Captain America: Winter Soldier Vols. 1 + 2

Collects Captain America #1-7 (vol. 1) and #8-9 and #11-14 (vol. 2) written by Ed Brubaker and drawn by Steve Epting, Michael Lark, Mike Perkins and John Paul Leon.

I don't usually review more than one book at a time, but in this case the titles do sort of indicate that they belong together. They also do read very much like one long story line, and could just as well have been packaged into one book. I do prefer this format, however, twice a year is a nice pace for an ongoing series.

Comic book marketing theory has it that there are basically two ways two get a book with dwindling sales numbers back on track. The first is to kill off a character from the cast (max effect is achieved by killing the main character, but this is usually only in the short run...), the second is to revive a popular character that was previously killed. The shock and awe that these turns of events will provoke will bring sales numbers soaring, and can in some cases save a book from early retirement. In any case, it'll bring in some $$$ in the short run which makes investors clap their hands.

In this, the beginning of his still-going-strong Captain America run and his first major work for Marvel, Brubaker does both. In the very first issue he kills off the Red Skull with a sniper's bullet and a couple of issues later it is revealed that the sniper was none other than Bucky, Cap's long thought dead sidekick. With a plot like this, the outcome can only go really well or incredibly bad. Unless you've only just discovered the Internet you will probably already know that consensus has it that Brubaker's Captain America is pretty much the best thing since three-layered toilet paper, and I pretty much agree with this (I know, what a shock, me liking a Brubaker book...).

Winter Soldier is plotted as a good old fashioned espionage thriller with plenty of action and character based subplots. Instead of the Reds we have an old Russian general running an international corporation and buying high tech weaponry from AIM, the leading weapons dealer for advanced terrorists. Also, they made the Cosmic Cube, so that plays a part here as well. This is not the MU we grew up with, here the heroes and villains kill each other and the bad guys are not afraid to take out a building full of civilians to obtain their goal. A lot like the real world, you say? Well, maybe... There are men in tights in this story, but most of the time they don't take center stage, and when they do, it's to make a point.

The overwhelming thing that people will talk about regarding this book is the return of Bucky, the one Marvel character that people thought would never be revived. I mean, what's next, Uncle Ben? The thing is, Brubaker brings him back with style. He does this by retconning the relation between Bucky and Cap, while still paying respect to what's been told so far. All the stories where Bucky was mentioned still hold true, that version of Bucky is simply what was told to the public by US Army propaganda. Like Cap, he did not die on that day, but was picked up by the Russians, who brainwashed and trained him to be their assassin. S.H.I.E.L.D. has heard rumors of this, but has not been able to confirm them until now. The tough and gloomy Bucky that Brubaker reintroduces is a very different sort than the merry teenage sidekick from the 50s, and this reflects very well the change of perception that has occurred since that time. No longer is anything black and white, and no longer are there any good wars. Winter Soldier is a product of the dark aspects of our time, just as Bucky was of his.

Brubaker has proven on numerous occasions that he is a master of making characters come to life in his stories, of infusing them with a voice of their own, and this book is no exception. Cap and Bucky are obvious examples, but I also enjoyed his take on Nick Fury who plays an important role in the book. Fury is here portrayed as cynical secret agent who manipulates the people around him. Surely, his intentions are good, but his actions can seem questionable at times. I hope the new Nick Fury series takes a cue from this!

The artists are well picked to match the story. There is a heavy emphasis on shadows and the coloring is dark and moody. There are very few massively muscled men, and this contributes to the realistic feel. Most of the artwork is handled by Epting with the numerous flashbacks by Lark, so the art is cohesive throughout. Epting style is perfect for Captain America, it has a classic feel to it and he is a master visual storyteller.

The only complaint I have on this story is that the ending does not feel as climactic as I think it was intended to. Maybe spending another issue on this would have been appropriate, but really, this is just nitpicking.

All in all I recommend this to anyone looking for a good comic book. Brubaker and co. succeeds in reviving Captain America as a very relevant book, while grounding it in its classic roots. And besides that, it's a damn good story! Also, Brubaker is still writing the book after almost four years, so I think there is reason to believe that more goodness is still to come. The next two books in the series are called Red Menace, so maybe the Red Skull is not as dead as appearances would have it?

8/10