Dantastic Thoughts - Captain America, Agent of Hydra

So, by now you've probably all heard.  Steve Rogers is an agent of Hydra and has been since before he got the super soldier serum.  According to Nick Spencer, "This has real lasting repercussions that are gonna be with us for a while.”

Now that the internet has caught fire, let me remind everyone about the last time something in a Marvel comic garnered this much attention: Peter Parker revealing his identity on live TV.  At the time, Marvel alleged "lasting repercussions."  Last I checked, Spidey's identity was under wraps once again.

So calm down.  Nick Spencer didn't shit in your cornflakes.  Marvel has erected a anti-shit barrier around all bowls of cereal with its Illusion of Change doctrine.  Soon, Captain Hydra will be tossed in the same bin as other earth shattering stories like dead Superman, blue Superman, Az-Bat, unmaksed Spider-Man, married Spider-Man, Superior Spider-Man, evil Hal Jordan, dead Reed Richards, and countless others.

So sit back and see how this plays out.  Until then...

Dantastic Thoughts - Captain America: Civil War

My lady friend and I saw Captain America: Civil War last night.  We liked it quite a bit. There will be spoilers.

The Back Issue Bin - Daredevil #43

Daredevil (1963-1998) #43 by Stan Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fresh from a break-up with Karen Page, Daredevil swings around NYC in a foul mood. After some radium scrambles his brains, he picks a fight with... Captain America?

Back in my pre-pubescent days, I frequently bought comics mail order through Mile High Comics. This was one of the ones I bought based purely on the cover. Daredevil vs. Captain America, one of my favorites. Sold! It was the first Daredevil comic I ever bought after reading an issue of Marvel Team-Up where he teamed with Spidey.

The story was pretty simple. Radium turns Daredevil into a dickhead and he interrupts one of Captain America's fighting demonstrations. The fight rages all over the building like one of those falls count anywhere wrestling matches. Old Horn-head eventually comes to his senses and all is right with the universe.

Gene Colan drew the shit out of this! After experiencing this issue and Captain America (1968-1996) #132 in rapid succession, I have a new found admiration for Gentleman Gene's art. The fight was pretty dynamic and I'll be digging up more Colan from my back issue bin at home. Four out of five stars, adjusted for the passage of time.

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The Back Issue Bin - Captain America #132

Captain America (1968-1996) #132 by Stan Lee
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Reunited for the first time since World War II, evildoers everywhere face the might of Captain America and Bucky. But what is The Fearful Secret of Bucky Barnes?

Captain America #132 is the first comic book I remember buying based solely on the cover. Captain America on the ground with Bucky looming over him clutching a boulder, with MODOK looking on. I say "buying" but I'm pretty sure I got it free for spending $20 at Mile High Comics. Man, those days of waiting 6-8 weeks when you ordered something were murder, especially since 6-8 weeks passes like roughly thirty eight years when you're twelve.

I was going through my long boxes of back issues, gathering material to write about at Dantastic Comics when I unearthed this gem.

Anyway, the bliss of being reunited with Bucky is short-lived, for Bucky is a robot built by Doctor Doom at the behest of MODOK for the killing of Captain America. Fortunately for Cap, Doom built Bucky a little too well and the memories of the human Bucky overwhelm the android and he self-destructs rather than killing Cap.

The art by Gene Colan is pretty sweet and is above average for the 1970 publication date. The story is fairly simplistic, as was the style at the time, but I dug the robot Bucky being a little too much like the original. The cameos by Nick Fury, Sharon Carter, Dum Dum Dugan, and Falcon, in his shitty original costume, were fun.

Captain America #132 is a fun Silver Age story but isn't a milestone by any means. 3.5 out of 5 stars.


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Captain America - Marvel Pocket Books

Captain America by Stan Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This Marvel Pocket Books Captain America collects Cap's Silver Age revival in Avengers #4 and some of his early adventures in Tales of Suspense.

When I was 10, my deaf uncle gave me this. While I had a couple issues of Captain America before, I'd obviously never experienced his first adventures after being revived for the Silver Age in Avengers #4. This was the book that first had me latch on to Captain America for a few years in the late 1980's and into the 90's. Yes, including Cap-Wolf.

Anyway, this book starts with Cap's silver age revival. The first thing that caught my eye was Jack Kirby's art. I'd forgotten how dynamic it really was back in the day. Secondly, it sums up Captain America's spirit nicely. A guy with few powers going up against Namor? Yes, please! The other Avengers were good too, I guess.

The next three stories were primarily extended fight scenes. One was against some of Baron Zemo's thugs, one against some guys who thought they could take the Avengers Mansion since only Cap was on duty, and the third was in a prison.

After that, Bucky is reintroduced and we get some new tales set during Captain America's World War II days, something they did to keep his solo adventures from conflicting with his appearances in the Avengers book, a far cry from Wolverine being in 487 comics a month until recently. The Red Skull is reintroduced and his origin revealed, for the first time if I remember correctly.

The stories are a tad repetitive when read in rapid succession but are pretty exciting for what they are. With the caveat that this is not a modern comic book and it has tremendous nostalgic and sentimental feelings for me, I have to rate it highly. It started me on the path to Captain America fandom and deepened my comics fandom. Four out of five stars.

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Captain America: The Death Of Captain America, Vol. 3: The Man Who Bought America

Captain America: The Death Of Captain America, Vol. 3: The Man Who Bought America by Ed Brubaker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sharon Carter is pregnant with the deceased Captain America's child. A presidential candidate is in the pocket of the Red Skull and his allies. Bucky Barnes is struggling to adapt to his role as the new Captain America when someone appearing to be Steve Rogers appears...

Brubaker's epic run on Captain America continues as Bucky Barnes steps up and proves he deserves the Captain America mantle. Sharon Carter finally shakes off the mind control and the Red Skull gets what's coming to him in a fashion. The Death of Captain America arc comes to a satisfying conclusion.

One thing that I like about Ed Brubaker's run on Captain America so far is his sense of pacing. One gripe I have with most comics these days is that they are slow paced, written with being collected in trade paperbacks in mind. Bru's issues, while geared toward being longer stories, are more satisfying individually than a lot of the comics on the racks today. I also like that Bru mines a lot of Captain America's past, like his relationship with Hawkeye, lesser used villains like Dr. Faustus, and the Captain America of the 1950s to give us stories that aren't just rehashes of old ones. Another thing I like is the new Captain America's relationships with the supporting cast, namely Falcon, the Black Widow, and Sharon Carter.

Any complaints? Not really. It was a good story but not earth-shattering. I'm still waiting for the Bucky-Red Skull clash to rival Hulk Hogan-Andre the Giant from Wrestlemania III. Looks like I'll be picking up more of Ed Brubaker's Captain America run.

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Captain America: The Death of Captain America, Vol. 2: The Burden of Dreams

Captain America: The Death of Captain America, Vol. 2: The Burden of Dreams by Ed Brubaker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Dr. Faustus tries to break Bucky and return him to his role of Winter Soldier but Bucky escapes with the "help" of Agent 13 and is taken into SHIELD custody by the Black Widow. Bucky and Iron Man finally butt heads and Bucky takes up the mantle of Captain America. But can he measure up?

In the second Death of Captain America volume, Bucky steps up and tries to fill Captain America's shoes. While he didn't roll over the bad guys, he did pretty well for himself in his first outing, all things considered. Shooting bad guys in the leg and stabbing Crossbones was a nice touch. I like that Bucky realizes he's not Steve Rogers and fights a little dirtier than Cap ordinarily would.

Brubaker sows seeds for countless future stories in this volume. Sharon Carter pregnant with Cap's child? Steve Rogers floating in a tank in the Red Skull's headquarters? Romantic feelings between Bucky and the Black Widow?

There's not a whole lot else to tell. I'm rating this volume a little lower than the second one since it felt more like setup than anything else. While I know Steve Rogers is already back in the costume in comics currently being published, I'm still looking forward to reading about his former sidekick trying to fill his shoes.

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Captain America: The Death of Captain America, Vol. 1: The Death of the Dream

Captain America: The Death of Captain America, Vol. 1: The Death of the Dream by Ed Brubaker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the aftermath of the Civil War, Captain America is gunned down on the courthouse steps minutes before he was going to be arraigned. Now Bucky, the Winter Soldier, is gunning for Tony Stark and his first objective is claiming Captain America's shield...

First off, I went on a hiatus from buying Marvel Comics around the time Civil War hit because it wreaked of hype and things that would be undone at the first opportunity, like Spider-Man revealing his identity and Captain America being killed. Looks like death was a better career move for Captain America than revealing his identity was for the friendly neighborhood webslinger.

Captain America's death sets off a dramatic chain of events, thrusting Bucky, Falcon, Agent 13, and the Black Widow into the limelight. Cap's comrade's reactions to his death were very well done, especially Tony Stark's. If I wasn't a lifelong comic fan and knew Steve would be back in the saddle before too long, I might have wept along with them. With the Red Skull marshalling his forces, Bucky and company are going to have their hands full.

I have to hand it to Ed Brubaker. He does a great job of making Bucky seem like a worthy successor to the mantle, as well as making the Red Skull seem like a viable threat even though he's been defeated hundreds of times over the years. I'm eagerly awaiting the rest of Bucky's metamorphosis into the new Captain America. Let's see if Bru has the stones to make him a worthy lead character, unlike Grant Morrison did with Dick Grayson as Batman.

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Captain America: Red Menace

Captain America: Red Menace by Ed Brubaker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Crossbones and Sin are on a rampage across the Midwest, attacking AIM outposts. Cap and Agent 13 head to Europe and team up with Spitfire and Union Jack to protect Aleksander Lukin and find Bucky.

Ed Brubaker's stellar Captain America run continues. We get Crossbones deprogramming the Red Skull's daughter, an untold tale of Captain America, Bucky, and the Howling Commandos from World War II, and a trip to merry old England to team up with Union Jack and Spitfire. Cap and Bucky briefly team up, which was more satisfying than their brief clash in the last volume.

The villains were well done. What's going on with Aleksander Lukin anyway? I liked the parts focusing on Crossbones and Sin. Master Man was as inept as always. Was he based on Miracleman/Marvelman originally? I loved the interactions between Cap, Agent 13, Spitfire, and Union Jack.

Honestly, there's not a lot else to talk about. Brubaker is the master of pacing and managed to take a fairly cheesy robot and make it a credible threat. So far, Brubaker's run on Captain America is everything a comic should be. Four easy stars.

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Captain America: Winter Soldier

Captain America: Winter Soldier by Ed Brubaker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Red Skull acquires a Cosmic Cube, only to be murdered before he can use it and the killer seems to be someone Captain America thought dead since World War II. Can Captain America and Agent 13 unravel the mystery of the Winter Soldier and the Cosmic Cube before whomever possesses the Cube gets a chance to use it?

Fresh off of reading Gotham Central, I was ready for more Brubaker and I sure got it! When I first started reading Ed Brubaker last century with A Complete Lowlife, I had no idea he'd be one of the top guys in comics.

Back in the day, there were two Marvel books I held above all others. Forget about X-Men or anything featuring Wolverine's over-exposed ass. They were the Fantastic Four and Captain America. I have most of Mark Gruenwald's run on Cap, as well as a few issues in the early 100 range. Will Brubaker's run eclipse Gruenwald's in my eyes? It already has.

Brubaker's run kicks off with a bang. The Red Skull is dead and Bucky is alive? Wow. Most of the rest of the story is Captain America coming to grips with the fact that Bucky is the Winter Soldier, an assassin working for the Russians, and searching for the Cosmic Cube.

I thought the flashbacks really helped make the story. Bucky kicking ass whenever he showed up, only to fade away again, helped build the suspense to the inevitable showdown with Captain America.

Any gripes? Only that the confrontation I waited twelve issues for was pretty quick. This is right on the edge of being a five star book.

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