Steve-Epting

There used to be a saying in comics that nobody stays dead except Bucky Barnes and Uncle Ben. In 2005 Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting decided to break that rule by bringing Bucky back and what followed was one of the best runs on Captain America and the introduction of the Winter Soldier to the Marvel Universe. That decision, while controversial to some longtime fans, was so well executed that now, less than ten years later, the character has hit the big screen in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. There was widespread excitement on the Internet as soon as Marvel announced the title of the Captain America movie. At the time I hadn’t read the Captain America comics that reintroduced Bucky, but even I was thrilled at the announcement. Anyone that followed Marvel Comics knew that bringing in the Winter Soldier was going to make for an emotionally powerful story. Comic storytelling is at its best when there are real emotional stakes for the heroes and it’s hard to get more personal than your best friend and beloved side kick being resurrected as a seemingly unstoppable foe. Bucky Barnes has always been an extremely important part of Steve Rogers’ history. During the Golden Age he was Steve’s sidekick—back when Captain America was part of Timely Comics, the precursor to Marvel. They fought side by side during World War II, but he seemingly died during the war. During the same incident that killed Bucky, Captain America was frozen in the ice not to awaken again until the Avengers found him. Since that time various authors have addressed Bucky’s loss and what it means to Steve. Dealing with that loss is one of the most defining aspects of his character. Then Bucky came back.

[caption id=“attachment_249” align=“alignleft” width=“197” caption=“FF #12”] [/caption] Unlike last week, this week was a very small release week for me. It was all Marvel and it was mostly X-Men related. Wolverine Vol 4 #19 - Wolverine’s adventures in Chinatown come to an end. I enjoyed this issue more than the others in this arc. I think it’s convinced me to keep this book on my radar. I probably won’t be collecting it monthly, but I’ll check out future trades. X-Men Legacy #259 - This book finally joins the rest of the X-books in the regenesis story line. It’s the first X-Men legacy issue I’ve liked since they went to space. I heard Mike Carey is leaving the book after this story arc so I wonder if it’s going to go off in a new direction. FF #12 - This was an entertaining issue as can always be expected when Valeria and Doom are involved. I wasn’t a huge fan of the pencilling in this issue. I found it distracted me at points. I did love the cover, by usual artist Steve Epting, though!