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December 14 2010

Marvel Comics
Story: Ed Brubaker
Art: Daniel Acuña

During the previous story arc, Baron Zemo, a longtime Captain America villain, revealed to the world that the new Captain America was none other than Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers’s long-thought-dead sidekick and the former Soviet assassin known as the Winter Soldier. Obviously, the public did not take this news well and a media storm is brewing around Bucky, Steve and the other Avengers. The issue begins with an assembly of Avengers trying to decide the best course of action, before Steve takes his arguments to the President.

Neither group knows just how to approach the situation. On one hand, Bucky had no control over his actions; he didn’t even know who he was. On the other, he’s still responsible for the deaths of Americans. Many of the Avengers at the meeting know better than anyone else that a person deserves a second chance, but times have changed. Bucky knows what has to be done and makes the right decision; he turns himself in.

This is why Ed Brubaker is one of Marvel’s best writers right now. He continues to come up with new and interesting ways to use his characters. Not every obstacle can be overcome by punching it in the face, and Brubaker writes real-world dialog better than anyone else in the industry. The story is well-paced and sets up the rest of the story arc; it draws on the last several years of Captain America stories while still being accessible to new readers.

The art, unfortunately, isn’t quite up to par. Captain America has featured several artists over the past couple years, and this is the first issue penciled by Acuña. The entire issue just lacks detail; faces have minimal expression, some characters are just vague outlines instead of being fully-drawn and it’s hard to tell what’s even going on in Bucky’s fight scene. The art isn’t bad, but only because there’s not enough of it to even be considered “bad.” It’s just incomplete and very disappointing.

That said, I still loved every page of this comic. Brubaker’s work on Captain America has been leading to this point for years, and we’re about to get the payoff. I can’t wait to read the rest of this story.

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