Captain America #34
Published by Marvel
Written by Ed Brubaker
Pencils by Steve Epting

Ed Brubaker has done the improbable, he wrote a Captain America comic that kept me interested from the first issue until now and the forseeable future sees no change. Then he went and did the unthinkable, he killed Captain America. This led him to do the impossible, write a compelling superhero book without the title character. Now he replaces the guy in the suit.

The careful reader knew who would be the new Captain America would be a long time ago. When Bucky reappeared, I told everyone around me that the writing was on the wall for Steve Rogers. Bucky becomes a redundant character if he is reformed and Steve remains active. I don’t think Joe Quesada wanted a Nightwing on his hands. Yes, *gasp* Nightwing is a useless character… when it comes down to it, he serves no purpose. He won’t ever get to be Batman and he can’t be Robin anymore. It would be a shame to bring Bucky back and serve him the same fate. Well as Captain America readers know, Bucky signed on as the new ultimate boy scout. The genius of Brubaker is to not make this readily apparant in this issue, other then the recap (which, if you are like me, gets skipped), Bucky is never called by name. The readers, who pick this up and have not been following the run, will go back to the recap page. The readers, who have been picking up The Chosen and not this, may mistake “Jason” or that title’s character. However unlikely that may seem to you, a few people will be confused and they will rush back to their comic shop to get some back issues. This is the kind of move that may be able to captalize on the added readership for this issue. Fans of the run should keep their fingers crossed.

The story itself is very good. Bucky is sent into action to help stop the A.I.M. agents working for Red Skull. He is launching a full scale economic attack on the US and only Stark sees it. Kronos’ wallet has evidentally helped fund Washington, making the talking heads slow to act. Menwhile missing S.H.I.E.L.D. agents lead to a heck of a cliffhanger of an ending.

The details are what is key to the goodness that should be coming our way. Bucky has taken a firm stance in his position as Cap and refuses to register or work for Stark. This, of course, honors Steve to the nth degree. Registration is, after all, what left him prone to be killed. Stark is no fool though and assigns Natasha as his unofficial liason. This should keep Barnes on a short leash, but allow the illusion of freedom. But most interesting is Bucky still struggling with the idea of being America’s symbol. He has helped design the “disco” outfit and carries a gun. In the field, he realizes that he needs to alter his strategic thinking. Steve would not go for a kill shot every time. This is another area where Black Widow will be key. She subtly manuevers the new Captain away from the kind of operation he would love to enact, reminding him how Rogers would have done it. There is also the utter confusion in the A.I.M. agents as they see Captain America’s shield flying at them and then later when a gun is pointed at them by its bearer. Brubaker has thought this out, anyone who still views Steve’s death as a stunt needs to move on; this is solid storytelling.

When I saw Ross’ cover I chuckled about the Disco suit. When I saw Epting’s cover I wanted to cry. The cover by the interior artist is just not his best work, inside the comic, it looks much more natural and Epting’s keen sense of framing keeps him from having to go full frontal too many times. What this all means is that Epting is as good as ever. This is good stuff. If you have enjoyed it in the past, don’t let the akward covers fool you.

rating 9 out of 10

review by Lee Newman