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 →
This issue wraps up the story begun in the previous one, in which Captain America faced Batroc the Leaper and Mr. Hyde and ended up in quite a pickle, as shown in the opening splash page below—and as you would expect, Cap remains defiant as ever. Poor Mr. Hyde is frustrated by how strong... Continue Reading →
This comic could very well have been an issue of Marvel Team-Up, which has featured Captain America teaming up with Spider-Man twice by this point (issue #13 and issue #52), except that it actually focuses on Cap more than Spidey, at least after the first few pages referencing the status quo of Spidey's life at... Continue Reading →
These two issues shift from the "Who Is Steve Rogers?" storyline that concluded in the last issue and launches into "Am I Still Captain America?" beginning from that issue's cliffhanger ending: Cap's super-soldier serum was apparently neutralized, leaving him no longer a perfect physical specimen, but rather the original scrawny Steve Rogers, as we see... Continue Reading →
This post covers the last four issues of the Korvac Saga, in which Captain America plays a small very role; the next issue of Avengers and an annual, in which he is marginally more important; and two issues of Iron Man featuring Cap with the Avengers, in which... well you get the idea. The relevant... Continue Reading →
This annual, published between Captain America #212 and #213, contains a self-contained story that, similar to Kirby's last annual, focuses on a strange and mysterious creature, this time not an alien from space but a mutant—which brings in Magneto, whose devious plans are contrasted with Captain America's compassion. Apparently Cap keeps on eye on the... Continue Reading →
Amongst the 22 regular issues of Captain America that Jack Kirby write and drew in 1976 and 1977, he also produced two annuals and the massive Bicentennial Battles Treasury Edition. (If you think this is a lot of output, consider that this was not the only book Jack was writing and drawing at the time.)... Continue Reading →
The spotlight is on the Falcon in these last two issues of Steve Englehart's run (with a co-write from his successor John Warner on issue #186), as the Red Skull reveals secrets about him that will shake both heroes (although we see more of the effects on Captain America, for reasons that will become clear).... Continue Reading →
These two issues close out the "Secret Empire" storyline, as all is revealed, including the identity of the evil organization's leader. This leads to a different kind of existential crisis for Captain America that culminates in the next issue and will be traced out throughout the next extended storyline. At the end of issue #173,... Continue Reading →
After the blockbuster story in the last four issues (starting here), the pace slows a bit for this three-parter, as the loose ends of Steve Rogers' time on the police force are tied up, and he goes through a surprising physical transformation. (No, not Cap-Wolf, not yet.) The police commissioner summons Cap to an out-of-the-way... Continue Reading →
THE VIRTUES OF CAPTAIN AMERICA 