This two-part story is quite a curiosity: Written by longtime Captain America scribe J.M. DeMatteis and plotted with penciller Kerry Gammill, it functions as a team-up between the Sentinel of Liberty and Frog-Man, an offbeat character introduced by DeMatteis and Gammill in Marvel Team-Up #121. In issue #31, we first see Cap saving the man... Continue Reading →
This Halloween issue takes us out of the current storylines about Nomad, ULTIMATUM, and John Walker—for the most part—and instead returns us to Skullhouse, the setting of "the death of Red Skull" from issue #300, where Captain America will see some ghosts, revisit some memories, and engage in a lot of internal monologue. (A lot.)... Continue Reading →
These two issues of Captain America launch Mark Gruenwald's decade of writing the book, much of which sits among the very best Cap stories, but it gets off to a slow start: The first issue deals mainly with Cap's crime-fighting partner Nomad, and the second had to tie in with Secret Wars II, the first... Continue Reading →
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 →
In this issue, Baron Zemo takes over from Mother Superior in trying to break Captain America, as they and the Red Skull have been plotting since issue #290. As is suggested by the cover, he does this by forcing Cap to relive his greatest failure and loss at the hands of Baron Zemo the Elder... Continue Reading →
This issue follows up on the final panels of issue #290, when a strange bird surprised Captain America and Nomad; here, we learn the secret behind the bird as we are introduced to a new character who, for a short time, was poised to assume a prominent role in the Marvel Universe. Whether he does... Continue Reading →
This issue continues Captain America's battle with Viper and Constrictor alongside Jack Monroe, the Bucky from the 1950s, who reappeared in the last issue after having presumably been killed by his former partner in issue #236. Not only is Jack alive, but in this issue he once again adopts someone else's identity, as seen on... Continue Reading →
This issue welcomes Sam Wilson, aka the Falcon, back into the book that for several years bore his name, in a story that features him and Captain America on separate adventures that test both heroes' resolve and composure in similar ways. We begin with our title hero riding in the rain through "the black heart... Continue Reading →
This issue returns us to Captain America's status quo in Brooklyn Heights after adventures and remembrances kept him in England since issue #253 (excepting the origin issue #255). It also welcomes back one of my favorite Cap artists, Mike Zeck, on both interiors and the cover. Best of all, this issue pays tribute to some... Continue Reading →
These two issues are fill-ins after the end of the Stern-Byrne run on Captain America that began in issue #247 and ended with the last issue. Both of the stories take place in England, where Cap was at the end of issue #254 (not counting the origin issue, #255), and each has its merits, even... Continue Reading →
THE VIRTUES OF CAPTAIN AMERICA 