Captain America By Ed Brubaker Omnibus Vol.1 – Review

By Ed Brubaker (Writer), Steve Epting, Mike Perkins, Michael Lark, John Paul Leon, Tom Palmer, Javier Pulido, Marcos Martin, Lee Weeks, Stefano Gaudiano, Rick Holberg, and Jesse Delperdang (Artists), and Frank D’Armata, Javier Rodriguez, and Matt Milla (Colors)

This is an absolute necessary collection for anyone who is currently reading Captain America. I’ll admit, I fall into the category of readers who jumped on the series around Civil War. Having only read those issues, I knew where this big tome of story would end up: Captain America dead, and Bucky back from the dead. Despite knowing exactly how it would end, the story found in this omnibus not only kept me enthralled, but several times it kept me on the edge of my seat. Ed Brubaker is a master storyteller, and I can see why his run is already being heralded one the best in Cap’s history.

The story contained within is very personal. We get to look into the life and mind of Steve Rogers, as well of several of the supporting cast members. Knowing that the Winter Soldier would end up being Bucky, it was painful and poignant to see Steve Rogers discover this for himself. Through Brubaker’s clever use of flashbacks, we also get to see the great dynamic that developed between these two partners as they fought together in World War II. Where Bucky’s return as a brainwashed Russian agent brings sadness into the life of Steve Rogers, we get to witness the development of his rekindled relationship with Sharon Carter. This relationship brings Cap rare moments of fulfillment.

Of course, the brilliant characterization is not just limited to the good guys. On the villainous side of things, we get several displays of genius, treachery, and just pure evil on the parts of both Aleksander Lukin and the Red Skull (along with their minions.) Fans of bad guy romance even get appeased as the relationship between Crossbones and Sin develops.

The characterization is only half of what makes the story so good. The other half is tons of action. In fact, this story has some of the best action I’ve seen in comics. Whether it is Steve Epting, Mike Perkins, or any of the other artists who contributed to this book, the action they bring to these issues is dynamic, cinematic, and just plain stunning to look at. Stuff likes this leaves me hoping that the Captain America movie will be popular enough just so this storyline can be adapted to the bring screen.

I realize this is a pretty expensive book to buy ($74.99 for 25 issues of story), but any current fan of Captain America who hasn’t read these stories needs to pick this up just to appreciate who the old Captain America was, who the new Captain America is, and just how genius the Red Skull has been in the implementation of his diabolical plan. If you want a money saving tip, save up, and buy it used on eBay (that is what I had to do), or buy it from a store like DCBS. It’s definitely worth your money. (Grade: A+)

-M. Staples