Winter Soldier #7

I guess Ed Brubaker doesn’t like RV’s! During the main set piece, Bucky refers to a mobile home as a rolling deathtrap, rolling death, and a piece of junk. Now admittedly, there is a bomb in the back, but only one of those three phrases comes up after he knows it!

This issue starts off with some nice, mood-establishing moments. Leo is still turning out to be the best antagonist in the series so far. Brubaker really plays up the relationship between Bucky and Black Widow, so I’m fairly certain things are going to go badly next month.

The main action on the RV is wonderful. Bucky comes off like a true hero, not just a super-spy, and it’s nice to see him handle the role. This is barely a super-hero comic, the action in this one wouldn’t be out of place on 24 or Fringe. This comic lets Brubaker play in the Marvel U sandbox, but still tell stories like Sleeper or Incognito. It’s a winning combo.

Michael Lark. Never have I seen an exploding RV look so beautiful. (You’d be surprised how often it comes up, actually.) Lark knocks it out of the park this issue. The mood, pacing, and direction are all top notch. He draws an assault on a moving RV and the action is always clearly established. There is no point in the shenanigans where I didn’t know what was going on. And the looks on the heroes faces during their moments of truth? Fantastic. Black Widow’s smile as she zips off on the bike and the satisfied smirk on Bucky as he lets go of the wheel, just great work.

Good