Comic Crib Sheet

I don't think of myself as middle aged, but I am by every definition.
And I don't think of myself as a geek, but here I am writing a blog post about comic books. I also never tire of making light of my own contradictions, or definitions.

All that said, sitting here this evening, I have figured out why I really started this blog, other than a place to eventually show off my cool Ruby comic book Database application.
I can catch everyone up.

I know you're out there, former comic book readers, or casual readers, who every once in a while just want to know what's going on with those characters they grew up with. Unfortunately, like tuning into a soap opera after a couple years and finding out that wait, he's not dead? he's married to..?

here is the crib sheet for comics today:

Captain America, Steve Rogers, died.

Iron Man took over SHIELD, and pretty much the world.

Spider-man and everyone else not rebelling unmasked and registered.

Spiderman broke from the government, became an outlaw, and finally made a deal with the devil. Now he is living as Peter Parker, single, never having revealed his Identity, never having met Aunt May, therefore sparing her life.


Thor has come back from the dead, or wherever immortal Gods go, First thing he did was kick Iron Man's ass for making an android from his DNA and using it in the Civil War.

Bucky is now Captain America.

That's it, I'm trying to keep it short. Also, I don't know what's going on with DC, haven't been sucked back into that vortex, yet.

They Killed Captain America?

This may be old news, but in comic time and plot developments, it is maybe just now time to examine this whole issue. After 8 issues, it is at least not just a cliffhanger trick.
They killed Captain America.
If Civil War, the crossover series and epic marvel tale, did anything, it galvanized Captain America as the hero of heroes. Hell, even the other heroes idolized him, and when he came up against the superhero registration act, well many of the other costumed bunch followed him just because of that. It was one of the most intriguing aspects of the whole series.

And after it was over, when he finally turned himself in, he was killed by an assassin's bullet. Marvel has had little shame exploiting the whole storyline, with many variant and special editions of the issue where it happened, as well as shameless shells of the story published as well. Oddly, it has made Captains America's comic more interesting than I ever remember it, with the cast of characters he left behind.

One character stood out, Bucky, Cap's WW2 sidekick, called Winter Soldier and released from a life of work as an assassin himself and without many of Captain America's inconvenient morals. While everyone else was lamenting their hero's loss, Bucky just went out to kill whoever was responsible.

In the end, he ended back in the custody of Iron Man and SHIELD, unofficially because Iron Man, the image of authoritarianism in the whole Civil War series and now running SHIELD, had a special message and mission for Bucky, Captain America wanted Bucky to carry on his legacy. Anyone who didn't see this coming, even in my scanty recap, raise your hands and go to PBS Kids, otherwise, follow along with me.

Bucky is now Captain America, check him out. I'd review the issue but I am sure others are doing that, I bought it, and enjoyed it, and like the look of the modified Captain America. This may be one of those few gems, this issue, Captain America #34, which you will wish you had bought or kept in 20 years. The comic book lottery ticket, as I call them. It was enough for me to go back and buy the variant cover at the comic store, which I noticed had been turned around and put towards the back of the row on the rack, sure sign that Comic-book guy at the store was thinking as I was.