Captain America: Winter Soldier (Exclusive Complete Graphic Novel)

I know that hyperbole lends itself to massive hating, but in this case, it's pretty much undeniable. I should say that Ed Brubaker is the best writer who is currently working on a regular basis. He's a master at pacing, dialogue, characterization, intrigue and action. He's the perfect comic writer, essentially. He never dumbs it down; he aims for the smartest reader out there. Brubaker has written several different series in the past, many of them with a pulp-noir bent (GOTHAM CENTRAL, BATMAN, and the reinvention of CATWOMAN as far as major titles) but he also did brilliant spy-noir work within the Wildstorm Universe with the now-classic series SLEEPER, and now he brings many of the same sensibilities to Captain America, a character who, after floundering for years, has been brought back into the spotlight of the Marvel U. and he's never been better. The biggest problem that Brubaker faced in "The Winter Soldier" arc was not just reintroducing Cap in a new and darker world while still being the shining Sentinel of Liberty. It's all in the resurrection of a long-dead character. Brubaker staked his whole future in the comics industry by resurrecting one of the great untouchable characters in the Marvel Universe. Obviously, comic characters are killed and resurrected all the time so it pretty much becomes rote. But there were two characters in the Marvel U that were untouchable as far as bringing back from the dead: Uncle Ben Parker (you bring him back, you invalidate his death, and the reason Peter Parker becomes Spider-Man), and James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes, Cap's teen sidekick who 'died' in the explosion that also hurled Steve Rogers into the suspended animation he was in since 1945. And what Brubaker does is perhaps the best and cleverest resurrection in comics history. Bucky Barnes is not only resurrected as the villainous Winter Soldier, his wartime persona is also reinvented not as a constantly wise-cracking and villain-punching kid sidekick, but as an efficient and deadly advance scout who does the darker and unfortunately necessary things in combat that Cap can't. The story also brings important side characters from Cap's life to the fore, like his on-again/off-again love Sharon Carter (aka Agent 13) and Sam Wilson (aka The Falcon). It also introduces a new and very insidious threat to the Captain America pantheon: Corporate Takeovers. It also includes the greatest deus ex machina ever conceived: The Cosmic Cube, which can alter the reality of the user, or can force others to bend to the user's will... which works both positively and negatively for everyone who does choose to use it. Apart from Brubaker's writing, the other bright spot is the amazing artwork provided by both Steve Epting and Mike Perkins. Epting's work is about as close to photo-realistic as you can get, and Perkins provides a little more stylized artwork, but it doesn't seem at all out of place. To give even more hyperbole, CAPTAIN AMERICA has been the best cont

After playing Ultimate Alliance and getting into the Avengers, I decided I had to learn more about Cap and Bucky - this TPB is absolutely brilliant and has made me a huge Captain America fan. It has also made me a huge Brubaker fan with snappy, edgy writing that adds a tremendous depth to the characters we've known for many, many years. The artwork is spectacular and accents the writing (or perhaps visa versa... perhaps best just to state the Team that put this together is amazing). I'm a 45 yr old Marvel fan and this is one of my all-time favorite books! Well worth adding to your collection!