Captain America #610: Bucky Barnes

A-story: Ed Brubaker // Jackson Guice
November 2010
A-story: ****

Amid castle ruins on the fatal North Sea isle, Zemo tests Bucky to see if the haunted hero will choose death after all. He doesn’t, natch. But there’s a weird level on which the villain, stage-managing an episode of psychological torture for the protag’s benefit, is Brubaker’s in-story deputy.

B-story: Rikki Barnes
last issue: Captain America #609
next issue: Captain America #611

also indexed for Nov. ’10
Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #2 of 9
The Fantastic Four #583
Secret Avengers #5
Steve Rogers: Super-Soldier #3 of 4
The Thanos Imperative #4 of 6

Thunderbolts #15

Kurt Busiek // Mark Bagley
June 1998
***

After a top-notch pair of arcs, a new status quo for this morally ambiguous superteam. The T-bolts hide out west, on the run from SHIELD while they try to clear their reps. Busiek focuses again on Moonstone (AKA Meteorite), whose ego-driven schemes provide the strongest engine for conflict & fun.

last issue: Thunderbolts #14
next issue: Thunderbolts #16

also indexed for Jun. ’98
Avengers #5

Young Avengers #10

Allen Heinberg // Jim Cheung
March 2006
***

H&C expand their mag’s cast. First is a new Vision, his OS downloaded into Kid Kang’s armor a few issues back. Another’s a white-haired speedster (like Quicksilver) &, oddly, Wiccan’s twin. But #10 centers on Hulkling, whose secret backstory is revealed as that hoary trope, the orphan princeling!

continued from Young Avengers Special #1
last issue: Young Avengers #9
next issue: Young Avengers #11

also indexed for Mar. ’06
Iron Man #5
Nextwave, Agents of HATE #1