Captain America Modern Era Epic Collection, Vol. 1: The Winter Soldier

Captain America Modern Era Epic Collection

by Ed Brubaker, Steve Epting (Artist ), Michael Lark (Artist)

The shocking murder of the Red Skull leaves an unfinished Cosmic Cube at large! Adding to the imminent danger, a cadre of the Skull's followers plans to ignite bombs in the hearts of Paris, London and Manhattan! Racing against a rapidly ticking clock, Captain America must solve the mystery of his nemesis' murder and find the Cube before it can be used to rewrite reality! But there's a lethal assassin on the loose with an all-too-familiar face. Cap's suspicions about the Winter Soldier will soon be answered in the most brutal way possible, tearing open old wounds and threatening to carve new scars that will never heal! Plus: Crossbones and the Red Skull's daughter, Sin, carve a path of chaos and destruction across the United States!

Collecting CAPTAIN AMERICA (2004) #1-17 and #1 DIRECTOR'S CUT, and CAPTAIN AMERICA 65TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL.

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, Superheroes

472 pages, Paperback

First published June 18, 2024

About the author

Ed Brubaker (born November 17, 1966) is an Eisner Award-winning American cartoonist and writer. He was born at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland.

Brubaker is best known for his work as a comic book writer on such titles as Batman, Daredevil, Captain America, Iron Fist, Catwoman, Gotham Central and Uncanny X-Men. In more recent years, he has focused solely on creator-owned titles for Image Comics, such as Fatale, Criminal, Velvet and Kill or Be Killed.

In 2016, Brubaker ventured into television, joining the writing staff of the HBO series Westworld.

Reviews

[Machiavelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so good. Brubaker’s writing hits that perfect blend of espionage, tension, and emotional weight, and the buildup around Bucky is still incredible even knowing the twist. The pacing is tight, the character work is fantastic, and the whole thing feels like the start of something truly special.

I’m really glad I already have Vol. 2 lined up — this run is absolutely delivering.

[Nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this volume but it wasn't quite as good as I was expecting. I think part of the reason is familiarity with the Winter Soldier story from other media like the MCU and Avengers Earth's Mightiest Heroes and the other part might be having read Secret Warriors by Hickman that is such a fun espionage ride.

The artwork throughout is great, my experience of Epting being with FF by Hickman and Lark from Gotham Central.

I really enjoyed the annual, Rodriguez's colours make me think of his art when looking at the pencils; it helps that they aren't overly detailed from Pulido and Martin.

Issue #10 was an interesting side story, being a House of M tie-in.

I have volume 2 so hopefully the series picks up a little for me.

[Milan Konjevic · Rating 5 out of 5]

20 godina kasnije, i dalje se odlicno drzi

[Sam Goyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

While The Winter Soldier storyline is at times confusing with the amount of villains involved, it’s still a fantastic spy thriller adventure yarn. The artwork depicts the action so clearly and Brubaker’s writing keeps the pace at lighting speed. There’s also an anniversary special about a giant robot that’s so much fun. It’s like a Saturday morning cartoon but not silly at all.

[Nolan Gutenschwager · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. This was an amazing story. Compelling writing throughout by Brubaker, and the art, primarily by Steve Epting, is incredible. I like Steve's characterization. Not someone to mess with, he's pretty serious, but he's a stand up guy trying to do the right thing. I also really enjoyed the dynamic with Sharon Carter and clearly they have some history and are gravitating towards each other again with their feelings. The whole storyline with the Winter Soldier is fantastic.

Lukin is a Russian who basically orders the Winter Soldier to take out Red Skull and obtain the Cosmic Cube. It is not obvious at first but it seems Red Skull actually at the last minute switches places with Lukin so he is basically living in Lukin's body for the rest of the time. At any rate, there's rumors of this Winter Soldier and he's legit, and it's revealed he's Bucky. Very well done how Steve wants to save him while others just want to stop him and think he might be beyond saving. It is also just such a tragic backstory of what the Russians did to Bucky when they captured him.

Steve eventually gets the Cosmic Cube and restores Bucky's memories and Bucky then runs away, obviously that is a ton to digest emotionally. All the characters are well done, including Cap, Bucky, Sharon, Lukin, Red Skull, Fury, Crossbones, and Red Skull's daughter Sin (who is an evil item with Crossbones). Such a great story and I like the frequent flashbacks to WWII. Fun other issues in here as well including a flashback WWII story with Cap and Bucky teaming up with a father daughter German resistance duo and an alternate reality scenario where Cap was never frozen and ended up landing on the moon, amongst other things (and the humans vs mutants debates throughout time). Well done throughout.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Speaking as a person who doesn’t know an awful lot about the comic-book Captain America(s) as compared to the MCU version(s), this was a fantastic start and a very entertaining one at that. I really liked getting to see more of Sharon Carter as a character with an actual personality and influence, and God knows I love any version of Bucky Barnes that exists. I see Steve Rogers as a more nuanced and motivated character now, too, and I do wish the MCU could have explored that a bit further.

[Brandon Daniels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really happy with the way this was collected. The 65th anniversary issue provides great backstory to a character that is briefly introduced near the end. Issue 10 is included but moved to the end because it is a House of M tie in and very separate from the rest of the book. That said, this is the first time I have read that issue and it’s really great. It provides some important and really interesting alternate history stuff that Brubaker is particularly well suited to.

[Samuel Hickman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really really good. Feel like Ive got to read the next volume now. The art was great but the writing was really something. It reads so well and wraps up nicely with a few loose ends to keep you wanting more.

8.5/10

[Ross Cudmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible start to Brubaker's Captain America run. As a big fan of the MCU I'm well aware of the Winter Soldier, but his return was still really well-handled. I enjoyed the spy-thriller angle Brubaker took with Captain America. And the artwork is consistently amazing.

[Doug Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing and really blew me away. Up there for my favorite epic collection I've read so far, largely due to some amazing storytelling.

[sasha 🌻 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Mysticpt · Rating 4 out of 5]

4+

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ed Brubaker takes over Captain America and it is glorious. If you're looking for a Cap treatment close to Captain America: Winter Soldier, this run is the impetus for that movie. Bucky was always one of the sacrosanct Marvel characters like Uncle Ben who couldn't be brought back. Well, not at least until Brubaker came along. He comes up with a treatment so great that it just works terrifically. This could have been really dumb. Go look at the Clone Saga over in Amazing Spider-Man on how not to do a major retcon. This however is fantastic. Brubaker injects the book with this espionage edge and it is so damn good.

Then you bring in Steve Epting as the main artist. His work has both a dynamic and yet classic look to it. It just works perfectly for something that could look silly with Cap running around wrapped in a flag. This book is where Epting officially declares he is one of the top artists working in comics.

This epic collection collects the first 3 arcs of the smaller collections along with issue #10, a House of M issue which has never appeared with the rest of this run before, getting collected with House of M books instead. There's also a treatment and script for the first issue. A cool letter column where Kurt Busiek writes in, Epting's artwork and a few other odds and ends.