With this issue we begin Dan Jurgens' run on Captain America, which will eventually close out volume #3 with issue #50 (all collected here). His run begins with a three-part storyline drawn by Andy Kubert, granting some visual continuity with the previous run written by Mark Waid, and it features not only Sam Wilson's Falcon,... Continue Reading →
Captain America #19 (July 1999)
This issue wraps up the Red Skull storyline that began in issue #14, returning us to the present day after the time-travel shenanigans of the last issue, in which Captain America convinced (or tricked) Korvac—the villain behind the villain, and the one who had been posing as the Watcher—to return to the original scene of... Continue Reading →
Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #8-9 (April-May 1999)
This two-parter takes place in the old Captain America and the Falcon days, specifically between issues #139 and #144 (for reasons we'll see below). It not only features Sam Wilson's first time as Captain America, long before ascending to that role on a permanent basis in 2014, but also previews the more nuanced discussion of... Continue Reading →
Captain America #17 (May 1999)
This issue continues the current storyline, begun in the last post, in which the Red Skull has acquired the power of a Cosmic Cube and is using it to attempt to steal the universal information held in Galactus' ship, in the hopes of rendering him both omnipotent and omniscient. Captain America and Sharon Carter stand... Continue Reading →
Captain America #13 (January 1999)
This issue serves as a brief respite between major storylines, an intermission that revisits something that happened during the Skrull/Capmania episode that Mark Waid and company knew couldn't be forgotten, while also injecting some welcome levity, following the (literal) nightmare scenario of the last several issues and the red storm to come. The loose thread... Continue Reading →
Avengers #12, Thunderbolts #0, and Amazing Spider-Man #1 (December 1998-January 1999)
This issue of Avengers brings the team into conflict with the Thunderbolts for the first time since the team of villains broke with Baron Zemo and tried to go straight (for real), and also reunites them with Hawkeye for the first time since he walked out on the team at the end of Avengers #9. As... Continue Reading →
Captain America/Citizen V Annual 1998
This annual feels more like a Thunderbolts comic than a Captain America, for good reason: Citizen V was Baron Zemo's identity when the team were pretending to be heroes while many of the real heroes were "reborn" elsewhere. The name came from a Golden Age hero, John Watkins, who appeared twice (Daring Mystery Comics #8... Continue Reading →
Captain America #11-12 and Thor #6 (November-December 1998)
These two issues of Captain America wrap up the storyline that began in issue #9 dealing with outstanding Americans being overcome with rage, which it turns out was due to the influence of the villain Nightmare. The last issue ended with Captain America's dream self voluntarily entering Nightmare's realm, after which his body is taken... Continue Reading →
Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #1 (September 1998)
As if one #1 issue for Captain America weren't enough in 1998, we have another: Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #1, a new series exploring the details of Cap's past (and sometimes his near future), launched by Mark Waid and Ron Garney, the team that successfully began volume 3 of Captain America as part of... Continue Reading →
Avengers/Squadron Supreme Annual 1998 and Silver Surfer/Thor Annual 1998
The annual featuring the Avengers and the Justice League of America Squadron Supreme follows up on their "tense" team-up in Avengers #5-6 and offers a good old-fashioned "split into smaller teams to defeat the Big Bad's threat" story, while the Silver Surfer/Thor Annual from around the same time features one page with the Avengers, with... Continue Reading →