Captain America Tp Operation Rebirth New Ptg

Sold, I really did forget how much I loved  this book back in the 90’s. I haven’t seen an issue of it in almost ten years and reading this review I have to ask why? Waid was on the best form of his life with this and Flash (on a side note I notice a lot of people saying that Starman 0 was the only good 0 issue, I have to say that for my money Flash 0 was the finest issue Waid did on the flash). As for Garneys art just look at the panel with  Cap eating the burger with flags init after getting booted out of America, hart breaking stuff.

Oh c'mon, Conor, you didn't like totally gnarly early '90s Cap issues like this? http://www.comicbookdb.com/graphics/comic_graphics/1/126/18209_20060924133538_large.jpg

Seriously, though, good pick. It was comics like this that made me keep reading (for a while) during those years.

A similar series from that time, which I hold even higher in estimation, was Busiek's Untold Tales of Spider-Man. Did any of the iFanboys read that? Will you ever do a feature on it?

Congratulations! You just sold me on a 90's book. Hard for me to believe, but those brief looks at Garney's beautiful artwork leaves me wanting more. And Waid on Cap? Sold!

Kind of intersting that almost all of the POMs so far have been 90's collections. (JLI is late 80s, but it's a soft distinction).

Great choice!

The sad thing is, you could feel Mark Gruenwald's frustration with the 90s aesthetic in those issues directly before this.  Maybe Marvel did tell him what to do (taking away the serum, giving him the godawful armor), but half of those issues are blatant meta swipes at the "hardcore" characters and Cap moping about how he's old and irrelevant and has no place in that universe.  People even tell Cap the armor looks stupid, within the story.  I wouldn't exactly call those issues good, but as an examination of what was going on in comics at the time, they're really fascinating.  Gruenwald seemed as depressed as Cap was, and much more bitter.

That said, this is a great pick.  I just reread these issues not too long ago, and it's really impressive how Waid managed to do what Gruenwald couldn't - make Cap work in that market, instead of bemoaning the ways he couldn't.  It's also interesting that, though Waid's run, as you note, is obviously very different from Brubaker's work, Brubaker still followed almost the same formula  when he started his series and revitalized Cap: bringing back Sharon Carter (but not immediately in a romantic capacity), bringing back the Red Skull, making Cap a little angrier but still definitely himself.  It's obviously a formula that works.

Of course, then Marvel had to ruin this by letting Liefeld run amok for a year...

I remember this run fondly.  Great stuff.

I still remember the horror of the heroes reborn nonsense interrupting this classic run.  Waid and Garney off of Cap for...Leifeld?  Those were darker days indeed.

It's good to see this run getting some love again, as Waid and Brubaker are the only two writers who've been able to add to the Cap mythos in the last 20 years (although Busiek writing him in his Avengers run was no slouch either).

The last thing left unread in my Stack (remember Stack Week?) is the Complete Cap Collection DVD. The great thing about this is seeing this Book of the Month and realizing I already have it sitting in my house. Thanks for directing me to the good issues in that "90s" folder.

I've also got this in my stack, but in issues, which also includes the post-Reborn re-launch. It's kind of historic how Waid ushered out the original Cap run with this collection, then ushered in the return of the book following the Reborn debacle (my opinion - Cap with tits doesn't do it for me). Also don't forget the Sentinel of Liberty mini, also by Waid, and the Kubert art on the relaunch.

The USAgent-as-Cap arc was actually really great, as were the issues immediately after that. Even I couldn't stick around for "CapWolf," though.

I will very likely pick this up.

You know, this was the first TPB I ever bought. I never really followed the book in single issues, so I was fortunate enough to skip over most of the bad stuff (though I did buy an issue at one point and was forced to ask myself "Who the hell is Jack Flag and why should I care?").

Great pick. I need to read this again after I finish my stack from the Con.

Never actually read this, but heard it was good. Great review though, definitely makes me want to pick it up.

Although that whole 'Hitler in a cosmic cube' stuff seems kinda too silly for me. But hey, if we want Cap to finally take out the worst man in the history of the world...who am I to judge?

The cosmic cube on its own isn't silly enough?

Captain America and The Falcon was always a favorite. I really enjoyed John Byrne's Cap for President story. But when I started reading Waid and Garney's Cap, I was hooked. Until they went and gave it to Leifeld. Idiots. It was never the same after that.  

@josh: Point taken

Although, if anyone remembers...Brubaker's beginning of Cap had the cosmic cube central in the story for some issues. So I guess the cube is a Captain America object now? Which is weird, cause I dont think of that cosmic stuff when it comes to him...

But Hitler in a cub? So silly, only the 90's could do that.

Sadly, I have the old printing of this trade, which just contains the first arc.

Anyway, there are a lot of new Cap fans now, and rightly so because Brubaker's run has been fantastic. Despite this, sometimes I feel like people are missing out on the previous great runs. Waid and Garney did a fantastic job with the character. I was so bummed out when Heroes Reborn interrupted this, but then I was so excited when Waid and Garney were back on the book after Heroes Return. The Brubaker/Epting run is fantastic, but Waid and Garney still hold up for me.

YES. i have the old printing also, but im deffinately getting this!! i cant wait now. im a HUGE cap fan and have always been. just got a sick statue that was made for when he fist debuted in the Avengers.

The cube's been Cap territory since the Tales of Suspense days when the Red Skull first tried to get his stinking Ratzi hands on it.  I personally feel since it's somewhat connected to Nazis like Hitler/the Hatemonger and the Red Skull, it makes it somewhat believable to have it in the Cap mythos.  I think I feel that Nazis are generally used in fiction to introduce wildly fantastic plot elements in fiction (Hellboy, Indiana Jones, etc.) so it makes it okay.  There's just something about Nazis in a story that makes the ridiculous okay.

Amazing pick, Conor. After first reading Cap in Busiek's Avengers, this run showed me why everyone looks up to this guy.

Easily, the crowning moment for me is the smile Cap gives Clinton when asked by the president to try out his shield. Hard to explain why, but Garney is able to draw a young man with an old smile, old expressions in general, and that just hits the character home for me. A fantastic run.

@ Diabhol: Right on about John Walker Cap stories. Gru was at or near his peak on Cap back in the 1980s, and his run was seminal: Left/Right Wingers; Serpent Society; Diamondback; Crossbones; Demolltion Man; etc. The list goes on. And lest we forget -- Kieron Dwyer art.

This Waid/Garney trade was part of that short-lived Marvel renaissance, which also lead to young Tony Stark, buggy Wasp, and Nu-Thor, but don't hold that against it. Waid had absolute mastery of Cap, and Garney was debuting in a big way as an artist, after an inauspicious start on "Nightstalkers."

Hahaha I just read this yesterday and came here today to find it as the book of the month. Awesome! Talk about perfect timing. I really loved this too. Did Waid and/or Garney do any more Cap work after this? If so I hope they put it back into print like they did with this. Good choice!

They did another short run AFTER the "Heroes Reborn" crap.

Was it any good? Worth looking for?

The "open fire" page is just an amazing layout.  That guy needs to be commended.

@Tiocore - Yep, it was good.  I'm hoping that one gets a trade too.

Thank you!  I've been recommending this everytime someone on the boards asks about good Cap stories and I don't think anyone believed me.

This is a great pick. I loved their run on Captain America, and when Waid left it lost the momentum and the fun they gave the title.

@Conor. They did release the Waid/Garney post Heroes Reborn run, but I think it's out of print. 

@ScottB - Right, I mean a new printing like this one.

that art is very tim-sale like, very good

I was a big fan of most of the USAgent replacing stories and the old cry of "Justice is Served" by Scourge.  But I do remember reading the when it came out during the very hard times in Marvel.  I rmember all I bought back then was Iron Man (My only dedicated book.)  and the leftovers of X-Men.  But this did bring it back for me, and it gave some magic to the series.  Cap's adventures always sprung to life because he was super and mortal at the same time, and this series took both of those and made them shine.

I am sooo glad Connor picked this.  I loved this run on the book as well as the second run Cap had with Waid and Garney/Andy Kubert after the whole Heroes reborn craptacular.  The whole Cap losing and regaining his shield arc is one of the all time best (And I'm a freaking Canadian!).  Dan Jurgens had a solid run on this series as well.  Sadly, Marvel decided to put Cap into a horrible Marvel Knights series that was truly awful and just missed the boat on Cap entirely. I stopped buying the book fairly quickly after that switch.

I have yet to read lots of the Brubaker stuff but I want to, and what I have read is great.  I will say I'm a bit put off by Steve Rogers dying but he'll be back hopefully, and in the meantime I think I have some good reading ahead of me with all the Brubaker issues.

-Gregg

You know what Cap needs to be traded? The Streets of Poison of arc. We got a great Cap story featuring Red Skull, Cross Bones, Diamondback, Daredevil, Bullseye, Kingpin, Black Widow...etc. Written by Mark Gruenwald. Penciled by Ron Lim. The arc was one of Cap's strongest storylines. Granted, they tried to hit us over the head with the anti-drug message at the end, but overall it was a good story.

@Phillies: That's just about the time Gru lost me, when Marvel made him and Lim go biweekly back in the day. But before that -- cream of the 1980s.

I loved the old Scourge storyline in Cap.  I'm probably in the minority, but I really like Diamondback as a romantic interest for him.  Still, though, Sharon Carter tops all.

@horatio: Diamondback was the most playful partner for Cap EVAR. She had such a caring, effective run under Gru's pen.

Garney's art was responsible for pulling me back into comics.  His style and panel layout reminded me of the Steranko stuff that got me hooked as a kid.

I had considered binding my old issues of this run, but I think I'll pick this up instead.

 ...and thanks for reminding me of the pain of my head exploding when this run was rudely interrupted by 'Heroes Regurgitated'.  gah.

I loved Waid's run Cap. I think Gruenwald's best period on the book started with the Bloodstone Hunt and ended just before Cap-Wolf. *shudder* Truly horrible stuff. You have to realize though that he wrote over 100 CONSECUTIVE issues of Cap (I believe 110). He was probably getting burnt out by the end. I think I remember reading somewhere that because he knew the 12-part Fighting Chance story was his swan song on the title, he wanted to leave with a bang by killing Cap. The whole armor thing came from the powers that be.

Cool choice. I actually started reading Cap with the Heroes Reborn reboot (I know, I know, I fell for it), and so first experienced the Waid/Garney collaboration with the Heroes Return. It was so much better than the Liefeld stuff it blew me away. I may have to pick this up, since I never got to read this run.

"So I guess the cube is a Captain America object now? Which is weird, cause I dont think of that cosmic stuff when it comes to him..."

It is kinda weird, but hasn't the cube always been a Cap thing? It made it's first appearance with Cap and the Skull anyway.

I was reading Waid's Flash and then Impulse at the time, so when this came out, I jumped on this like a crazy jumping person. Then jumped right out when Rob came on board. Then jumped back in again when Waid came back, and I was pretty tired from all that jumping at that point.

Never been a reader of Captain America. Based on your recommendation, I grabbed this book and I read it cover to cover and loved it. The artwork and story were both very good. I just couldn't understand, however, why Sharon was so mad at and mean to Cap throughout the whole story. It perplexed and frustrated me.

Oh, and @flakbait, I feel that the cosmic cube is very wierd to have in something other than a cosmic story.

Just finished the book.

It's so apparent it was written in another period. The machinesmith makes a big deal out of stealing codes for and then crashing the helicarrier. Now that happens in every other issue of the Avengers--no special code required. Comics were so innocent back then. :-)

Gah my bookstore cant this! What's the point of an employee discount if your store cant even order a simple Cap book? Guess I'm gonna need to find this at my LCS next week...

This is still my favorite run on Cap. I love what's going on now with Brubaker but I think I'll enjoy it more when Steve Rogers is back and I can put the Bucky storyline into a different context. Cap is Steve Rogers to me, always has been always will be. )That being said, I'd like to reiterate that I'm really enjoying the current run.)