Defining Trades

Defining Trades (In which I choose a book that best portrays a favourite character. That one title where the writer absolutely everything you love about them.

Seeing as every other article on the Internet right now is about Superman I thought we would start with that other great symbol of American pride and culture, Captain America.

Book: Civil War.

Written by: Mark Millar
Art by: Steve McNiven

This was a tough one because Brubaker, hands down writes the best Cap and there's been plenty of times in his history when he has turned his back on the American government.

Steve Rogers had really stalled as a character after the millennium under writers like Goeff John's on Avengers. Mostly he just stood about giving team members stern telling offs while they stood about admiring the shit out of him.

It wasn't until Bendis came along with New Avengers and used Cap as the constant around which to build his team, that Steve started to have a personality again in my opinion. Originally both Tony Stark and SHIELD were against the idea but with. Cap's persistence with new members and unwillingness to even consider SHIELD's opinion he forged ahead and was easily one of the coolest things about that run.

Civil War was the first book I read in which I actually cheered cap on. From the moment he turned his back on Maria Hill, ordered the soldiers to stand down and made a ballsy escape from the helicarrier (currently in the air!) He fought so many epic fights and spend much of the event looking like shit. It gave the writers a valid excuse to write Captain America as a war time character, something that has only been achieved before with flashback stories. We get to see Steve use his espionage skills and lead the troops. I also really liked how Millar deescalated the situation, with Steve realising for the first time that he was fighting against the will of the American people, It seems one of few sensible options available.

So yeah, new to Cap and want to see him at his (what is in my opinion) best? Pick up Civil War.