It takes a heckuva good writer to pull off a two-year-long storyline and bring all those threads together in a way that is powerful and plays fair with the reader.With one issue to go, Ed Brubaker continues to do just that. With this issue he brings together most of the heaviest hitters in the Marvel Universe, including the Red Skull, Dr. Doom, Mr. Fantastic, Hank Pym, the Black Widow, Sharon Carter, and both the new and the original Captain America.
They're all part of a storyline that has Steve Rogers "unstuck" in time, reliving his past and helpless to save himself. (Or is he?) We also begin to understand the true horror of the Skull's plan.
Of course, it doesn't hurt to have two of Marvel's best artists bringing the story to life. With each issue, I'm impressed at how well Bryan Hitch and Butch Guice are working together, with an amazing amount of detail and power. This may be their best work yet - and that's saying something!
They recreate classic scenes from Cap's past, and manage to match or exceed some of the best talent in comics history, including (in this issue alone) Jim Steranko, John Buscema and Jack Kirby.
That final page is chilling, and now begins the long wait for that final chapter.
Sometimes that wait is filled with the fear that the creative team will drop the ball. We have nothing to worry about here.
For four months now, this has been the best book of the month for Marvel (and its top seller). I'd be willing to bet it's about to go five-for-five.
Grade: A
No comments:
Post a Comment