Captain America

While most of the reviews here criticize the book for what it isn't, I really enjoyed it for what it is. Clearly as a Civil War tie-in, and Captain America is the star of Civil War (Marvel Comics), you won't find much of Cap in this series. But, if you're an avid Captain America reader: 1. you should already own Civil War, 2. Cap's supporting characters have as much to do with his story as he does. So this is more about Agent 13, Falcon, and the Winter Soldier, and as such, still makes a good read with lots of action. And no, the Death of Captain America isn't here or in Civil War, it's in the next book, The Death of Captain America, Vol. 1: The Death of the Dream. Finally, most reviewers are right: The Winter Soldier one-shot at the end is the best part, and I hope he gets his own series.

The book was good, don't get me wrong. But it seemed to be alot about the people around Cap instead of Cap himself, with a few exceptions. IF you are collecting Civil War TPBs it's a must. I like the Winter Soldier One-shot. All in all, a good read.

This is Ed Brubaker doing what he does best. Skull, Lukin, Dr. Faustus, Arnim Zola, Sam Wilson, Sharon Carter, Bucky Barnes... He is a master at fleshing out the supporting cast and making them just as important to the story as its lead. Now in retrospect, some people might have brought up, "Say, where's Cap?", but what Brubaker so brilliantly did was set the stage for these supporting players while Cap duked it out with Iron Man during the Civil War so that they would be able to carry a title after Steve Rogers' horrifying assassination. It's great great stuff under the watchful eye of a master graphic storyteller.

As the Civil War rages on between the superheroes, Ed Brubaker gives us a look through Captain America's eyes as he takes a stand against Tony "Iron Man" Stark and his pro-registration supporters. Brubaker spins his most compelling Cap story here as Cap prepares himself for a final stand. What really makes this TPB worth picking up though is the Winter Soldier: Winter Kills one-shot which is included here. James "Bucky" Barnes faces all the chaos he has caused in the midst of Christmas in a surprisingly poignant story that actually may make you think it was a good thing for Brubaker to resurrect Cap's long dead World War II partner. Well, maybe. Anyway, this TPB is a nice companion to Mark Millar's main Civil War storyline, and it sets the stage for the much lauded death of the legendary super soldier.