Saturday, April 14, 2012

Captain America: The Trial of Captain America TPB

(Note: Whoops, posted my Cap reviews in the wrong order!)


Sin is one messed up lady. I’m clearly way behind, since I’ve already read (and reviewed Fear Itself), and that makes the stakes in this storyline already seem antiquated. Sin doesn’t really try to do a whole lot in this entire trade, because her BIG plan is going to unfold in Fear Itself. This story is basically her just killing time until it’s summer event season. Ed Brubaker gets to keep her busy just messing with Bucky.

I do like the inclusion of Master Man, especially in his current incarnation. He’s not a smart guy, but he’s crafty, and he seems good enough at what he does to be dang dangerous. He sure didn’t have a problem taking out Black Widow and Falcon.

Brubaker keeps a tie to older Cap continuity with the return of Bernie Rosenthal, Cap’s old neighbor and love interest. There’s no spark between them evident in this collection, but that’s OK. Steve Rogers is fully in Nick Fury mode. He serves the purposes of the story, but I’d much rather see him in the lead. I’m finding that while I like Winter Soldier/Bucky/NuCap, I’m nowhere near as invested in him as I am in Rogers.

One aspect of the NuCap era that is really interesting to me is Bucky’s supporting cast. The immediate and powerful partnership with Black Widow makes sense, but I really like the way Falcon and Bucky hit it off too. The two guys didn’t really know each other, but they sure fit well as partners with Rogers off juggling checkbooks.

Butch Guice is solid, and his long-standing relationship with Brubaker is one of the stronger collaborations in comics. Guice seems to relish the chance to draw the Black Widow; her graceful dancing through combat is always well done.

Fair

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