There is a considerable amount of intrigue in these books. It is actually a ton when you consider that Brubaker has only put out four books, yet we’ve already been turned upside down with surprises, unlooked for victories, strange attacks, and numerous distractions. What’s more, the entire cast is suspicious. Is agent 13 totally legit with Steve? Is Fury an honest broker? (Okay, he has never been honest) And even Cap is suspicious, at least of himself. Whose memories is he having? Are they created, drug induced? Are they a dream? Or, perhaps Steve is just now seeing things as they truly were in the beginning – perhaps all of his former memories were manufactured or drug induced. As of now, you just can’t know because Brubaker isn’t letting this cat out of the bag. But I for one am hooked.

Beyond all of the intrigue is the excellent education. The flashback scenes, drawn in black and white by Michael Lark, are excellent. They provide those of us who haven’t been reading since ’72 with a bigger, more complete understanding of who some of the players are, or were.

Over all, this series is shaping up to be something great. I would like to reiterate that I believe one of these Cap series should be kept ongoing. I don’t understand putting out miniseries which don’t sell and go nowhere, while putting the worst talent possible on a book that everyone is gunning for. You may not recall, but following the else worlds period in the last volume of Cap, there was a ridiculous story about Steve Rogers black daughter from the future, or something. (I can’t remember. It was so bad that I blocked it out of my memory like one of the horrifying flashbacks de la Cap.) That is, I believe, the stint in which the sales began to plummet. Yet, at the same time, there was Cap and the Falcon and Wolverine and The Punisher, which were boring despite their action. There was also New Mutants and Prince Namor, which were boring because nothing ever happened, and countless other mind-numbing books o’ drivel. All of them with tons of money pumped into them, while Cap went to newsprint and terrible art coupled with an unreadable story. Why?

My hope is that this book continues in the direction it is headed. I don’t mean that Brubaker has to write, or that the talented Epting and Lark have to draw, just that Marvel would be well advised to keep their talent where people want it. Remember the file! People buy because they like to read. Despite the style, they like good art. And most of us love to collect, not because we want to make a buck or two, but because there is something in collecting that puts us close to the heroes – a guy with a full-run of Batman, Captain America Vol 1, or The Incredible Hulk Vol 1, that’s a hero (but the guy with the Batman full-run is better than the other two – note that Bats has no “Vol 1” beside it). A guy with a six-part mini series that was overprinted, over-funded, loaded with talent, but lacking in heart and soul is not. He’s just a guy that is going to sell the series on ebay for a 9.99 “buy it now.” What is that? Put the money in the books that deserve it. If it is a new idea, do it. If the new idea is a mini, do it. But please, PLEASE, stop funding worthless nonsense at the expense of our favorites. Be a hero.

-Peblee