These four issues, like most Avengers comics of this period, contain only occasional content relevant to this blog, and not much of it having to do with the adventures shown on the covers above. We do, however, see Captain America interacting with teammates and colleagues, reacting to calamitous events, and lashing out at government agents...... Continue Reading →
Captain America #305-306 (May-June 1985)
These two issues contain the first significant meeting between Captains America and Britain, after some minor appearances together in Captain Britain's Marvel UK title and the licensed book Rom. It also finishes off Mike Carlin's short "interlude" run on Captain America, following J.M. DeMatteis's epic run and preceding Mark Gruenwald's decade on the book that... Continue Reading →
Avengers #253-254 (March-April 1985)
This post brings the long "Absolute Vision" storyline to its conclusion, as the synthezoid Avenger finally kicks his plan for world control into motion. (See the last post for a quick recap, because Captain America had not been in the book for a while before issue #251.) In issue #253, we see Cap still addressing... Continue Reading →
Captain America #302-304 and Uncanny X-Men #190-191 (February-April 1985)
These three issues of Captain America, written by Mike Carlin, are part of the short transition between the legendary runs of J.M. DeMatteis, which ended with issue #300, and Mark Gruenwald, which starts with issue #307 (and lasts, with the exception of one issue, to #443!). Although we won't see him much here, this story... Continue Reading →
Avengers #251-252 (January-February 1985)
This post and the next together bring the "Absolute Vision" storyline to a finish. Quick recap: As we saw in issue #233, Vision was knocked unconscious, only to be revived later by Starfox and ISAAC, the computer that runs his home planet of Titan. ISAAC's corrupting influence, combined with a malfunctioning "control crystal" implanted by... Continue Reading →
Marvel Fanfare #18 (January 1985)
This issue is notable for being (if I'm not mistaken) the only Captain America story pencilled by Frank Miller (who also drew the front and back covers you see above). Inspired by a story by Roger McKenzie, this comic is credited to Miller and Roger Stern—of the classic Stern/Byrne run on Captain America starting with... Continue Reading →
Captain America #301 (January 1985)
This issue serves as an epilogue to the "Death of the Red Skull" saga (as the subsequent trade paperback collection was titled) that began in issue #290 and ended in the last issue. In case you didn't read the last post, the Red Skull died in Captain America's arms after the hero refused to kill... Continue Reading →
Secret Wars #1-12 (May 1984-April 1985)
In this post, we're looking at the entire 12-issue Secret Wars series, the first major line-wide crossover event in comics, which expanded significantly on the model of 1982's Contest of Champions and cast the mold for the subsequent annual crossover event comics at both Marvel and DC. (You can read more on the origin and... Continue Reading →