Weekly Hornet

Issue date: 1/30/08 Section: Entertainment

Steve Rogers (Captain America) was assassinated in the pages of his own comic book nine months ago, a casualty in a civil war between superheroes.

Rogers made Captain America work as a character. Anyone else running around with stars and stripes on his chest and a giant white A on his forehead would be laughed out of vigilanteism.

In the twilight days of the Third Reich, Rogers was hanging from a missile soaring over Europe and detonated it to save thousands of lives. He lost his friend and partner Bucky Barnes in the process. Cap's super soldier serum saved his life, allowing him to survive inside a block of ice in the North Atlantic until he was thawed into the modern era by the Avengers.

He awoke in a world with different values, and instead of
struggling with those differences, he set an example. He breathed integrity and bled America, which is why it hurt so much when he died.

Don't be dour, though-this is comics after all, and anything can happen. In fact, something happens today: Captain America returns.

It will most likely be the recently-returned Bucky filling Rogers' boots.

Believed dead after falling from the same missile that sent Rogers into the drink, Bucky was actually kidnapped by Soviet operatives and brainwashed. During the Cold War, Bucky was a secret agent for the KGB, known as the legendary Winter Soldier.

If anyone could be the new Captain America, it would be Barnes. He has a mysterious past, checkered with murders and
government dirty work, but he has regained control of his mind. He is fighting against evil again, and damnit-the world needs a Captain America.

The monthly book is a spectacular read. Series writer Ed Brubaker has an impressive resume in comics, but Captain America will long be seen as his greatest work in the superhero vein.

The book has everything a superhero comic could possibly have to offer, along with the intrigue, suspense and mystery of an espionage title. Nazis, Soviet secret police, life-model decoys, mind control and terrorists mix with a healthy dose of sex and lies.

Science-fiction and spy action never mixed so well.

The book is pulp spy fiction--Captain America is a patriot, but he is no blind-faith citizen. Steve Rogers loved his country, but he fought for ideals, not for its agendas.

Brubaker and artist Steve Epting, joined by colorist Frank D'Armata, floored audiences from page one of the series.

Every panel seeps with sinister intent; murky colors, looming shadows, clean but thick black lines with heavy ink make the book distinct, but Brubaker's scripts are what won the book an Eisner Award for best writer.

The Red Skull returns, only to be murdered with a sniper's bullet at the end of the first issue. Bucky returns after half a century, initially as Cap's adversary.

Who is the new Captain America? Pick up a copy today and find out. I know I will.

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