Official solicit:

CAPTAIN AMERICA OMNIBUS
story ED BRUBAKER
art STEVE EPTING, MIKE PERKINS, MICHAEL LARK, LEE WEEKS & MORE

688 pg
SEPTEMBER 19, 2007
74.99

Collecting Eisner Award-nominated Best Writer Ed Brubaker’s first 25 landmark issues of Captain America in one titanic tome, plus the Captain America 65th Anniversary Special and Winter Soldier: Winter Kills one-shots! This deluxe hardcover, fat-packed with extras, features the story that stunned readers worldwide and sent shockwaves through the entire Marvel Universe: the death of Captain America! Also including the return of Cap’s wartime partner, Bucky Barnes, as the Winter Soldier; the death and life of his greatest enemy, the Red Skull; and the emergences of a new threat, General Aleksander Lukin, the head of one of the most powerful corporations in the world! Collecting Captain America #1-25, Captain America 65th Anniversary Special and Winter Soldier: Winter Kills. Hardcover.

It’s no secret that around these here parts, Marvel comics lately are considered the worst. Completely unbearable. It’s as if the entire company line of books has opted to go from the once mighty “HOUSE OF IDEAS(!!)” to the lowly “HALLS OF FAN-FICTION(?!)”. And that’s not to say DC is doing anything great over on their end either (aside from some of the stuff at Vertigo and Wildstorm - although it’s been awhile since either one of those imprints has really wowed me too), it’s like every horrible thing we got to sweep under the ridiculous-rug™ during the early 80’s has suddenly come crashing back to the forefront, as if anyone even missed them. Holy Multiple Earths, Lame-o!

Look, I might be a dork, but you all know I’m no fanboy. I like me some good comics regardless of who (or what) makes them - I’m even man enough to be (maybe) the only guy on the internet to admit I actually liked the Jemas era of Marvel too. Compared to today’s books, I might even call that few years GOLDEN versus what we’re being shoveled as quality of late. Let’s just admit it, todays book’re garbage. The only reason half of these titles are even still barely floating on the paltry sales they are, is because the whole of the comic industry relies on our OCD collectors mentality to buy things simply because they exist - be it habit, or boredom, but mostly to stay “in the know”. Or even worse, to keep our runs complete.

Yeesh!

We’re pathetic. And the dip in quality that we all acknowledge exists, is entirely our fault. We speak with our wallets, and our wallets told everyone in charge of comics that it was ok to let all the numbskull, creatively bankrupt creators from those awful post-Image years of the 90’s (who are OLDER now and LESS IN TOUCH than they were then), we told them it was ok to let those boobs be in charge of everything. Our wallets tell them, and the editors who barely seem able to reign in these primadonnas who think they’re rock stars because they draw guys in their underwear well, that everything is fine. And yet somehow we’re suprised these same people have come along and ruined it all over again? Oh boy.

That’s not to say everything Marvel and DC push out is awful, nor am I trying to say anyone who sincerely likes any of the books I don’t is wrong for it - although I do have my suspicions…

What I am saying though, with no hyperbole or dramatic flare, without any expectance of sympathy or even standing on any consumer-advocacy soapbox, is this; I just don’t buy superhero comics anymore. I’ve finally had it. Quality fell, stories disappointed, art rushed or pathetic, editors lied, the look in the eyes of the writers I’d see who had to pretend they believed half the spin they were selling for the editorial corporate-mandated plots they knew were garbage - and for supporting that, I just couldn’t look at myself in the mirror with any sort of dignity anymore AT ALL. I didn’t start a campaing, I didn’t start any clubs. I’ve got no usergroups running rampant, hissing and booing anonymously from the livejournal. I never wrote any nasty letters, nor do I hold any ill-will towards the various people in charge who I feel are responsible for all the problems that now exist.

I just stopped caring, and then ultimately, buying as well. And that sort of apathy, from a nerd like me, speaks volumes.

And yet here I am, clutching my 80 dollar Captain America Omnibus like a toddler would his binky. “How exactly does that work?” you must all be thinking. And… I’m not really sure, but now I have to try and figure out a way to explain it here to you - and myself as well.

Now when we get down to it, and as pointed out by more than a few critical bloggers, Brubaker isn’t doing anything new here - the idea of newness found in superhero comics is pretty absurd. Brubaker’s stuck in the same sandbox that every other writer before him was, mysterious turds abound. I think the main difference is just how he molds the sand, he’s not content to fill up a pail and flip it upside down - Ed is making a sculpture here kids, but he’s using the same stunting material every one else has to use too.

The spandex. The robots. The super villains. Magical genie-boxes. etc etc. BLAH.

It’s all boring and we’ve been there before, and then we’re brought there again, and again, and then OH YEAH again. Oh wait, remember Arnim Zola - well here we go again!

The best Captain America stories for me were around the late 80’s, when Steve Rogers turned over the shield and uniform to the Government, and took on the role of WAIT FOR IT The Captain (so original!). We saw Steve Rogers struggle with the idea of what America at the time was, and his role with and against the late Reagan era politicians, as well as a new brand of terrorists willing to operate and strike within the U.S., and finally the (literal) return of the ever-plotting Red Skull as the true arch-nemesis he was. Side by side with stories of the replacement Cap, John Walker - a “red stater” SLASH super-steroided professional wrassler SLASH pawn used in the struggle between the corrupt politicians, the Red Skull and even Steve Rogers himself. Watching Walker be slowly built up, and then just as slowly torn down - psychological warfare. There were even race issues, what with the African-American Bucky (later Battle Star) - that would be heavy material for a book now, but this was from the 80’s!

And then after that, of course, it all sort of lost its way. The early 90’s rushed in, and tried to destroy everything great in its path - gritted teeth, unshaven pony-tailed hobo’s, and leather jacketed posturing homophobes would subdue us all! Cap got goofy, then serious, then goofy, then he’d wear armor. Rob Liefeld somehow tricked Marvel into thinking he knew what Captain America was about. And then Cap even got a shield made of ENERGY!

Yeah, it was a pretty rough 15 or so years for The Star Spangled Sentinel of Liberty - with a slight return to greatness when John Ney Rieber gave a us new series post 9/11. Problem was, there was only so many times you could show Steve Rogers crying at the foot of “Ground Zero” before it lost ALL (underlined about a thousand times!) of its dramatic impact (for the record, the actual number was 3 times, but nobody in the Marvel Bullpen must have gotten that memo.). Steve Rogers lived through all of WWII for crying out loud - the man had seen hell before, why was he crying every other page now?!!

So when Brubaker showed up with his new Cap series at the end of 2004, even though he had a good track record for previous books (Sleeper, Gotham Central), there was no guarantee (or idea) that this would be any good.

But it was. By the end of the 1st issue, the Red Skull was dead (no, for real.). By the 6th issue Bucky Barnes, Caps long-dead WWII partner was back, taking all the steam out of the old comic adage that “nobody stays dead in comics except for Bucky“. And by the 14th issue, the Red Skull was back too (no, for real!)! And as hacky as it might seem summed up in a few sentences like that, it absolutely wasn’t. It all fit, and it all made sense along the ride.

Now to butcher an analogy, or maybe just flat out make one up. So the car we’re in is a kind of a beater, and the road Brubaker took to get to these destinations in the story were nothing spectacular either, but it was how he drove us there that was. I suppose that’s the trick of all talented writers, at least the ones who’re paying attention, the “getting there” part. And that’s definitely what is so great about this book - it has everything awful there can be about comics, the pitfalls and the continuity and magic and nonsensical technology and achilles heals and mutants and Bat-Shark-Spray and forced buys and blah blah blah - but Ed just plays it like none of it’s even there (or at least never uses it as a crutch), and just goes about doing what he’s set out to do with the book all along. The reader is never made to suffer for compressed storytelling, or stuck between issues of series-wide crossover madness, or even being served lackluster cliffhangers each issue that go nowhere - this whole book is forward momentum. Further, the reader never has to feel like we’re watching a commercial for some new toy or breakfast cereal, even though all along we TOTALLY were. The whole of the series thus far was to sell us the death of Steve Rogers and the return and redemption of Bucky Barnes, and segue the two together, all the while keeping sales high enough on the book so the whole rug isn’t pulled out from under it. The parallels between the rise and fall of these two iconic characters, against the backdrop of the turmoil in the current Marvel Universe - as well as the state of the industry right now that would allow a mainstream book to have as much leeway as this does - it just all came together note perfect in a way that it probably couldn’t have if just one or two of the pieces didn’t fit.

It has all been a great big puzzle put together by pieces Ed Brubaker found. Pieces that longtime comic readers will recognize and get enjoyment from, seeing how they fit into big picture. The return of Bucky Barnes and what he’s been up to the last 60-odd years. Tying the Black Widow into the mix. The return and demise of Jack Monroe, the replacement Bucky/Nomad. All pieces that someone who has never read a Captain America comic could strike hours of enjoyment from, and not feel alienated or foolish for reading something as base as a “superhero” comic.

Of course it’s all coupled inseparably by the amazing art of Steve Epting, Mike Perkins, and the color palette provided by Frank D’Armata - there’s a standard being produced here, the first 30 or so issues of this title, and it’s a standard that’s gonna last I’d imagine for quite some time after this team leaves the book. And it’s a standard built not from flash or luck, but from hard work, paying your dues, and an actual understanding of how a sequential art story should work. How many years has Steve Epting been passed by on the shelves before this, the guy’s been working for years, but honestly, I’d imagine most of you never even noticed it, right? And while I don’t want to seem dismissive of the art and design aspects of book or it’s impact to the success, but honestly there are plently of good-looking books out there, right? Tons. It’s rare these days that the writing, especially for such an extended period, takes on the sort of flare and artistry to be admired for as much as the pen and ink side. Sure, we can all think of two or three books that definitely did it, and then there are five or six books that probably did it - but I’d say this book is on track to definitely/maybe falling into that category as well. It’s all story, but it looks good too - total package.

Finally, as for the package itself, the physical heft of 26 or so issues of a comic stuffed together into a giant hardcover, plus the extras - it’s heavy. And solid. The pages are larger than a normal comic, by about 25% or so I’d guess, so we’re getting more detail per page and a better look at the colors too because of the glossy stock. It’s a wonderful package, certainly better than some of the other Omnibus/Ultimate HC’s I’ve seen over the years, that felt as if they’d fall apart and leak pages if you looked at ‘em funny. And at the cover price of 74.99 (although you’d never pay near that much if you actually looked around) you can definitely feel the money is well spent.

In the end, we all know Steve Rogers isn’t going to be gone forever, or probably for very long either. In another year or so, there’ll be a reason to get him back, if not for the possible movie, but because what would comics be if not for the crutch of nobody ever staying dead (whoever just yelled out “good” in the back is going to be escorted out immediately!)? What we’re seeing right now is a great story with the return of Bucky Barnes, the mantle and role that Captain America is and can be, and a great play on espionage and subterfuge and all other sort of sneaky secret plan stuff. It’s the ride, and the journey, and I guess the destination too. And I’m on board, waiting for the second omnibus to come.

Support good comics, and speak with your wallet - buy the Captain America Omnibus today!