New Comics!: The Captain America Edition #1 of 2 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Captain America #5:  This arc hasn't necessarily been the greatest, with Brubaker suffering the same problem as many of the .1 authors, being forced to introduce the character to new readers but keep it interesting for old readers.  But, I feel like he really delivers in the end here.  First, the issue itself is exciting, with Queen Hydra calling Sharon Carter's bluff, shooting Jimmy Jupiter and possibly stranding Cap and Bravo in the dream world.  We haven't seen a good Cap/Sharon story in a while, but her emotional appeal to Jimmy to save Cap reminded me how many stories Brubaker has left to tell when it comes to the two of them.  Cap "died" the first time they were just getting off the ground as a couple, and the second time has been sidetracked with "Fear Itself" and the new title.  This issue gives me hope that Brubaker is going to get to tell some classic Cap stories, something he hinted at doing by including Nick, Sam, and Sharon in this first arc.  Second, Brubaker does really raise some great questions here.  Cap does remember a time when politics was simpler (or, at least, appeared so), and Bravo accusing him of standing by idly while corporate interests stole our government seems to have really hit home.  I think it's a little unfair, given that I'm old enough to remember when Cap renounced the title and became the Captain almost exactly for these reasons.  But, since then, Cap has become America's top cop and has been forced to make all sorts of compromises that I'm sure make him a little less sure of his "boy scout" reputation.  For these two reasons, I thought this issue was a real return to form for Brubaker.  Add to it McNiven stunning pencils, and it makes me really excited to see where Brubaker and company go from here.

Captain America #6:  "Baron Zemo, currently leaning chaotic neutral, at best."  For this quote, I officially award, one month into the year, this issue Comic of the Year!  OMG, fucking hilarious.  I forgot how good of a writer Brubaker is when he's not under the thumb of editors, and taking the time to give us that description of Baron Zemo is taking a page right from Peter David's playbook, which I whole heartedly endorse.  I'm surprised how often authors forget that the little things can make me forgive pretty much any sin.  However, this issue, thankfully, doesn't have any sins that need forgiven.  Brubaker gives us the sort of tale I was hoping to see after reading the last year.  It started to remind me of Gruenwald's run on "Captain America" in the 300s, to my mind, one of the best runs ever, and the appearance of a new Serpent Society at the end seemed to make that even more of an apt comparison.  I loved the Serpent Society back in the day, and I'm excited to see what Brubaker does with them.  I'm also intrigued by the reformation of HYDRA.  I was wondering if Brubaker was going to bring in Viper (the current Madame Hydra) for some sort of battle royale with Queen Hydra.  Although we don't see that happen here, Brubaker seems to be setting the stage for it, and I wonder if we're going to see the ripples of that tension in Bendis' Avengers stories, where HYDRA forms a key part of Norman Osborn's reformed H.A.M.M.E.R.  But, perhaps best of all, we get a Cap/Hawkeye story that makes me forget what Remender did to them in "Secret Avengers" #21.1.  This story is how you tell a Cap/Hawkeye story.  Remender took their rivalry way too far in that issue.  In this one, it's what helps Cap shake off the cobwebs, a role he's often played for Hawkeye.  It's an awesome issue and I can't wait to read the next one.  Thankfully, because of my backlog, I don't have long to wait!

Captain America and Bucky #625:  I wasn't really sure where this series was going to go with the revelation that Bucky had survived "Fear Itself," given that I pretty much always assumed it was just a vehicle for keeping his memory alive until they resurrected him.  I hadn't thought about exploring the histories of the various other Captain Americas and Buckies, but I'm really glad Brubaker and Asmus did!  I loved this issue.  I've always been intrigued by the other Captain Americas and Buckys, but I've never really seen a focused treatment of them, despite being a long-time reader of "Captain America."  As such, I was excited when I realized Asmus was going with this issue, bringing back the Spirit of 76's Bucky (as an older man) and introducing his grandson.  I'm not entirely sold on the grandson being on the side of angels, since his appearance (though well explained) felt a little overly convenient.  Asmus does a good job of dropping that hint and raising other questions.  But, he really excels when it comes to presenting a lot of exposition in a way that seems natural.  I've complained that most of the .1 writers (and Brubaker himself in "Captain America") have stumbled in trying to do the same thing, but Asmus really manages to deliver.  Also, Francavilla is the perfect artist for this series.  His work on "Detective Comics" was amazing, and Marvel was lucky to snag him.  This issue goes a long way to justifying why we're getting two Captain America titles a month, and I'm excited to see where this story goes.