COMICS IN THE CAN- Episode XII (Winter Soldier #1)

COMICS IN THE CAN
I used to have time to read my comics in a coffee shop. Now I have to read them in the bathroom. Then I write reviews of them. I wash my hands in between.

THE WINTER SOLDIER: THE BITTER MARCH #1

In what appears to be an attempt at marketing synergy, Marvel cancelled the previously running Winter Soldier ongoing series, where only a few people knew he was still alive, he did a lot of espionage stuff and slept with Black Widow all the time, and replaced it with this, what appears to be a mini series set in 1966. Back when he was still the badass, mystery shrouded Cold War assassin. This is, I’m sure, so the movie going public, sent rushing to their local comic book store by Captain America 2, will have something familiar to buy. It still grinds my gears when marketing determines storytelling but this book isn’t bad.

I dig Bucky. I really do. It was his return at the skilled hands of Ed Brubaker that got me reading Captain America comics in the first place. And I’ve been gleefully along for the ride (for the most part) ever since. It wasn’t that long ago that Bucky was on the short list of dead comics characters that wouldn’t come back. That list has been shot to hell in the intervening years, but no other return has been done quite as well as Bucky’s. And I think I’m going to like revisiting the ‘Winter Soldier’ years Bucky in this series (or series of series?) Mostly because it’s just so kitschy and Bucky is such a badass.

The story is pretty standard. Couple o’ liberated Nazi scientists are rumored to have completed a world-destabilizing formula that can provide unlimited amounts of Gold, Uranium, Adamantium, etc. And these goose-steppers have found themselves captured by HYDRA. Nick Fury and a brash, cocky SHIELD agent I’ve never heard of before are tasked with bringing them out.  Agent Shen is, of course, impulsive and cocky and brash and gets their mission all cocked up. Then, as they are trying to escape with the Nazis via the roof, in swoops The Winter Soldier and snatches them away. An aerial chase ensues and we end the issue with Shen and the prisoners crashed in the middle of nowhere, Fury missing and TWS closing in on them. 

Two things I really love about this book: How awesome classic Nick Fury is and how scary TWS is. Fury’s been absent from recent continuity for awhile now, and I MISS HIM. His gruff, take no guff demeanor is on full display here and it is refreshing. Conversely, although we got to see Winter Soldier flashbacks before, this, at least of what I’ve read, is the first series based entirely in The Cold War, when he was a hushed whisper in intelligence circles and an adult boogeyman to be reckoned with.

So if your non-comics reading roommate or significant other or family member lets you drag them to the movie, you are safe giving them this comic for more reading pleasure. And that, friends, is how Marvel turned me into a shill for their synergy. I’m so disappointed in myself.