Captain America #19 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Despite my disappointment in this series of "Captain America," with its odd focus on a disillusioned Steve, I had high hopes for Brubaker to find a way to make it worthwhile with this last issue.  Brubaker has always grasped Steve in a way others haven't, making him more complex than the single-minded Boy Scout that other writers often make him into being.  This issue really shows that depth of understanding, managing to give me new insight into a character whose comics I've been reading for 25+ years.

Other authors have talked about Steve being motivated to join the war (and later take the Super-Soldier Serum) because he was a bullied child and that experience inspired him to fight injustice.  Brubaker plums a darker side of that story here, with Steve talking about the shame that he felt with ever lost fight, because he was letting down his mother.  Epting really sells this story, depicting a heart-breaking scene of a black-eyed young Steve sitting in silence at the dinner table with his mother in a crumbling apartment.  But, Brubaker goes further, expanding on how Steve's shame was compounded by the fact that his mother was the central (and really only) person in his life.  Here, Brubaker takes us on a tour of the Depression mindset, with Steve noting that he had an irrational fear of losing his mother, but one that seemed to reflect the way that everything could just go wrong in a moment in that era.  Maybe it's because I'm taking a history class that focuses on the Depression, but this part of the book really rang true to me.  I really felt the plight of the young Steve here, a kid who desperately clung to his mother as the only bulwark against the harsh realities of the world and who felt the disappointment for not being able to reward her with a stronger, more successful son.  I feel like this motivation really adds something to Steve's story, showing not only why he was trying to join the army (to fight against injustice) but why he also agreed to take the Super-Soldier Serum (to become stronger).

Brubaker then moves from this tour of Steve's origins to a discussion of the burden that wearing the uniform is for Steve, a tour made all the more poignant for the fact that it comes in the form of a one-sided conversation that he has with the broken 1950s Captain America, William Burnside.  Brubaker has done some great stuff over the course of his run with the previous Caps and Buckys and here he shows that Steve has felt their trials and tribulations deeply, often feeling as if they unjustly had to carry the burden that he alone should have to carry.  Again, Brubaker really gets the myth of Captain America here, in part because he shows it to us through the eyes of the guy who understands it the most.

Overall, despite the difficulties of this run, Brubaker really ends on a high note here.  I think it's time for some fresh eyes on Cap, but I have to really thank Brubaker for reinvigorating the character, from the addition of an improved supporting cast (and including Sharon Carter in it) and, of course, the resurrection of Bucky Barnes.  They've helped show us a Steve Rogers who is an actual human being and not a stuffed iconic suit.  I'm hesitant of Remender taking over the book, but I know, if it's not my cup of tea, I can return to the good ol' days of Brubaker's run and read the Cap stories that I want to read.

Captain America #18 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Brubaker continues to wrap up his time on "Captain America" with this issue, bringing to a close Cap's ongoing battle with Codename Brave and Queen Hydra.  The problem, however, is that it's hard not to feel like we've already read this issue a dozen times already.

Brubaker covers very little new ground in this concluding arc when it comes to Bravo and Hydra.  They yet again use madbombs and mind-control to induce fear in the population and Steve is yet again left questioning his beliefs as he confronts how easily Americans are pushed to mistrust and violence.  Rinse, repeat.  The only innovation in this arc has been the Discordians, but Brubaker has never really developed them as a concept, making them feel like afterthoughts.  I'm still not sure exactly what their deal is, other than the fact that they seem to die pretty quickly.  (In fact, on the cover, proving their irrelevance they're replaced by HYDRA agents.)  In the end, Cap's final battle with Bravo and Hydra seriously disappoints.  First, Hydra inexplicably goes insane when she realizes that the madbombs were disabled and randomly opens fire on Cap and Bravo, taking down Bravo in the process.  (So, Cap doesn't even get to take down Bravo himself.  Thrilling.)  Then, Cap disarms her with his shield and she appears to have some sort of violent spasm that causes her to fly across the room into the monitor screen, since she doesn't seem to be standing close enough to the screen to have been thrown into it the way that she's depicted as doing here.  Oddly, we learn in the epilogue that Bravo apparently shakes off getting shot repeatedly, but Hydra's tussle with the monitor has left her in a coma.

With Bravo, Hydra, and Zemo safely behind bars, Brubaker turns to the last remaining issue, the distance between Cap and Sharon.  Sharon has been worried about Steve throughout this arc and their relationship took a hit after Sharon shot D-Man.  But, Brubaker somewhat oddly just has Steve kiss Sharon and tell her that they're fine.  It almost feels like Brubaker just found himself without enough time to address their relationship and he didn't want to end his run with any ambiguity.  He normally doesn't avoid putting his characters in situations where they have to engage in actual conversation, so I'm disappointed that we don't get to see Sharon and Steve talk out their problems.  Instead, Brubaker just waves his magic wand here and we're all just supposed to feel warm and fuzzy.

Needless to say, I wasn't thrilled with this arc.  Given the recycled plots and the recent lack of any sort of emotional development, it's pretty clear that Brubaker is tired.  It's time for him to bring the same insight and energy to a character that he originally brought to this one.  Even with my disappointment over this series, I still trust him to give us a good show next issue.  Fingers crossed.

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

Captain America #17:  For the last few months (actually, probably years at this point), Brubaker has been portraying an America made increasingly more violent by fringe elements promoting their agendas.  He's done it skillfully, like Bucky's encounter with the fake Cap from "Captain America" #602-#605, and less skillfully, like the Madbomb issues a few issues ago.  In the former case, he uses the extremism of the antagonist to show how Captain America stands against using violence to express political opinions.  Mark Gruenwald used similar themes on his run on "Captain America," and Brubaker adroitly updated them for an even more divided age.  In the latter case, however, he used such extremism as a convenient way to put Cap in a difficult position, rather than really as a way to explore more philosophical themes, if you will.  Here, it devolves into a lecture when the whole issues goes "after-school special" pretty quickly.  It's hard to believe that Cap would be unable to conceptualize that people might be angry but that HYDRA is the one causing them to express that anger through violence.  In other words, I might be against animal testing, but I'm not going to shoot anyone over it.  I think Cap gets that, no matter how disillusioned he's become.  As such, it's hard to believe his scene with Sam here; in fact, it's getting almost impossible to believe his disillusionment writ large.  Although it was interesting in the beginning, I think that it's time for Brubaker to end this practice of having ordinary people attack Cap because of psychological manipulation and focus more on Cap trying to stop bad guys from doing bad things.  Also, I'm particularly hoping that these stories do not involve Diamondback, if the Diamondback that we're going to get is merely there as a romantic rival to Sharon.  Brubaker generally writes strong female characters, but I really wish we could see Rachel and Sharon just, I don't know, work together and not immediately become the "Real Housewives of S.H.I.E.L.D."  This issue was a really rare miss for Brubaker. 

Captain America and Black Widow #636:  I mentioned in my review of the most recent issue of "Captain America" that I'm over the "extremists fuel Cap's disillusionment with America" plot.  Similarly, I mentioned in my review of the most recent issues of the "Secret Avengers" that I'm over the whole Shadow Council business.  At risk of being repetitive, I am really, really over Kashmir Venema.

I'm not entirely sure why authors lately have found themselves so enamored with these sorts of long-brewing plots.  Although I understand, theoretically, the allure of such a plot in narrative terms, I can't think of any comic book that really successfully pulled off one without ultimately annoying the reader.  I'm thinking about two 1990s storylines in particular, namely the Clone Saga in the various Spider-Man titles or the Gatherers in the "Avengers."  Both storylines spanned years and suffered from constantly changing creative direction, leaving you with the distinct sense that the creative teams didn't know where they were going with the story from the start and kept writing themselves into corners.  (In case you haven't read it yet, the "Life of Reilly" blog in my blog roll goes to great lengths to show how true that was in terms of the Clone Saga.)

In this issue, we learn that Kashmir Vennema isn't just a weapons dealer working for a shadowy organization that has yet to be revealed.  Instead, she's a weapons dealer working for a shadowy organization that has yet to be revealed who appears to work ACROSS DIMENSIONS.  Does that feel like a Captain America plot to you?  Yeah, me neither.

Kashmir is the type of character who would work better at playing a Baron Zemo role, appearing every once in a while to frustrate Cap, but not really posing such a threat that she needed to be eliminated once and for all.  Instead, she suddenly becomes some sort of weapons-dealing Kang.  I don't think that Bunn really does anything here that leaves you thinking that his plan all along was to reveal the cross-dimensional aspect of Kashmir.  Instead, it feels like he's having problems jumping from one arc to another, so he's using a common antagonist for as long as he can until he can't develop any more stories involving her.

It's time to put this Kashmir business behind us.  I'm starting to feel like this series would be better if it rotated writers for each arc, letting it feel more like the team-up book that it's supposed to be rather than an odd companion series to the main title.

Winter Soldier #10:  NOT SITWELL!  Damn it.  I mean, as I said last issue, I was pretty sure that Sitwell was going to die here, but it doesn't make me any less upset.  I'm upset for him (obviously), but I'm also upset for Natasha, because, as Bucky says here, she's going to hate herself when she returns to herself.  But, I'm most worried about the idea that Natasha won't remember her relationship with James.  For most authors, it would be an idle threat, but, with Brubaker, you never know.

Beyond the emotions related to Sitwell's death, Brubaker does great stuff here in terms of the appearance of Cap, Hawkeye, and Wolverine.  Bucky's conversation with Steve about feeling helpless at the loss of Natasha (similar to what Steve felt when he lost Bucky) was poignant, and I'm thrilled to see members of the New Avengers discover that Bucky isn't dead.  (OK, sure, Logan kind of ruined the moment a little, but, whatever.)  Brubaker has keyed up the emotions behind her abduction so well that I feel like the next few issues are going to be explosive as Bucky (and the reader) hunts for Natasha and seeks revenge on Leo.  If I'm excited to see Leo get his ass handed to him, I can only imagine how Bucky feels.  As Clint said, let's go get our girl back.

New(-ish) Comics: The Captain America Edition #1

OK, I've got three issues each of "Captain America," "Captain America and Iron Man," and "Winter Soldier" sitting on my stack.  Let the intrigue begin!

Captain America #14:  OK, as expected, it seems pretty clear that the events of this issue are going to lead Steve to decide to take the fight to HYDRA in the next arc.  Overall, I haven't been a huge fan of Codename Bravo or Queen HYDRA.  They've both had some great moments (it is Brubaker, after all), but both of them often have often seemed too cartoonish to me.  Bravo is frequently spouting pretty simplistic political theories that make it hard to take him seriously and, to my recollection, Queen HYDRA hasn't ever really explained why she decided to take up terrorism as an occupation (other than it making her sexier).  Although Brubaker has done a great job of showing how their actions have impacted Cap, we haven't really gotten a great sense of them beyond plot devices.  I'm hoping that the next arc will address that problem.

But, again, Brubaker continues to excel in showing how their actions affect Steve, kicking it up a notch with the death of D-Man in this issue.  He made it pretty clear that Sharon really didn't have choice but to kill him, since it wasn't like he was going to stop his onslaught if she just blew out his knee.  (Can I just mention how nice it was to see Cap as the damsel in distress and Sharon as the knight in shining armor?  I love when Brubaker has Sharon play the bad-ass, and it was great to see her save Cap here.)  In one fell swoop, Bravo and Queen HYDRA have managed not only to rattle Steve with D-Man's death but also inject tension in his relationship with Sharon.  It's clearly this tension that motivates Sharon to comment that HYDRA is winning, a realization to which Brubaker has been building since first issue.  However sad it was to see D-Man go, particularly for those of us who read Gruenwald's run, I can't say that it was a frivolous death.  Brubaker clearly needed something to bring to a head these doubts that Cap has been facing about himself ever since Bravo appeared on the scene, and the death of D-Man seems to be it.  Cap blames himself and it's pretty clear that he's not going to be thinking as strategically as he normally would when he confronts Bravo and Queen HYDRA.  I can't wait to see how that goes.

Captain America #15:  Brubaker and Bunn set up the story here, with Cap's world continuing to deteriorate around him.  We've got Sharon acting jealous of Rachel, a TV pundit calling for Cap's resignation in light his inability to stop recent attacks, and a new group of super-humans (or super-robots, maybe) leading said attacks against American interests in cities around the world.  It's not exactly a great few hours in Cap-land.  Brubaker and Bunn hint at the plot to come, with Bravo and Queen HYDRA implying that they have even bigger plans involving Baron Zemo, Cap learning that the TV pundit has been killed and the guy on TV is a plant, and said plant seemingly calling for the creation of an army of super-soldiers.  All in all, it's a pretty good start to the arc.  I'm still not all that intrigued by Bravo and Queen HYDRA, but we'll see how that goes.  In the meantime, I loved Eaton depicting everyone on their phones in spite of the chaos erupting around them on the first few pages.  Hilariously (and disturbingly) true.

Captain America #16:  First, I have to say that the cover of this issue is awesome, and, as an extra bonus, accurately portrays the events inside the issue!

Moving onto the story, I thought that the revelation that the TV pundit was a robot hypnotizing America to attack Captain America was great.  (Now I know why everyone was on their phones!)  First, it's totally the type of plot that Zemo would orchestrate, thereby making it clear that it's his secret mission mentioned last issue.  Second, Cap would definitely be rocked by average citizens turning against him, so it meshes nicely with Bravo and Queen HYDRA's plan to keep him off his game.  But, adding to the intrigue, Falcon seems to think that it's not just the populace who Bravo and Queen HYDRA are manipulating, given his comments about something being wrong with Steve.  I'm intrigued where that line of inquiry goes.

Beyond the plot, though, I thought Brubaker and Bunn did a great job with Cap's supporting cast.  Over the course of this series, I've often found myself enjoying their antics more than Cap's, and this issue is no exception.  Who wouldn't read a comic dedicated to Sharon Carter, Dum Dum Dugan, and Falcon fighting bad guys?  You've got Dugan carrying around the TV-pundit's head and Sharon deploying her new wings, all with Falcon playing the straight man.  Brubaker has realized that we're not going to buy a Steve Rogers who suddenly gets jokey and risky, so he gives us the supporting cast for that.  It makes for a lot more fun.

All in all, this issue is one of the strongest of the series and I can't wait to see Sharon bring the fight to Zemo next issue.  Although I'm getting tired of the constant focus on Cap doubting himself, I can be excited about the upcoming fight with HYDRA given that I know this storyline is coming to an end.

New Comics!: The Captain America Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Captain America #13:  I'm glad that Brubaker makes it clear here that D-Man is under some sort of mind control, just like Gyrich.  As I mentioned in my review of last issue, he's seemed a little "off" in his last few appearances, and Brubaker plays off that here.  He reveals that D-Man appears to be suffering from some sort of degenerative mental condition, and Gyrich (or, more accurately, Gyrich's HYDRA handlers) is keeping him in that situation in order to keep him pliable.  (He seems to have been initially cured of the disorder by Gyrich, though I'm guessing that was done to gain his confidence before Gyrich revealed that he could reverse the cure at will.)  With one issue left in this arc, it's pretty clear that Cap is going to be rocked next issue by the revelation that D-Man is Scourge, and I'm hoping the next arc results in him taking the fight to HYDRA.  It would be nice to wrap up this HYDRA business so we can move onto new enemies.  But, for now, this arc at least works to bridge that gap from the Madbomb business to the full-on HYDRA battle.

Captain America and Hawkeye #632:  I...have no idea what happened in this issue.  Although I praised Bunn last issue for managing to keep the story of how the dinosaurs because symbiotes easy to follow, I have a hard time telling you what happened in this one.  Honestly, I think that I've enjoyed this arc more than most reviewers, but this one just totally lost me.  Part of the problem is Vitti, who I loved on "Dungeons and Dragons," but who uses such odd angles in this issue that it's hard to follow the action, a particular problem given the fact that it's an action-oriented issue.  Basically, Stegron returns with some sort of magical scepter, Cap uses it to do something to the symbiote queen, Hawkeye shoots some arrows, and we never discover who employed Kash.  Disappointing, to say the least.  It was particularly difficult to follow which symbiotes were based on humans, who were saved, and which ones were the dinosaurs, who were destroyed.  At any rate, I think I've already over-thought this issue.  Time for Iron Man!

Winter Soldier #6:  Damn, this issue is tense.  Brubaker effectively uses the secondary narrative -- of Leo's time after he was unexpectedly awoken -- to show how unstable Leo is, making you aware of the threat that he's going to pose to whomever he turns his attention.  By the time he appears at Fred Davis' apartment, you know how it's going to end badly, both for Davis and Bucky, his real target.  I thought the brilliance of that moment is that Brubaker has clearly been planning it for months, given that he re-introduced us to Davis in "Captain America and Bucky" #625-#628.  He made us care about him, showing him as a guy wrestling with his past as Bucky and coming to terms with the hero that he was.  By doing so, Brubaker makes his death here all the more profound.  It could've just been the death of a character that some long-time readers might've vaguely remembered, but, instead, Brubaker, ever the planner, sets up a story in another title months earlier to make sure that we feel the emotions that he wants us to feel here.  He's just that good.  By giving Davis' death that sort of impact, Brubaker lets us know that this next arc is going to be a big one.

The whole point of this title is Bucky making amends for the actions he committed as the Winter Soldier.  It's usually him righting a wrong based on his knowledge as the Winter Soldier, such as he did in the first arc, where he kept the other sleeper agents from instigating a world war.  But, here, it's someone else righting a wrong that Bucky as the Winter Soldier committed against him, with Leo seeking revenge for Bucky leaving him stranded in stasis.  We've seen this sort of story previously -- such as the Professor Chin saga from "Captain America" #43-#48 -- but it somehow didn't dawn on me that this title could very well oscillate between the two types of stories, Bucky saving the day with his knowledge from his Winter Soldier days or Bucky paying from crimes that he committed as the Winter Soldier.  In so doing, Brubaker continues the espionage theme that I hoped this title would have and continues telling stories that make me eagerly awaiting this title every month.

New Comics!: The "Captain America" Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Captain America #12:  OMG, viva Gruenwald!  When we last left D-Man, as far as I'm aware, he was part of Wonder Man's "Revengers" team in the "Avengers"/"New Avengers" Annuals cross-over event.  Before that, we saw him in "New Avengers" #7, where he auditioned to be the Cage-Jones' nanny.  In both appearances, he was hurt that Captain America no longer spent time with him (in addition to seeming a few sandwiches short of a picnic).  Although his appearances in these issues were in all likelihood meant to be jokes by the authors, they actually contributed to me feeling like D-Man was a logical choice for the new Scourge.  First, it's part of the Gruenwaldmania! that Brubaker has embraced over the last few issues.  But, most importantly, it's probably going to have a pretty profound impact on Cap that a former friend, who's pretty clearly been in need of a little help lately, has been turned to the Dark Side (if you will), so much so that he was willing to beat Diamondback into a coma.  Given the death of Nomad and the loss of Bucky, in addition to the constant barrage of psychological warfare from Codename Bravo and Queen HYDRA recently, I wonder if Brubaker isn't setting up this reveal to be the one that totally pushes Steve over the brink.  (The arc is called "Shock to the System," after all.)  You can see throughout this issue how on edge Cap is.  He delights in the prospect of beating some information from HYDRA agents, lets them know that he and Dum Dum Duggan are coming when they invade their base, and smashes his fist through the Helicarrier's monitors when he realizes that HYDRA has turned Gyrich into its tool.  Losing D-Man, no matter how much of a joke that he's become, to HYDRA is probably going to have some impact on Cap.  I can't wait to see what it is.

Captain America and Hawkeye #631:  For the fact that this story is about Cap and Hawkeye fighting a breed of creatures that formed when dead saurians merged with Dire Wraiths, Bunn does a remarkably good job of making it easy to follow.  Last issue, I thought that the symbiotes were something independent from the dinosaurs.  But, now, we discover that the symbiotes happened when Stegron attempted to revive the dead saurians, because they had been infected by the genetic code of the Dire Wraiths, the race that originally killed them.  Suddenly, BOOM, dino-wraith-iotes!  With this mystery resolved, Bunn turns to the other mystery, namely who employs Kash and what it wants with the symbiote.  I'm guessing that we'll get an answer to that question next issue.  In the meantime, I'm just going to enjoy the fact that a story about Cap and Hawkeye fighting a group of dino-wraith-iotes is as good as one would hope it would be!

New Comics: The Captain America Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I didn't think I was terribly behind the times, but two issues each of "Captain America" and "Captain America and Hawkeye" seems to prove me wrong.

Captain America #10:  Brubaker wraps up his "Powerless" arc nicely here.  As a result of making a deal with Machinesmith, Sharon learns that Bravo, while he was holding Steve captive, injected him with a nanotech virus designed by Machinesmith to shut down Cap's powers whenever his adrenaline began to pump.  (I don't quite remember when exactly Bravo had Cap captive.  Was it the first arc of this series?)  Machinesmith designed the virus to mimic the appearance of red-blood cells when scanned, anticipating the tests that Tony Stark would run.  I thought Brubaker played up this plot twist rather well, using it to showcase the characters.  We see Tony acting like Tony, appreciating Machinesmith's genius despite its evil purposes.  It's a nice contrast to Cap, who would just be horrified by someone doing something evil.  We also see Sharon at her best, getting the information about Steve by releasing Machinesmith.  But, she neutralizes him as a threat, introducing her own virus into his system that eats his memory banks.  I thought the most interesting characterization moment came at the end, though, when Steve rails against the media for telling lies and then berates Sharon for making a deal with Machinesmith.  Although Steve's power fluctuations might not have come from him doubting himself, as Bravo and Machinesmith led him to believe, it's pretty clear that they did succeed in getting him to doubt himself and the world around him, from the state of the American media to his faith in Sharon herself.  Brubaker actually managed to save the Bravo character a bit for me, because it's clearer now where Brubaker's going with him, getting him to serve as the device that shakes up Cap.  It reminds me of the circumstances that led Cap to adopt the "Nomad" and later "Captain" personas.  Brubaker is a student of Cap's history (and seems particularly fixated on the Gruenwald era lately), so I wonder where he's going with it.  I don't think Cap will give up being Cap, but Brubaker could be building to something similar here.  We shall see, I guess.  At any rate, for a somewhat ho-hum arc, it was a pretty solid ending.

Captain America #11:  OMG, Diamondback and Scourge!  I've previously mentioned how happy I was with the return of the Serpent Society, but I'm all the more thrilled with the return of Diamondback and Sourge, since it seems that Brubaker plans on totally reviving Gruenwald's legendary run on "Captain America" from the mid-80s to mid-90s.  Crossbones can't be far behind!  I liked how Brubaker hinted that Diamondback could be the leak, but made it clear that Steve didn't seem to be remotely concerned that she was.  (It was very Dumbledore/Snape.)  I'm also intirgued that HYDRA seems to be behind the new Scourge (and equally pleased that Brubaker didn't use it as an opportunity to foist Bravo and Queen HYDRA on us yet again).  I haven't been super-thrilled with the last few issues, mostly because of the focus on Bravo and Queen HYDRA, but Brubaker seems to right the ship here by changing the focus to a more street-level threat (and a less direct involvement of HYDRA) while maintaining his excellent use of Cap's deep bench of supporting characters.  As a result, I'm very excited about this arc.

Captain America and Hawkeye #629:  OK, I really hope that, one day, I won't have to mention the following complaint EVERY TIME Hawkeye appears with Captain America outside the "Avengers."  But, today is not that day.  I don't understand why we have to have the now standard "Cap and Hawkeye fight about their different styles" scene EVERY TIME that they appear together.  They've worked together for years; they get it.  They can still jokingly refer to it, like Cap does here when he tells Hawkeye how it's always good to get constructive feedback.  But, they don't have to belabor the point.  Bunn (like other authors) disagrees, feeling the need to hammer it home by having Cap scold Hawekeye for treating everything like a video game and Hawkeye telling Cap that he needs to stop treating him like a sidekick.  In almost all of Hawkeye's appearances with Cap over the last few months, they're constantly at each other's throats in this way, at least at the start of the story.  At this point, I really think we can skip that part.  I'd like to see their interactions be more like what we eventually see here, with Cap expressing outrage over Hawkeye noting how fine the Director of Operations for the Damocles Research Facility is, given that he's dating Spider-Woman, and Hawkeye later teasing Cap when said Director hits on him.  It's those moments that show us the charming maverick that Hawkeye is and the boy scout that Cap is.  We don't need to be hit over the head with how different they are all the time.  All that said, the rest of the issue gets pretty interesting.  I mean, Cap and Hawkeye fighting dinosaurs?  Awesome.  Bunn doesn't just make it about the dinosaurs, though, giving us a shadowy organization that didn't report the fact that the dinosaurs were attacking its research facility (or that people were becoming the dinosaurs).  I'm excited to see where Bunn goes with the story, but I hope we can keep the banter between Cap and Hawkeye light and not so adversarial.  Fingers crossed.

Captain American and Hawkeye #630:  Cap gets turned into a lot of things, doesn't he?  I mean, he's been a woman (almost), a wolf, a corpse. I love thinking about the fact that, at some point, someone clearly pitched this story as "Captain America...and Hawkeye...and DINOSAURS!"  The good thing is that the actual story is as good as that fantastic premise sounds.  I'm glad that Bunn clarified the fact that the dinosaurs are imbued with symbiotes.  It makes a lot more sense than it did last issue when it appeared that people were becoming dinosaurs who were becoming symbiotes.  But, I still have some questions left, since Stegron seems only responsible for the reanimated dinosaur humanoids, not the apparent symbiote plague.  Kash seems to know more about the symbiotes, since she refers to a "hybrid" (presumably of the dinosaurs and symbiotes), though I got the sense that she was more studying the combination than responsible for it.  We also don't know why the symbiotes are taking over the dinosaurs and the humans or why they feel the need to attack the Damocles Resarch Facility.  But, Bunn manages to raise these questions as a result of advancing the plot, making them interesting (and not annyoing).  Moreover, he ups the intrigue, since we learn that "Kash" not only knew all about the symbiotes (and didn't tell Cap and Hawk) but also works for some sort of mysterious employer that isn't Archstone, the purported force behind the research facility.  (Given the way the Cap books are going lately, I assume HYDRA is involved.  I mean, Hawkeye even mentions the mythological creature after which HYDRA is named in this issue.)  This series is starting to have a lot more of an "Avenging Spider-Man" feel, a little light on continuity a little heavy on action.  If they keep giving us issues like this one and continue finding fun folks to fill in the "and ..." blank, then I think Marvel will actually justify why we're getting two Cap titles a month.

New Comics!: The Captain America Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Captain America #9:  Sharon Carter is a serious badass.  For reasons that I fail to understand, however, she's often dismissed as little more than Cap's girlfriend.  For example, I was confused why Sharon had to leave the Secret Avengers when Cap left.  Was she only a valid member so long as she was there alongside Steve Rogers?  Hadn't she proven that she could hold her own on the team?  She's often, even by Brubaker, reduced to the traditional female role of getting captured so that a concerned Captain America can come rescue her.  The cover of this issue even seems to imply that, with Sharon looking seriously threatened while surrounded by mocking images of the Machinesmith.  Thankfully, however, Brubaker lets Sharon be the badass we all know she is, showing not only her ability to go one-on-one with the entire Quincarrier arsenal, which Machinesmith had at his disposal, but also to devise a clever plan that traps Machinesmith into telling her what she needed to know.  I hope it's a sign that we're going to see more of this "agent in control" Sharon and less of the "damsel in distress" Sharon.

Interestingly, though, thinking about Sharon got me thinking about Cap and his current situation.  Unlike pretty much everyone else around her, Sharon doesn't have any special abilities or powers.  She's just a regular Virginia girl who happens to be a trained S.H.I.E.L.D. operative.  She doesn't have the Infinity Formula or the Super-Soldier Serum or any other formula coursing through her veins.  But, she's out there.  Conversely, Steve, when stripped of his Super-Soldier Serum, is reduced totally to the sidelines.  Brubaker is trapped in this regard by Simon's origin story for Cap, that he was a 98-pound weakling who volunteered to get the Super-Soldier Serum exactly because he was stuck on the sidelines.  It's a story particularly housed in the Second World War era, where any able man was assumed to be willing to go fight for his country.  As such, during that era, Simon was clearly forced to take the totally acceptable literary license and make Cap so weak that he couldn't fight in the War, which also conveniently made the change into who he becomes thanks to the Super-Soldier Serum all the more dramatic.  Today, though, it's a little awkward.  Beyond the fact that Cap basically got his powers from steroids, artists generally struggle, and fail, to keep him from looking like a Holocaust victim; Davis is no different here.  By making the dichotomy so great, though, we lose the opportunity to see Cap fighting without his Super-Soldier Serum.  As a 98-pound weakling, he looks like he can barely hold up his head, let alone try to do what Sharon accomplishes here.

It winds up being an interesting dichotomy on gender roles:  Cap had to be a 98-pound weakling in order to be forced onto the sidelines, and Sharon has to be as capable as she is to finally get off the sidelines.  Had Cap been, say, a 150-pound weakling, we might've been able to see him strap on a gun and say, "Screw the Secret-Soldier Serum, let's take down Bravo."  But, again, he instead had to be justifiably emasculated, to Holocaust-victim proportions, to prevent that from happening.  Even Brubaker can't write around it, because, to ret-con him to a 150-pound weakling, would leave open the question why he didn't get into the Second World War under normal circumstances.  It would essentially indirectly question his patriotism.

So, Cap is stuck on the sidelines and Sharon fights to get off them.  Cap is the man in distress and Sharon gets to save him.  It's like 60 years of gender relations in one issue.

Winter Soldier #3:  As usual with Brubaker, he manages to give us enough information to move along the plot but still keep us guessing.  Also, as usual, I had to re-read the first two issues of this arc to remember all the details.  I haven't been thrilled with Brubaker's work on "Captain America," but this series so far is the Brubaker I know and love.  Maybe he's just better writing Bucky than he is Steve.  Regardless, he's really telling an exciting spy story, exactly the type of story I hoped he'd tell in this series.  In particular, the introduction of the Doombot is genius.  Pretending to assassinate Doom so you can blow up the U.N. with a Doombot and make him claim credit since he's too egotistical to admit he lost control of it?  Genius.  Genius, on the part of Lucia Van Bardas, who Brubaker shows is a force with which to be reckoned, and genius on the part of Brubaker, for understanding Doom well enough to know it's exactly what he would do.  Moreover, Guice and Breitweiser combine to make the art amazing, a creepy blend of pencils, inks, and colors that vividly conveys the shadowy world in which Bucky and Natasha are operating.  I'm really loving this series so far.  I mean, how ballsy was it to start with Dr. Doom?  I can see a future where I'm not getting "Captain America," but I'm getting this series.

New Comics! (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Captain America #8:  OK, so, initially, I didn't remember that Machinesmith appeared as the villain in "Steve Rogers:  Super-Soldier."  It wasn't until a fair amount of Google research that I "discovered" that, despite having read (and enjoyed, if I remember correctly) that mini-series.  Clearly, it merits a re-read, since Machinesmith looks like he's going to play a prominent role in the next few issues.  (To be fair, Steve mentioned in a recent issue that Machinesmith was behind the loss of his powers in that mini-series, so I probably should've taken Brubaker's hint and re-read it between that issue and this one.)  At any rate, I thought Brubaker did a great job setting up the reveal, making it seem like Sharon was in cahoots with someone as she's locking down the Quincarrier, but, in the end, revealing just how talented of a spy she is by having her be the only one to realize Machinesmith was still acting behind the scenes.  The only off-note in this issue to me was the Bravo sub-plot, in that I'm not really sure why King Cobra and his new Serpent Society robbing a bank would serve as a distraction from Baron Zemo trying to spring Bravo from the Raft.  I mean, it wasn't like the Raft guards were involved in foiling the robbery or like Cap and Sharon do nothing but guard Raft prisoners all day.  Overall, between my Machinesmith confusion and the Bravo sub-plot, I spent most of this issue confused, an unusual occurrence for a Brubaker book.  But, I'm willing to reserve judgment about this arc for another few issues while Brubaker continues unfurling the story.

Dungeons & Dragons #14:  I almost have to stop reviewing this comic because it's so good that I just can't stop raving about it.  Adric noting that it's a good rescue when Khal and Danni kiss?  Varis shooting Khal a look when he learns Khal has referred to him as his "sidekick" in his letters to Danni?  Bree wondering why villains never flee "to our lair at the pub?"  Rogers continues to deliver great moments in this title.  But, this issue starts to get us somewhere on a number of plots as well.  The immediate plot -- rescuing Danni -- thickens when it's revealed that her "colleagues" are actually foulspawn, serving a beholder who's waiting for some sort of celestial event to happen, for reasons that aren't quite yet clear.  But, it also serves as Khal's origin arc, given that we're learning more about him and his motivations.  Rogers also has Tisha start quizzing Varis about why he was exiled (something unusual for elves to do), implying (I think) that we might get some answers on Varis' origin story soon.  This arc so far has been tighter than the first few arcs of this title.  Although they were enjoyable, they blended together in a way that often got confusing, particularly when it came to getting down everyone's origin story.  By the end of this arc, we'll have wrapped up Khal's origin story and hopefully set the stage to move onto some of the other characters', including Varis'.  I'm excited to see where it goes.  (Also, we have still left hanging the mystery of Philomena and Justin, who Rogers implied in issue #7 would return after possibly coming by some trouble.)

Dungeons & Dragons #15:  We get a pretty great conclusion to Khal's origin arc here.  I loved Adric breaking the summoning circle, forcing the beholder to flee the now-unbound demon it had summoned (the whole point of the celestial event for which it was waiting last issue).  But, I was particularly impressed by Rogers' use of Tisha here.  He had mentioned in issue #12 that tieflings created kruthiks, but, here, we see why that comment was relevant, with the kruthik queen recognizing Tisha as her "maker" and bestowing upon Tisha her egg.  In so doing, the queen essentially gave Tisha control of the kruthik horde, which would do anything to protect the unhatched egg, which Tisha uses to rescue the team.  As he did with Varis last issue, Rogers hints at the stories about Tisha we don't yet know, particularly those that explore the darker side of her tiefling heritage.  But, for the meantime, I like how he uses that heritage to help her be the hero.  I mean, even Bree Three-Hands promises not to complain about Tisha being evil anymore.  It sounds like we're going to delve more into Adric's back story in the next arc, and I think that's a story I can't wait to hear.  All in all, good stuff. 

Secret Avengers #22:  I can honestly say I have absolutely no effing idea what happened in this issue.  Remender does an OK job establishing the changed roster for this title.  His main challenge, though, is that the previous authors used a pretty rotating set of characters in their stories.  Besides Captain America (and Sharon Carter, who apparently cannot exist independently of him), we're only really missing Moon Knight and War Machine, both of whom were pretty incidental to most plots anyway.  In their place, we get Captain Britain and Hawkeye.  Captain Britain now seems to be a member of a Green Lantern-esque organization that protects the Multiverse (rather than just the Universe, as GL does), something that you would think would keep him sufficiently busy.  But, instead, he joins the Secret Avengers.  Hawkeye's addition was covered in the most recent .1 issue.  Fine.  It's not the most eloquent "Look, we changed the team!" issue I've ever read, but it works.  But, then, it all goes to hell.  The Secret Avengers conveniently get a distress call from Pakistan on their first day of school, and they deploy...to do something?  From what I can tell, a Pakistani woman displays the ability to swallow in order to protect her and her son from a suicide bomber (because all Pakistani men are suicide bombers blowing up villages...in Pakistan...).  This event "activates" some other...people...around the world, who exhibit their own powers and have catchy names like "the Urn" and "the Swine."  Everyone converges on this woman's location, and one of the...people...creates "diminutive" Avengers?  Maybe?  I'm not entirely sure.  I think she does.  At any rate, a battle ensues (shocker) and the...people...take the woman and, unknown to them, Ant-Man.  In the end, it's revealed that some dude is manipulating events, sitting at the head of a table that includes the likes of Dr. Doom, Jocasta, a Kree Sentry, Lady Deathstrike, Nick Fury, Vision, a cyborg Wasp, and some other guy.  I'm guessing it's not really them, but, um, maybe it is?  Basically, as I said, I have no effing idea what the hell happened and I've half a mind not to buy next issue to get some answers.  I will, but, seriously, I need to see SOME answers if Remender is going to keep me reading this title.

Venom #9:  Um, wow.  First, I was excited about this issue before I even opened it, because, on top of Rick Remender writing the issue, we were getting the great Stefano Caselli to draw it.  Awesome.  I haven't been a huge fan of Fowler's art, so I found it a welcome change.  But, then, I read the issue, and, wow, I'm even more impressed than I thought I would be.  I mean, innocent people die.  I mean, not just people:  a small child dies.  To be honest, I can't remember the last time I read a comic where a small child died.  It's rare enough to read a comic where an innocent person dies, but, to have a small child died?  Don't get me wrong:  I'm not celebrating the fact that innocent people die.  In fact, I'm celebrating the fact that an author actually shows how awful deaths connected to costumed shenanigans are, given the fact that we usually only see heroes and villains die, only to be resurrected six months later.  Remender really hits you with a one-two emotional punch here, using these two deaths to remind us that not everyone gets resurrected and to drive Flash totally over the edge.  I mean, Flash doesn't even just kill "The Hijacker:"  he tortures him.  He breaks off his finger, drives him to terror, makes him beg for his life, and then bites off his head.  (If you haven't guessed, this issue isn't for the squeamish.)  I'm intrigued by where Remender goes from here, particularly since the end banner of this issue promises that next issue will be a "new beginning."  First, Flash clearly is falling deeper and deeper into a sociopathic well, and Remender compounds this tragedy with the fact that Flash knowing he's falling doesn't mean he's able to stop himself.  You have to wonder what hitting the bottom of the well is going to look like.  Second, if I'm not mistaken, the military has some way of knowing when Flash turns into Venom (the bad one).  Are we going to see some sort of repercussions?  I mean, Remender seems to have engaged in some gymnastics to keep Flash's moments of losing control hidden from his superiors.  At some point, someone is going to put two and two together.  It's all very interesting.

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

Captain America #7:  Huh.  When Cap reverted to his pre-Super-Soldier Serum self at the end of "Captain America" #6, I thought it was because of the Madbomb making his nightmares come true; I didn't realize that it just happened to be a coincidence.  (I'm pleased, actually, because a bomb that makes nightmares come true isn't really the sort of thing we see in "Captain America."  A bomb that makes people go crazy and riot is much more his speed.)  That said, I'm intrigued by where Brubaker is going with this story.  I've always praised Brubaker for never dropping plot lines (like most authors do, when they inevitably write themselves in a corner), and this issue is a great example of that.  Rather than just shelving Bravo's accusation at the end of issue #5 that Cap stood by idly as corporate interests took over the U.S. government, Brubaker puts it front and center here, raising the possibility that Steve has taken the accusation to heart and the resulting crisis of confidence is shutting down his Super-Soldier abilities.  (Does anyone remember the last time that happened?  Was it during Gruenwald's run?  Cap refers to it here, but we don't get an editor's note saying what issue it was.)  Moreover, Brubaker uses this instability to great effect by matching it with the Serpent Society's new crime wave.  Steve could probably dispatch three members of the Serpent Society with little trouble under normal circumstances, but raising the possibility that he's going to revert to a 98-pound weakling at any moment certainly adds a sense of drama.  I can't say I'm overly intrigued by the Bravo sub-plot, but it doesn't detract from the good parts of the rest of the issue.  I'm quite happy to say that Brubaker has found solid ground here, after the uneven first arc of this title. 

Captain America and Bucky #626:  Well, I thought Bill Naslund having a long-lost grandson seemed fishy!  I'm really digging this arc.  Crazy robots, old heroes, questionable motivations:  it's a classic Captain America tale.  I'm assuming Bucky is one of the robots, but Asmus and Francavilla do a great job selling that moment where Cap looks at him and suddenly wonders who exactly he is.  You can feel that moment of doubt, that moment where Steve wonders if he's really looking at Bucky, leap off the page, and it really adds to the emotion of the issue.  Asmus is also doing a great job developing Fred Davis' character.  The unexpected appears of Naslund's "grandson" led Davis to doubt his relationship with Naslund, given that Naslund never really talked about a family or wanting to start one.  Asmus uses these doubts to make the reader question Naslund's grandson's appearance in the first place, and then to add drama to the issue when Davis goes digging for information and finds his life threatened as a result.  It's some subtle craftmanship, and the arc is all the better for it, since we get to avoid the excessive exposition these sorts of scenarios would normally throw at us.  I can't wait for the Cap battle royale next issue! 

Winter Soldier #1:  OK, first, no one writes a couple like Brubaker writes Bucky and Natasha.  Seriously.  He's done as best as he can with Cap and Sharon, given that Cap isn't given to being a romantic protagonist.  But, with Bucky and Natasha, Brubaker is free to make with the sexy, and he does.  The two of them just burn up the page.  But, they just don't become Cold War stereotypes, all action and romance.  Brubaker makes sure to show us a real relationship, underlining the concern and feelings the two of them have for each other.  Again, he does what he can with Cap and Sharon, but most of the emotion in that relationship is on Sharon's side.  Here, with Bucky and Natasha, we get a much more balanced couple, the Dick and Barbara of the Marvel Universe.  We see Natasha tell Bucky how scared she was when she saw him in his stasis tube back in the day, and he confesses to us through his narration how amazed by her he is.

Beyond just showing us a great romance, Brubaker also gives us a gripping story.  The sleeper agent murdering his whole family?  Yikes.  Brubaker reminds us that we're playing for keeps in this series, right off the bat.  He's writing this series like the best spy novels of the Cold War era, and it's an absolute treat.  A lot of authors can't pull of the tone of these sorts of espionage stories, relying too much on clichés.  Brubaker has a real knack for it, though, as does Guice, whose dark and indistinct pencils convey exactly the right tone for the story.  The idea that Lucia von Bardas has her hands on Soviet sleeper agents is exactly the type of plot I was expecting from Brubaker when "Gulag" ended back in "Captain America" (before the "Fear Itself" insanity).  Needless to say, I'm super excited for this series.

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.

New Comics!: The Avengers Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Avengers:  Solo #2:  Van Meter yet again does a good job of telling a complicated story with a lot of moving parts without losing the narrative thread.  I'm impressed by the fact that I was pretty much able to follow the story without having to re-read "Avengers:  Solo" #1, given how many characters appear here.  However, even with the reveal that Marcia is Alicia is Trace, I still have the question I have from the first issue:  why were Trace and Tuli fighting at the start of that issue?  It made no sense when we thought that Trace was "helping" Marcia, as we did last issue, and makes even less sense now that we now that Trace IS Marcia.  My only guess is that Marcia was using the Trace persona to scare off Tuli so that he didn't get hurt (which, of course, didn't go so well).  At any rate, I'm hoping we get some clarity next issue.  Otherwise, the only other eyebrow-raising moment for me is something that Hawkeye himself notes, the fact that Emi is pretty combat-ready for a doctor.  She says something about getting a call that her husband was killed in action the same day she took her boards, but I don't see how they have anything to do with one another.  Her husband was presumably in the military and, because he was killed in action, she...decided to learn how to fight and get herself involve in some sort of weird hospital study.  She directly connects her involvement in the study to those events, saying "Vanished myself out of a great residency because of all this..."  I'm assuming we'll learn more, but everything involving Emi -- from the ability to handle herself in a fight to the her involvement in the study to her lack of concern for her friends -- made little sense to me.  But, we'll see.  Rule #1:  More Hawkeye, less [blank]. 

Captain America #4:  OK, first, I have to say, I love McNiven's work.  The page of Cap and Sharon on the moon in spacesuits looking at Earth?  Amazing.  Writers have always complained that it's almost impossible to give Cap depth, because he's such a goody two-shoes.  He doesn't ever really face a moral conflict, because he always just does the right thing.  He's boring, in other words.  As such, he's also really lacked much in the way of interesting romantic relationships, because he never has any sort of sexual tension with the girl.  He always just...does the right thing.  The relationship inevitably ends because duty gets in the way.  Again, dull.  Brubaker has made a go of it with Sharon (and generally does the best job of any writer I've ever read of giving us Steve as a real person and not just a legendary hero).  But, on some level, I've always felt like it was forced, like they're just trying to make it work because they're trying to avoid turning Cap into a eunuch.  (The closest I've ever come to feeling them as an item is when he was dead and she was mourning his loss.  The fact that he had to be dead for me to buy their relationship shows you how weird it is.)  However, seeing McNiven's work here, I'm wondeirng if it's just been because no one has drawn Steve sexy enough.  He's downright beautiful here, as is Sharon, and you really get the sense of two people in love in the prime of their life.  McNiven just infuses the scene with something that I can't exactly describe, perfectly playing up the dream world, giving us an idealized version of the two.  (Steve looks like he's about 22 years old here.)  In so doing, he conveys more emotion and meaning than I think anyone else, writer or artist, has ever managed to do in terms of showing Cap's love life.  You somehow see how much looser a carefree Steve would be and realize how much the weight of his responsibilities affects his ability to interact with people, lovers included.  McNiven gives us all that in just three or four panels.  Yeah, he rocks.

Turning to the main plot of the issue, Brubaker (who, I can't believe I'm saying it, but has been the weaker link of the two) finally reveals his hand.  I was never clear exactly why Bravo wanted revenge on Cap, since, as Steve himself says, it wasn't like Cap left him in the dream world on purpose.  But, it makes total sense that the guy snapped when he was re-introduced to the real world and realized just how far it was from the Utopia he had created in the dream world.  Brubaker and McNiven do a great job of making both stories exciting, giving us the tension of Cap's slow realization that he's in the dream world and the excitement of his crew trying to hunt down Jimmy Jupiter.  I'm not exactly sure who this Queen Hydra is, but it's clear we're not supposed to know, given that she herself alludes to the mystery of who she really is.  At the end of the day, Brubaker really saves the concept here, and I'm excited to see what happens in the next issue.  (Also, I realized that I was still pretty much reading this title in a state of protest, annoyed that I wasn't getting Bucky, no matter how much I like Steve.  The fact that I know Bucky is alive and coming to me in comic form in February clearly made me much more excited about this title.)

Captain America and Bucky #624:  Brubaker gives us a one-off issue here, giving us a looking into Bucky's time as the Winter Solider.  The issue serves as a prelude of sorts to "Winter Soldier," with Bucky visiting his Alzheimer's-ridden sister to let her know that he's still alive after the events of "Fear Itself."  I actually wish we were getting a longer arc dealing with Bucky's time as the Winter Soldier, but my guess is that Brubaker is going to cover that topic in detail in "Winter Soldier."  (On a side note, I hope Brubaker is really proud of what he's done with Bucky.  Resurrecting him just could have gone so spectacularly bad.  Instead, he created, to my mind, one of the best characters in comics today, and he essentially did it from scratch.)  I loved the scenes with Bucky and Natasha.  Brubaker and Andreyko show us Bucky's charm at its best, and Samnee does a great job making the obvious attraction between them apparent to the reader. (Unlike Steve and Sharon, something about Bucky and Natasha has never felt forced.)  It's a really great issue and I can't wait for "Winter Soldier."

New Avengers #18:  Huh.  OK, I didn't hate this issue.  In fact, I found it pretty intriguing.  It answers the main question I had from "New Avengers" #17, showing how the Hand and HYDRA threw in their lot with H.A.M.M.E.R.  We also see Osborn assemble his new team of Dark Avengers.  (I only recognized Ai Apaec, from "Spider-Man:  Deadly Hands of Kung Fu," and Barney Barton, from "Hawkeye:  Blindspot."  I intellectually know who Skaar is, though I had no idea he was living in the Savage Land.  I'm not entirely sure who Dark Ms. Marvel and Dark Scarlet Witch are.  I'm assuming Dark Wolverine is Gorgon.)  I'm willing to give Bendis some time to develop this story, but I'm not entirely sure what the point of a new Dark Avengers would be.  The whole point of the previous Dark Avengers is that people thought they were the Avengers.  Given the events of "Siege," it's going to be pretty clear that any Avengers team led by Norman Osborn isn't going to be the Avengers.  So, why reform them?  I'm sure we'll get an answer, so I'm more intrigued than annoyed.  Bendis definitely seems to be setting up an enormous story here and, despite my disappointment with "Avengers" #19, I'm still excited about it.

Secret Avengers #19:  Ellis has been hit or miss on this title for me, but this issue is a hit.  Once again, Ellis gives us a somewhat "out there" story, with the team going after a drug kingpin who grinds up the bones of "ancient beings" whose bodies contained multiple souls and uses the powder to create super-soldiers.  But, the way Ellis tells the story, as a more or less straight-forward espionage tale, is what I expected to see from "Secret Avengers," but, for reasons I still don't entirely understand, haven't seen all that often.  One of my main complaints about this title is that the rotating door of writers has meant that very little focus has been paid to building a team, showing us the conflicts and relationships that make a title like the "Avengers" work so well (when it works well).  Ellis actually does that here; I loved Natasha's snarky comment about the wisdom of trusting a guy who thinks he was resurrected by an Egyptian god and of Steve telling Natasha to can it when she was questioning his decision to attack.  All in all, it was a pretty enjoyable read.

New Comics!: The Avengers Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

"Avengers:  The Children's Crusade" is the bright spot this month for Avengers-related titles.  As I mentioned in the "Fear Itself" post, I HATED "Avengers" #17.  I'm excited by the groundwork "New Avengers" #16.1 lays here, but the issue itself is pretty ordinary.  I liked the "Captain America and Bucky" story, but I'm pretty sure I'll be hard pressed to remember what happened in "Captain America" and "Secret Avengers" when I pick up those books next month, after fairly unmemorable stories this month.  With all the terribleness related to "Fear Itself," it was a bummer to feel so meh about so many Marvel books unrelated to "Fear Itself" as well.  I was hoping for more than just one bright spot.

Avengers:  The Children's Crusade #7:  I loved most of this issue.  Heinberg does an amazing job, particularly for someone who doesn't have decades of experience writing these characters, giving us perfect characterizations of such iconic characters as Captain America, Dr. Doom, and the Scarlet Witch.  The plot remains intricate, but I still generally remember what happened in the previous issue, even with the two-month gap between issues.  Heinberg does a good job keeping the Young Avengers in the mix even as this mini-series starts to focus more on the more big-name characters.  (Eli's impetuous decision to interrupt the spell was a pretty accurate portrayal of his character.)  Heinberg also keeps up the tension.  Since it's been made clear in "X-Factor" #225 that the results of this mini-series will, actually, affect the Marvel Universe when it's over, the fact that Wanda may -- or may not -- bring back all mutants really keeps you on the edge of your seat.  When you add Dr. Doom and his questionable motivations to the mix, it is really unclear how this series is going to end.  However, at this point, the end is the problem.  It's time.  This series at this point has spanned 16 months.  We have at least four to go.  I don't know why, but it's annoying me, to have the story extended over so many months.  Although, as I mentioned, I applaud Heinberg for maintaining the tension over the course of these eight issues (including the special) and 16 months, I think it's time to get some closure.

Captain America #3:  OK, to be honest, I'm still not really sure what's happening in this arc.  I mean, I think I sort of get it.  Bravo uses Jimmy Jupiter to transport Steve into the imaginary world where Bravo was trapped since the war.  To do so, he uses some crazy enormous Cap android created by the Red Skull as bait.  I get all that, I guess.  But, I'm still not really sure what Bravo's motivations are.  He seems to still be a good guy (I mean, people who kill Nazis are always good guys in comic books, right?), but he wants Steve dead.  Or, maybe he doesn't?  I'm still not sure.  I'm not even sure if he's angry, despite the fact that I'm pretty sure he wants revenge.  At any rate, McNiven's art is really what makes this book, which isn't normally something I'd say about a Brubaker-scribed book, but there you go.

Captain America and Bucky #622:  Although they're a little hokey, I'm still enjoying these stories.  I like how Bucky is narrating this series, because it's mostly giving me hope that this series is meant as a stop-gap measure to keep Bucky in our minds until they resurrect him.  (Hey, a guy can dream.)  At any rate, it's a pretty good self-contained story about Bucky dealing with his insecurities about being surrounded by the super-men of the Invaders.  I will say, though, at some point we're probably going to have to get past just "war stories."  I don't mean that the stories shouldn't be set during the war, but I think we're probably going to need some sort of epic Invaders arc or something to inject some energy into this book.

New Avengers #16.1:  OK, so, first, let's do the bad.  First, the art is this book SUCKS.  Awful.  I mean, it's truly awful.  I know it's sacrilege to say that because it's Neal Adams, but I really felt like he drew this book in five minutes while playing the violin and ironing the drapes at the same time.  Second, I don't buy, for a minute, that Norman Osborn would've been able to staff the Raft entirely with people who are loyal to him.  As I've said before and I will (unfortunately) likely say again, simply because one of your characters (this time, Wolverine) acknowledges that the plot device is ridiculous doesn't mean it's OK for the plot device to be ridiculous in the first place.  Are we supposed to believe Steve Rogers would let that happen?  Moreover, if it were true, then why would he wait until the Avengers were there to try to escape?  Couldn't his flunkies just have left open the door and ignored a boat docked at the Raft?  I mean, if he had such total control over the facility's staff, then why wouldn't you do it that way?  Why risk a battle with the Avengers? Third, who the hell is the squid lady on the last page?  OK, now, let's do the good.  I'm totally down with a year-long Norman Osborn arc.  Although I didn't read "New Avengers" during the post-"Civil War" era, so their beef with Osborn is something I only know from reading Wikipedia, I have followed all the aspects of his war with Spider-Man since, like, forever.  I think having them take on Norman will actually go a long way to setting this series apart from the main title, and provide a villain who's suitable for street-level superheroes.  (Hawkeye seems doomed to just stand around the streets watching the Avengers fight in the main title, but I've more or less resigned myself to Bendis' unforgivable mis-handling of him.)  I hope, however, that Bendis is preparing to pare down the roster at some point.  With the addition of Daredevil, the New Avengers have a ten-person roster, which is actually enough for two separate Avengers teams.  I love all the characters on the roster and I enjoy their interactions, but I think we might be able to enjoy them all the more if everyone weren't fighting for screen time, if you will.  We shall see.  At any rate, this issue is exciting more for what it promises than anything Bendis does here, but I'll take what I can get, particularly post-"Fear Itself."

Secret Avengers #17:  Meh.  This issue is OK.  It's an interesting enough story, and the ending is a surprise but one that comes from clues left by Ellis as the issue progressed.  Ellis is a quirky writer, preferring grim stories with a lot of procedural elements.  Everyone spent a lot of time yelling, "War Machine engaged," or "Valkyrie en route."  It's like last issue, when the Beast essentially narrated the issue with his scientific mumbo-jumbo.  Essentially, I've found both issue #16 and this issue...slow.  I know people really like Ellis, but so far I'm pretty bored by his version of the Secret Avengers.  But, he tells a story that makes sense, more or less, so I can't complain too much, I guess.  Although Ellis is probably better suited to the stated goal of this title (black-ops missions), I'm not entirely sure if I enjoy them.  Let's see how we go post-"Fear Itself" and we'll see if I keep getting this title.

New Comics! (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Captain America #2:  Brubaker and McNiven deliver a great issue here.  Although the story is a little "Inception"-esque at points, I thought Brubaker was ingenious in using the dream dimension as a vehicle for creating a villain who was Cap's contemporary during the war but who also hasn't aged.  Bravo could really turn into a great new Cap villain, given that he's got all the hallmarks of an arch-nemesis (personal grudge, romantic competition, competing abilities).  It also helps that McNiven's amazingly crisp artwork helped really sell the sense that the dream world was just as real as the real world.  I'm not sure if the huge Captain America that attacks our Captain America is Bravo, but I'm excited to see!  Brubaker seems to have quickly moved past the occasionally awkward character-introduction moments we saw in the first issue and is now going full throttle into this new chapter.  Despite how I feel about the unceremonious dumping of Bucky, I'm glad to see Brubaker get to stretch his creative muscles and focus on stories about Steve.  It's been a while, and I'm hoping it'll have been worth the wait.  So far, so good. 

Captain America and Bucky #621:  Well, I guess if I can't have an adult Bucky, the kid version isn't bad.  I thoroughly enjoyed the wise-cracking Bucky we got in this issue.  He manages to balance out Steve's "goody two-shoe"-ness, giving the partnership an edge and, in fact, even convincing Steve to act uncharacteristically brash.  (Flirting!  Actual flirting!)  As a result, it's a fun issue, even as the authors begin to address larger issues, like Bucky beginning to realize the consequences of killing.  It's an interesting place to start, given that we know Bucky will do all the killing in his burgeoning partnership with Cap, one of the darker aspects of their relationship that is rarely noted.  It'll be interesting to see where Brubaker goes with this story, particularly given the excellent work he did in focusing on Bucky's brutal past as a killer when he was writing about Bucky's transition to becoming Cap.  At any rate, the combo of humor and seriousness made for excellent reading and I'm becoming increasingly more excited about this series. 

Dungeons & Dragons #10:  OK, I admit to being confused about what, exactly, is happening here.  Last I remember, Fell's Five went to Al'Bihel and discovered that Thrumbolg -- the cyclops from issue #5 who was trying to invade our dimension by using world keys to open a dimensional gate -- stole the Guide of Gates.  Cool, I get that.  As such, Fell's Five go to Thrumbolg's stronghold to steal back the Guide.  Right, makes sense.  I even get that they cleverly pull a bait-and-switch ploy by trying to convince Thrombolg's Seneschal that they're merely the planned distraction and, in exchange for information on the main attack, they get to be sent home and to see the Guide.  Cool.  But, the problem is that the "guy" the Seneschal consults in deciding whether to accept the deal is NOT Thrombolg.  Thrombolg is a "crazy one-eyed giant," to use Adric's description.  The "guy" the Seneschal approaches not only has two eyes but is definitely more than a crazy giant.  So, does Thrombolg work for him?  Does anyone know of the "guy's" existence?  Confusing.  Rogers still has an issue left in this arc to reveal the truth (and to sort out the revelation that Trasgar from the original Feywild adventure survived).  He's pretty good at pulling these sorts of rabbits from his hat, so we shall see.

Superboy #11:  Um, yeah.  Although I enjoyed last issue, this issue is, I'm sad to say, a return to form.  It's all a series of deus ex machinas, from the Phantom Stranger revealing he gave Conner a figurine imbued with his powers, to Simon magically having a death-ray visor, to Phantom Stranger "helping" Psion Lad return the souls of Smallville's population to their bodies.  Moreover, the plot is even further muddied since Lemire is forced to abandon the "Simon as future bad guy" sub-plot as a result of the impending reboot.  Looking over these issues, I think my greatest problem with Lemire is that he just can't write dialogue that doesn't sound wooden to me.  The conversation between the four teens at the end feels totally forced; you don't get any sense that they have any affection for each other, despite the fact that we're supposed to believe that Lori, Psion, and Simon make Smallville home for Conner.  Finally, the less said about Gallo, the better.  In the end, this series is the one I'm most excited to see rebooted.

New Comics! (HERE BE SPOILERS)

I finally made it through the comic pile from vacation!  Woot!

Captain America #1:  OK, so, I'm trying not to let my fury over Marvel's decision to kill Bucky-Cap get in the way of my enjoyment of Steve Rogers taking up the shield again.  This issue is pretty solid.  Brubaker wisely decides to start the series with a story involving a strong supporting cast (Sharon Carter and Nick Fury), a mystery villain from Cap's Second World War days, and good ol' reliable Baron Zemo.  It serves as a good way of introducing new readers to Cap (the whole point of this renumbered series) but also gives existing fans some familiar faces to be excited about seeing.  The problem is that, for existing fans, Brubaker's treatment of the familiar faces is somewhat...clunky.  For example, Cap's conversation with Sharon -- about how he thought she was Peggy, about how they had thankfully gotten past that, about how Peggy inspired Sharon to become who she was -- was almost difficult to read.  I get that Marvel is essentially treating this series as a way for fans of the movie to get into the comic, so I guess we're going to have to suffer through that for a while.  Similarly, although I can't say it was surprising, it was pretty cold how Bucky wasn't mentioned AT ALL.  I haven't read "Captain America and Bucky" #620 yet, but, at some point, it would be nice to see Steve mention the fact that Bucky is dead, which, so far, he hasn't.  Hopefully, the editors won't make Brubaker spoon-feed us plots for too long.  Meanwhile, we've got the pretty art of Steve McNiven to distract us.

Captain America and Bucky #620:  Similar to "Captain America" #1, Brubaker spends most of this issue giving us an introduction to Bucky Barnes, going over the sad story of his troubled youth, first as a kid with a hot temper, then as an orphan living on a military base.  However, Brubaker has a freer hand here than he does in "Captain America," enabling him to avoid the awkward situations imposed on him by the editorial mandate in that title to introduce a well established character to a brand-new audience.  Bucky isn't as well established as Steve, so Brubaker gets to take some liberties.  Despite having read Bucky's origin numerous times, I found that Brubaker's take on it was somewhat different than we've previously seen, giving us a more emotionally realistic depiction of what it must've been like to have been a 14-year-old orphan living on a military base.  Brubaker doesn't have much time for anything else here, but the story, to be honest, isn't really what matters about this issue.  What matters is the hope that, by making the decision to keep Bucky "alive," at least in his past incarnation, we may actually see Bucky eventually return in his present incarnation.  It's a long shot, but I think it's going to be hard for Marvel to keep this title going, month after month, and not face some sort of inevitable pressure to have one of its main characters -- who was killed in a totally gratuitous way -- return from the dead.  At least, I hope it will be.  Fingers crossed.  Otherwise, I really wonder how long we're going to have two Captain America titles.

Venom #5:  I have complicated feelings about this issue.  On one hand, it's very well done.  Remender does some really excellent character work on Flash, fleshing out how his motivation for success comes from a need to please his father, who never told him he was proud of him.  It sounds a little cheesy, but Remender does a really great job making sure it's not.  Flash, to me, has always been one dimensional:  he started as Peter's bully, then almost overnight became Peter's friend, and we never really got all that much more.  Remender is really bringing a character who's existed for 50 years or so to new places, and I applaud that.  The conversations between Flash and Peter were great, particularly where Flash snaps at Peter and then quickly admits he sounds like his father.  You can feel Flash fighting with all his might NOT to be his father here.  All that said, the problem is that this series is just getting really, really dark.  I mean, of course, on some level, a "Venom" series is going to be dark.  I mean, Flash is playing host to a murderous alien symbiote after all.  But, one of the intriguing parts of Flash taking on the symbiote is that Flash himself isn't all that dark.  I mean, yes, he has his demons, but he's also kind of goofy and loveable.  Remender needs to remember that in the midst of all the killing and darkness, or this series is going to get really difficult to read.

X-Men:  Schism #1:  OK, I'm game.  Aaron actually goes a different way with this story than I thought he was going to go.  Rather than starting where "X-Men:  Prelude to Schism" left us -- with an impending attack from a unseen enemy -- he takes us back a few steps, weaving a pretty nuanced story focused more on global politics than on mutant powers.  It reminds me of the 1990s when Senator Kelly was the straw man for political extremism (or, at least, common fear).  Quentin Quire is a somewhat unfortunate blast from the past, but he actually sort of works here, representing the reality that, despite Cyclops' best efforts, he doesn't actually speak for all mutants.  Moreover, Quire's appearance is made tolerable because, despite his thoughts to the contrary, he's not actually in charge.  Aaron gives us an interesting twist here, too.  Rather than having an established villain manipulating events behind the scenes, we've got a 10-year-old kid named Kade Kilgore, who first appears in the issue by killing his arms-manufacturer father and ends it with becoming the Black King of the Hellfire Club.  (I was going to ask where Sebastian Shaw was, because I temporarily forgot Emma made sure he permanently forgot.)  Aaron is biding his time here, since he doesn't really show any sort of discord among the cast, other than a brief conversation between Ororo and Scott.  I've wondered a few times how Aaron is going to make Logan and Scott's worldviews look different, since they actually seem fairly similar lately, though maybe it's actually going to be more of a dichotomy between Ororo's vision and their vision, which would make more sense.  We shall see.

X-Men:  Schism #2:  I initially wasn't sure I liked this issue, but, in retrospect, I think it was actually really well done.  We begin to see the first signs of the split between Cyclops and Wolverine, and it doesn't go down the way you think it would.  I enjoyed that Wolverine was actually suggesting the X-Men take what, depending on your point of view, was the more "right" path, in advocating that they turn over Quentin Quire to Steve Rogers.  It shows that Aaron isn't playing the differences within the mutant community as black-and-white (Wolverine:  irrational, Cyclops:  rational).  Cyclops seems to be undermining the good he's done in bringing the X-Men more in line with the superhero community by harboring Quire, but it makes sense, given his fears, as a leader, that the situation could deteriorate significantly and threaten all mutants everywhere.  I'm still not entirely sure what to make of the kiddie Hellfire Club.  Aaron I'm sure will elaborate on who Kilgore's other friends are, but, at the very least, I do like the re-imagining of the Hellfire Club becoming a pro-humanity organization that found itself corrupted by the mutant reign.  I'm not sure what the intergalactic connection was, but I'm sure we'll get an answer soon.  All in all, I keep wanting more, which is a good sign (and a different feeling from say, I don't know, "Fear Itself").