The Marvels Project #8 of 8

Ed Brubaker // Steve Epting
July 2010
***

Like much of Brubaker’s Cap run, his WW2-era mini is haunted by the ’01 attacks. His cinematic finale has the H. Torch & sidekick dogfight at Pearl Harbor while the other Invaders prevent an Atlantean assassination of Churchill. A subsequent montage of super-GI mobilization is anti-climactic.

last issue: The Marvels Project #7 of 8

also indexed for Jul. ’10
Captain America #606
The Fantastic Four #579
Secret Avengers #1
The Thanos Imperative: Ignition #1 of 1

Captain America: Reborn #2 of 6

Ed Brubaker // Bryan Hitch
October 2009
****

Cap is stuck in a bardo between lives, or Nietzsche’s eternal return w/ sci-fi trappings. Whatever: he’s an unhappy onlooker in Bru’s hard-boiled captions as Hitch restages his tragic origin. Meanwhile Norman Osborne (a Ditko character!) pushes the plot as the new head of Marvel’s superspy agency.

last issue: Captain America: Reborn #1 of 6
next issue: Captain America: Reborn #3 of 6

also indexed for Oct. ’09
Daredevil #500
Fantastic Four #570
Guardians of the Galaxy #17
The Marvels Project #1 of 8
Nova #28
War of Kings #6 of 6
War of Kings: Warriors #2 of 2

The Marvels Project #1 of 8

Ed Brubaker // Steve Epting
October 2009
****

Caught short by the buzz around Captain America’s death, Marvel gives Brubaker one mini to resurrect the hero & another for fun. He does a full period piece, drawing the company’s 1940s characters together into a plot-network around the super-serum & a secret experiment in Nazi eugenics labs.

next issue: The Marvels Project #2 of 6

also indexed for Oct. ’09
Captain America: Reborn #2 of 6
Daredevil #500
Fantastic Four #570
Guardians of the Galaxy #17
Nova #28
War of Kings #6 of 6
War of Kings: Warriors #2 of 2

Captain America #255

Roger Stern & John Byrne
March 1981
****
Byrne decamps for FF and Stern begins his work on Spidey. But first, they cap their run by recounting the supersoldier’s origin. It’s framed nicely by an Oval Office scene, as FDR gives CA the famous shield. Rubenstein deserves special tone, applying inks thick & rough to suggest the Golden Age era.
[last issue: Captain America #254]
[next issue: Captain America #256]

Tales of Suspense #63: Captain America

Stan Lee // Jack Kirby
March 1965
B-story: ***
Rather than imagine new adventures for Cap, the creative team recounts his WW2 exploits. First up is his origin story: the bubbling serum that turns a scrawny civilian into a super-soldier, the chance drafting of sidekick Bucky, & finally, a brisk set of bareknuckle bouts w/ Nazi fifth columnists.
[A-story: Iron Man]
[last issue: Tales of Suspense #62]
[next issue: Tales of Suspense #64]