Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Captain America #42
Marvel Comics
Brubaker, Epting & Ross

The long story of the Death of Captain America comes to a roaring conclusion. You’d think that this means the real Captain America returns, but he doesn’t. Instead, as has been the case since his death, the supporting cast takes this arc home in grand fashion. The artwork keeps the mood somber despite the fact that the good guys pretty much prevail. This comic shouldn’t be missed. Even if you haven’t read an issue of Cap you should pick this up.

The recap page gives you everything you need to know, but the issue begins with Cap fighting Skull’s daughter. She attempted an assassination on the presidential candidate and Cap broke it up. She escapes to the roof to finish the assassination while Cap is stuck fighting the lackeys.

At Skull base, Falcon and Black Widow are trying to find Sharon and are cutting their way through Skull’s minions. Zola and Skull are up to one last trick with Sharon as they hook her up to a machine. She fights back and blows up some of Zola’s work. They decide to scuttle the base.

Cap eventually catches up with Sin and saves the day. Falcon, Black Widow and a mystery guest finds Sharon taking out Skull and Zola. Things get a little fuzzy from here. You should just read for yourself.

The issue has two excellent loose ends left open in the epilogue. It’s an unforgettable image of the man in the disguise wandering around New York.

This issue is terrific. The story moves quickly and resolves key plot threads along the way. The action is thick but doesn’t take over the comic. The art provides details but doesn’t try to overwhelm each page or over complicate any particular panel. The comic is brilliant.

The strength of this title has been the supporting cast and that is obvious in this issue. Cap is involved in the secondary story. He’s not fighting Skull, he’s fighting his daughter. Even Falcon and Widow are really just providing backup to Sharon. Sharon is the real star of the comic and it doesn’t feel at all forced. This has been building for some time.

Skull has been an excellent villain for many issues in this series and it will be a shame to see the title move away from him in the next arc. However, the mileage and number of great stories these five or six characters have gotten in this series is staggering. I’m anxious to see what’s next for this title.

I realize the comic has many issues behind this one that help to build this one up, but I seriously encourage anybody who is remotely interested in this title to pick this issue up. I wouldn’t worry about a jump on point or catching up on old issues. This is a very entertaining comic and provides some great action, drama and character interactions. I can’t possibly recommend a comic any more than this one.

5 out of 5 geek goggles