Captain America #695

   See that comic over there on the left? The year's not over yet, but it's a strong candidate for the best comic of the year.

   Which would be impressive, considering how much I didn't like the last version of the comic bearing the Captain America title (while starring a Hydra impersonator).

   Wisely, Marvel has turned the job of bringing back Steve Rogers - whose life and reputation has been dragged as thoroughly through the mud as is possible - to its top creative team.

   Here - after a lovely recap of Cap's origin - we get a quick flashback to the beginning of Cap's modern-day career, and then we arrive in the present, where we find Steve on a journey of discovery.

   It's a tale about the true meaning of heroics and a great blast of the kind of real-world morality that is so badly needed in the world today.

   Look, you can't go wrong putting one of the industry's best writers, Mark Waid, on this title - especially since he's already written some great Cap stories in the past - and Chris Samnee on the art, since he's better than ever, crafting powerful, heroic images - and lovely, slice-of-life characters as well. He's one of the best in the business, period.

   I admit that I may be influenced by my dislike for the last storyline - getting back on the right track is certain to earn my approval. But this issue rises above that - it's just a terrific, "done-in-one" story about one of the greatest heroes in comics history.

   If this is what we can expect from the Marvel Legacy comics, sign me up!

Grade: A+

-----------------