Customer Reviews

Captain America Omnibus, Vol. 1

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Recently, Ed Brubaker's "Death of Captain America" story made national headlines (on a slow news day) for killing the American icon, and there was a major spike of interest in the the series. Many people suddenly found themselves aware, momentarily, of what has been Marvel's best ongoing series for the past three years.

Ed Brubaker took over with the relaunch of volume 5 of Captain America's title, part of the linewide revamp of the Avengers titles post-"Avengers Disassembled." The most consistent artists have been Steve Epting and Mike Perkins, who art is scarily similar, with smaller contributions by such names as Michael Lark (who would go on to work with Brubaker on Daredevil). The focus is on Captain America as a secret agent in the world of international espionage, joined by SHIELD Agent 13/Sharon Carter (his initially-ex-girlfriend), SHIELD Director Nick Fury, and eventually his partner the Falcon/Sam Wilson. But the biggest initial jolts come with the seeming assassination of the Red Skull, and the return to life of Cap's dead sidekick Bucky, now a brainwashed Soviet assassin. Over the 25 issues (and two specials) that make up this run, Brubaker sticks with one consistent story, in multiple variations:

"Out of Time" - the opening six issue arc; until "The Death of the Dream", it was the finest part of the series; Brubaker builds to the big revelation, but, even knowing it, it is still a riveting read. By the end of it, you know everything you need to know about Captain America.

"The Winter Soldier" - the following arc, for me, the weakest part of the series, but still incredibly good.

"Collision Courses" - Cap and Sharon go up against Sin and Crossbones in the American heartland.

"21st Century Blitz" - another contender for the series best arc, this one sees Cap and Sharon travel to London to team up with Cap's old friends Union Jack and Spitfire, as, like any good Nazi, the Skull tries to bomb London.

"The Drums of War" - a series of three tie-ins to Marvel's major "Civil War" event that mostly keep the series' main plots in focus, and set up what's to come next.

"The Death of the Dream" - part one, anyway; this issue sees the shot that was heard around the world. This single issue is gutwrenching to read.

Also included are the "65th Anniversary Special", a "House of M" tie-in, and, my personal favourite, "Winter Soldier: Winter Kills", a great solo story for Bucky, guest-starring the Young Avengers.

Captain America has never been this good. This collection is heartily recommended. And keep following the series, because something tells me that things will only get better.

*WARNING* spoilers immediately ahead

This is the first 25 issues of Ed Brubaker and Steve Eptings awe-inspiring run on the new "Captain America"--from the attempted assassination of the Red Skull and reintroduction of "Bucky" Barnes as the Winter Soldier to the highly publicized death of Steve Rogers.

I'll say that aside from Mark Millar's Ultimates run, Ed Brubaker writes Cap better than anyone. He nails the character and his supporting cast, and Brubaker's storylines feel truly authentic to America's second super-soldier. Equally impressive is the consistantly beautiful art by Steve Epting and Mike Perkins. I've never seen a book where the regular art and the fill-ins were this indistinguishable. Amazing.

This is the best superhero comic MARVEL currently puts out. It's a must own for for any comics fan. Buy it NOW!

I was never a fan of Captain America, but with all the attention that surrounded the death of the character, as well as the critical acclaim given to Ed Brubaker's run on the title, I took a chance and picked up this omnibus.

What did I think? It was fantastic! Brubaker's take on Cap is both refreshing and familiar at the same time. He deftly satisfies old time fans and draws in newcomers with a careful balance of character history interwoven throughout the stories in the omnibus.

The dialogue is thoroughly enjoyable to read and the plots are original, creative, and perfectly suited for Captain America. With a mixture of intrigue, drama, politics, twists, technology, and downright superhero action, the Captain America Omnibus is sure to satisfy a comic enthusiast who has never even picked up a Captain America comic before.

The artwork of Steve Epting and Mike Perkins is also phenomenal, and sets the perfect tone and mood for Brubaker's stories. While the price of the book is a bit expensive, Amazon cuts the reader a great price break, and I believe that the book is well worth it!

The number one, best comic books ever in my opinion is the Watchmen #1-12.

The number two, best comic books ever in my opinion is Captain America #1-25 and all the other extra issues they have in here. I've read this Omnibus like 3 times since I got it... last Christmas or the Christmas before I forget. It's really that great.

Post-WWII Captain America to me has always been like a joke. Sorta that man-out-of-time story that seems more like a bad long-running gag than a character anyone would take seriously....that is until Ed Brubaker started writing him.

These first 25 issues (plus the excellent one-shots: Winter Kills and 65th anniversay) are the very best Captain America (if not best superhero)stories I've ever read! Cap finally is looked at as a flawed human being who's trying to get a grip on modern reality and at the same time trying to defend his belief in the world. The stories also take on kind of a spy-thriller tone (a lot going on behind the scenes as much as up front) giving the superhero action the energy of a Daniel Silva novel.

Along with the stories, this omnibus collects a satisfying amount of news articles and interviews with the people behind this fantastic comic. I usually don't care about 'extras' in comic collections but I found the 'makings-of/reactions to' this comic almost as fascinating as the comic itself.

I honestly can't say enough great things about this collection. If you're a fan of the superhero genre (or maybe a Sleeper fan: another superhero/spy series by Ed Brubaker): BUY IT! It seems like alot of money but you seriously get your $$ worth.

This book is gorgeous. The paper is nice. It lies flat when open. It's about 10% bigger than a regular comic. Steve Epting's art is incredible. Brubaker is a heck of a writer. This book is a hoot. Be aware that this is the first 25 issues of a long run (plus some specials). It ends on a bit of a downer, so be sure to get volume 2 as well. :)

Granted, Ed Brubaker doesn't do much wrong when it comes to scribing comic books, and that's not even counting his Marvel work. Sleeper and Gotham Central are some of the best crime/police procedural stories told in sequential art. When it comes to an espionage book like Cap however, Ed does pretty much what he does best: create a high quality story, while creating a voice that is fresh and decidedly Marvel's. That is if Marvel had a voice.

Because this book feels as high level Marvel as the hype suggests it is, and on the first page and the first seven pages for that matter, we see how overt an intrigue-filled slant Ed takes, bringing the Red Skull into the picture. It builds and builds, and a plot surrounding the Skull's collaboration with a modern Russian general starts to surface. And then the focus switches uncannily to Captain America himself.

If there's any modern comic book representing storytelling at its pure, suspenseful best, this is it. Ed does a flawless job on every issue, bringing to the table straight suspense with a foreboding idea that nothing would be coincidental in this series. It's obvious Ed loves the characters in Cap's `universe' in the manner he writes them. The heroism of Cap he nails perfectly as are the twisted motivations of the Red Skull and the more-than-a-handful number of villains featured here, including Crossbones, the muscle, villain-wise, for much of this volume.

Every issue stays fresh here for a multitude of reasons, but to me the quintessential one would be Ed's varied required style for every scene. There are no delusions as to why the narrative moves along differently when Cap skydives out of a car and plants a bomb before dropping to ground, to when he self-reflects upon his frequent dreams of the World War he was famous for winning: the pace and tone of every scene feels perfect. The art from Epting and company was as good as any but if there's one defining factor in this book, it is Ed's skill in creating a balls-out story, complete with almost every type of action scene and dialogue sequence imaginable.

Want to see Cap kick some butt? You have it and with some intelligence thrown in as well, even with no caption or dialogue balloon in sight. If there's a case that needs to be fought for superhero espionage this is the book you want put in front of the doubtful. It's the closest thing to a must-read (and perfectly written) superhero book in modern times.

This could be the best Captain America story ever. Exciting spy action, well-paced subplots, a seamless mesh of Cap's present with his past, a supporting cast that gets to shine without overpowering the lead... I am almost always impressed with Brubaker's ability to tell an intelligent and action-packed story, and Steve Epting is gracing the world with his best artwork since the Avengers run that helped get me reading comic books in the first place. I own this book but may never see it again, since I'm insisting on loaning it to pretty much every one of my male friends who can read.

I've heard nothing but good things about Brubaker's work on Captain America. I'm so glad I took the plunge and bought this collection. After reading the first 25 issues contained with this volume, I'm a believer. This book has actually surpassed my expectations and I now consider it to be one of the greatest superhero books I've ever read.

To me, Mark Millar's and Bryan Hitch's THE ULTIMATES were the pinnacle of superhero comics. Now, I find Brubaker's CAPTAIN AMERICA to be every bit as good. The characterization is detailed and thorough and every major character in this series is greatly fleshed out.

The real magic of this series is that one need not know ANYTHING about the Captain America mythos, because Brubaker--through flashbacks and clever storytelling--gives you all the background on Cap's major past adventures in WWII, along with the origins of several of his nastiest adversaries.

If you're looking for a solid, mature, and realistic superhero story, you cannot go wrong with this beautiful CAPTAIN AMERICA Omnibus collection.

This is a truly great series, and i love where Brubaker is taking it. The only small thing is i feel the author's whole run was leading up to cap's death. Bucky was the centerpiece to almost everything Brubaker wrote, and i would have liked to see just a couple of more outstanding moments reminding us why Steve Rogers was the hero beloved for more than six decades.