really, REALLY distances itself from the original 1940s run of Young Allies, even going so far as to literally set fire to a poster of the art. When you read the reprint of Young Allies #1 (1941) in the back, you'll see why. The depiction of a black Young Ally called "Whitewash Jones" (no, really) is a jaw-dropping racist caricature. ( )

The first half of this is Bucky as Captain America visiting some old friends and also dealing with an old enemy. The second part is some reprises of some older Young Allies stories. Oh man, the inherent racism and sheer dumb nastiness that underlies some of that is scary.

Interesting to contrast today with then, important to see how things have changed, even if they could do with more change, and how much further we have to go. ( )