Captain America: Red Menace

Actually read this earlier this year, but didn't know what trade it was collected in (I'm reading digitally, as individual issues). I haven't been a big Cap fan, but this run by Brubaker and Epting has changed my mind.

My first foray into Marvel Comics starts with my favorite Avenger, Captain America! It has been great to read this storyline and see what the movies kept and changed. Been loving it so far!

You guys, I'm kind of scared that I have friendships that will not endure my opinion about this book, but I just gotta speak my own truth.

I just thought this was rill boring!! I couldn't believe how long it was! Or how little I cared about all the Nazi backstory! I cared sooo little omg. IDK I guess this was rebooting/recontextualizing an existing, confusing canon? Brubaker... probably did the best he could with it? But honestly just like... so many convoluted threads happening and yet all of them seemed boring. Why. How. There is literally a frozen-in-stasis brainwashed guy with a metal arm. How is that boring?IDK, it just wasn't... fun. I guess I mostly prefer fun superhero comics to these serious, angsty ones.Also, Captain America is easily my least favorite Avenger, so I'm sure that didn't help my feelings about this at all.

SORRY I HOPE WE CAN STILL BE FRIENDS. I STILL THINK THE MOVIE LOOKS PRETTY DOPE.

Absolutely deserves its reputation as one of the best Captain America, and even Marvel, arcs. Brubaker's voice as a creator is perfectly intact here. He understands that to tell a good, serious story set in a universe such as this, you have to embrace its inherently silly aspects rather than ignore them, and then use these aspects to tell the story you have in mind.

This arc being almost 20 years old now, with much of its innovations permeating the MCU, it's easy to overlook how good of an idea the Winter Soldier really is.. He fits the pulpy spy thriller tone perfectly but packs some serious emotional punch for Steve Rogers, leading to exactly the internal conflict you want for something like this.

The art can be a little rough in places, but the moody color palette combined with Brubaker's great dialogue keeps everything grounded throughout, ensuring that the tone and atmosphere are always spot-on.

Finally, the whole thing is very well structured. There's no filler, and information is revealed at exactly the right time, so that even if you know the twists and turns, it still feels satisfying to read.