NB of the Week

Due to bad timing and poor memory, comic reading was pushed back to today. Either way...

Captain America #2 - American Dreamers: Part 2
Even though I still don't think Bucky is dead, Marvel is moving on like we are supposed to believe it. As everything still goes down in Fear Itself, Steve is back in the suit in the newly, relaunched Captain America, bringing forward old school stories in a way that hasn't been seen for a while. And it's a good thing.
We find Cap, Sharon Carter and Fury taking down a Hyrda op where they have access to the Land of Nowhere. Kid named Jimmy Jupiter could jump to a dimension in between things, where his imagination could create anything and them also be brought back into our world. He was also able to reach into other people's dream from there. As Cap leaps from the their now, shot down carrier, we get some great, old-school, Jim Steranko on Nick Fury type of art (as pictured below). Baddies get away, Cap walks away. Simple enough fighting stuff. However, later that night, as Steve and Sharon sleep, we find out that more is going on as the baddies have now joined in on Cap's dreams and unleashed through them a giant Captain America of their own. We're left with a last page of Steve being grabbed by the giant hand of this Cap, him screaming "You stole my dream!"
Ed Brubaker is a genius writer, especially on Captain America. Front to back, his stuff on Cap the last six years has been brilliant. More so after Steve was "killed". Brubaker was able to switch writing styles flawlessly. You knew this wasn't a Steve Rogers, Captain America book and it absolutely showed in the words and writings of Bucky. Now, four years later, he is back to writing Steve and it has been a great transition again, despite Fear still going at it feeling a bit rushed (the timing of the comic, not the writing itself).
Even with the amazing writing, what really won this issue for me was the incredible art of Steve McNiven. His art is amazing when he's really on but he's one of the many that take so much time and detail, that putting them on an ongoing title hurts their art. After one or two issues, you start seeing how rushed and sloppy it becomes. Not that it's horrible but you know that they are sacrificing quality in order to hit their deadline. This was my fear with McNiven from the start but issue two looked amazing and as stated, his "classic" look in this issue was awesome. The man can draw. Plain and simple.
Cap has always been a favorite of mine so my biased approach may be in full swing here but I don't care. That's why it's my NB and not yours. Go get you some Brubaker Cap and start reading it. It's some of the most consistent, best writing out there.