Sunday, January 4, 2009

Captain America #45

Call me crazy, but I always liked the Captain America bad guy, Batroc the Leaper.

He always seemed like a good combination of a smart, powerful fighter, with a light-hearted, comedic touch (due partly to his slightly silly comic book version of a French accent).

And here I'm remembering his original appearance way back in the pages of Tales of Suspense, which Cap shared with Iron Man.

In the years since Batroc has been treated rather shabbily, and had become something of a joke - until now.

Under the deft guidance of writer Ed Brubaker, Batroc is once again a skillful mercenary, and in this storyline he's given the new Captain America all the fight he can handle and then some. Oh, and his joke accent is gone, although he occasionally lapses into French dialogue.

The story revolves around a mysterious item in the hands of the United Nations, and Cap and the Black Widow are in a race against time to find out what the object is, and how to stop Batroc and his mysterious ally from stealing it.

The art in this issue is a team effort, with Luke Ross and Butch Guice providing the pencil art, and Rick Magyar, Mark Pennington and Butch Guice handling the inks - but it's a good match, and they provide excellent art for an action-packed issue.

Brubaker has worked wonders on this comic, and his strong run continues with this issue - and by all indications, he has some exciting plots on the way. To which I can only say, "Keep 'em coming!"

Grade: B+

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