Comic Review: Captain America – Epic Collection: The Bloodstone Hunt

Published: April 25th, 2018
Written by: Mark Gruenwald, Kieron Dwyer
Art by: Mark Bagley, M.D. Bright, Rich Buckler, Kieron Dwyer, Ron Lim, Al Milgrom

Marvel Comics, 495 Pages

Review:

Well, this is probably the greatest string of Captain America issues that I have ever read. The first few were a bit shaky but they laid the groundwork for the start of the two primary stories, here, The Bloodstone Hunt and the Captain America portion of the Acts of Vengeance crossover and its fallout.

The Bloodstone Hunt was pretty incredible and a hell of a lot of fun. It was like an Indiana Jones story as Cap and Diamondback, now essentially his partner, raced against Baron Zemo, Batroc and their crew to try and hunt down five magic gems. It wasn’t clear why Zemo wanted them until the end, where he attempts to use them to resurrect his father, the original Zemo. However, he resurrects the powerful soul that was locked in those gems instead.

That story also features the debut of Crossbones and John Jameson (a.k.a. Man-Wolf) becoming Cap’s pilot. Sadly, we don’t get Man-Wolf action but this series of issues drops some hints that Jameson might not be able to suppress his cosmic werewolf alter ego for much longer.

After that, we get a two-issue arc that sees Cap and Crossbones fight for the first time. Man, I forgot how much I loved Crossbones in these early stories. He’s such a good sack of shit and a perfect rival for Cap. I really wish they would’ve used him better in the MCU movies, especially with Frank Grillo in that role.

Following that, we get the Acts of Vengeance stuff, which sees Cap have to fight Namor, his ally, as well as The Controller and Crossbones, again. There are also side plots about The Hellfire Club being raided and Magneto kidnapping and burying Red Skull alive in a tomb due to his ties to the Nazis, which a young Magneto and his family were victims of.

There’s just so much in this volume and all of it is damn good, once the story gets rolling.

Mark Gruenwald might be the best Captain America writer of them all. Additionally, the art throughout this stretch was superb. I still remember buying a lot of these single issues off of the racks, many of which I still own, and I remember loving back in 1989. I’m glad to say that this aged exceptionally well.

Rating: 10/10

Comic Review: Daredevil: Hell to Pay, Vol. 1 & 2

Published: October 16th, 2014; October 23rd, 2014
Written by: Ed Brubaker, Andy Park
Art by: Michael Lark, Lee Weeks, Leandro Fernandez, Marko Djurdjevic (covers)

Marvel Comics, 307 Pages

Review:

This is the second big story arc in Ed Brubaker’s Daredevil run and I reviewed these two volumes together because I thought it’d be better to look at the whole arc than just two separate halves.

Man, I liked this a hell of a lot and Brubaker just hits the right notes after Brian Michael Bendis’ run left a fairly sour taste in my mouth.

This story also sees the reemergence of two old Daredevil villains that hadn’t been seen in awhile: Ox and Mr. Fear.

That being said, Ox is still as dumb as an ox but it’s cool seeing him return to be Mr. Fear’s muscle.

In regard to Mr. Fear, he’s never been better. The character had been dismissed by fans for years as Marvel’s cheap ripoff of DC Comics’ Scarecrow. However, he shines in this story and rises to become one of Daredevil’s most formidable, powerful and scariest foes.

In fact, the twist of Mr. Fear being the thing behind several characters’ odd, violent behavior was really well done. Although, I had read this arc years ago and knew it featured Mr. Fear, I still thought the big reveal was damn effective and Fear found a way to break Daredevil down in a way that no other villain has.

Hell to Pay is a great story. Brubaker’s narrative style mixed with Michael Lark’s art makes this, hands down, one of the greatest eras in the Daredevil comic series.

Rating: 9.25/10
Pairs well with: the other Daredevil comics from his Marvel Knights run.