These three issues of Avengers show Captain America and his teammates trying to save their fallen comrade Gilgamesh, so they seek out those in the best position to help: his fellow Eternals. But where are they? And what does it have to do with the Negative Zone and Blastaar, , both Fantastic Four concepts, seen... Continue Reading →
Captain America #358-360 (September-October 1989)
"The Bloodstone Hunt," the story which (barely) began in issue #357, continues in these three issues (and wraps up in the next two), in shorter-than-usual installments to make room for the U.S. Agent back-ups (and the biweekly shipping schedule). Cap doesn't face a lot of significant moral dilemmas here, but it's a cracking fun story... Continue Reading →
Captain America #356-357 (August-September 1989)
These two issues complete the storyline begun in the last, in which Captain America was de-aged to fifteen years old by the Eternal Sersi to go undercover amongst teenage runaways in search of the missing sister of his ex-fiancée Bernie Rosenthal. (Got that?) But before he could look around very much, he was abducted himself... Continue Reading →
Captain America #355 (July 1989)
This issue starts a three-part storyline that reintroduces a Captain America foe who will become much more prominent in coming years. (Hint: Like the current Baron Zemo, she's second-generation.) It also heralds a split of sorts in the title, as secondary characters receive much more attention—in the case, as highlighted on the cover, it's Lemar... Continue Reading →
Avengers #304 (June 1989)
This issue is hardly significant, being a done-in-one fill-in, but it also comes between two longer storylines, and was published the same month as an important issue of Captain America, so it's most easily dealt with on its own. (Listen, they're not all going to be epic posts, OK?) It does feature a small group... Continue Reading →
Captain America #352-353 (April-May 1989)
These two issues introduce a little (very little) bit of international intrigue as Captain America confronts opposed factions within the Soviet superhero world, including a trip behind the Iron Curtain (which would fall later that year) himself. Issue #352 opens with Cap holding auditions for Avenger Idol across the top half of a double-page spread,... Continue Reading →
Captain America #349 and Iron Man #238 (January 1989)
This issue of Captain America brings Steve Rogers and Lemar Hoskins together for the first time, and reunites Rogers with Flag-Smasher and ULTIMATUM, which only reminds him of the catastrophic events of issue #321... and all of this happens in the last issue before the pivotal #350. (Also, note the cover by Ron Frenz and... Continue Reading →
Captain America #344 (August 1988)
This "giant-sized issue" picks up where the last left off and wraps up the serpent-saturated storyline of late, with Viper's attack on the White House bringing the Captain back to Washington, DC, for the first time since he relinquished the shield and stripes to the Commission in issue #332. And yes, just to get it... Continue Reading →
Captain America #340 (April 1988)
This issue follows directly from Iron Man #228, in which the Captain and Iron Man fought about Tony's attempts to get his tech back from the U.S. government—specifically, breaking into the Vault, a prison for superhuman convicts, to disable the Stark-designed armor of their Guardsmen. For all his claims to be a futurist, Tony either... Continue Reading →
Captain America #339 (March 1988)
This issue looks like a lousy event tie-in—and to a large extent it is—but Mark Gruenwald ties it in to Steve Rogers' inner turmoil very well, ensuring that there is more than enough quality content here to keep us busy, starting with an airplane conversation among the Captain's New Kooky Quartet and ending with more... Continue Reading →