Comics are cyclical. It seems that similar themes and stories keep popping up over and over again. Wolverine chases down his hidden past. Someone even stronger comes after Superman. Spider-Man is tired of his responsibilities mucking up his life and wants to quit. Captain America needs to be replaced. When these themes come up again and again it is hard not to judge them against other similar stories. What does that mean for these issues of Captain America? Read on and find out.
Captain America v5 #26-30
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artists: Steve Epting and Mike Perkins
Marvel
Quic Review: Guess what? I like these issues. The art continues to be on point, fitting te moodiness and action of the story. The story does a great job of following a wide range of characters showing how they are dealing with the death of Steve Rogers. In fact, who is the main character of these issues? Is it Bucky? Sharon Carter? Sam Wilson? They all seem to share in importance and have equal power in the plot. And it all adds into the lovely tangle that is the spy fiction going on here.
Analysis: What I like about these issues is that it isn’t a simple step to replace Captain America. It isn’t a turn the page and here is the new Cap. There is pain and drive mixed in to the struggle. In fact these issues don’t even concern themselves with finding a new shield wielded because all the characters are dealing with the direct fallout of Cap’s death.
Also, with how SHIELD is shown as both an awesome power and not quite having it together adds so much to the story. Can we actually trust Tony Stark to not only do the right thing, but to be a leader? Maybe, but then again he doesn’t have as good a grasp on things as did Nick Fury (who I still miss in modern comics.) Nothing is easy and nothing is simple. Ou heroes are dealing with difficulties. And so are the villains. The whole comic is relying upon “Who Can You Trust?”
And the answer is Perkins and Epting. They are sharing the art chores in these issues and whil I’m sure there are those who can easily tell who did which pages, but to me it just gets confusing. It just blends in together so well and every page is strong. I haven’t read the scripts but both artists and writer seem to be operating on the same wavelength of making this a super hero spy story that also feels real and emotional.
These are some of the best Captain America stories told and Cap isn’t even in this set of issues.
Wrap Up: Reading through these issues there are elements I remember distinctly and elements I have entirely forgotten. One of the forgotten elements was the positive brith control test in issue #30. I don’t remember where this plot thread goes. But whenever the threat of a baby comes up it makes me nervous as to what they will do will with that story. It shouldn’t make we worried, but it always does. Even more so now that I have a one-year old at home.
Deadly Troubadour 