Captain America by Ed Brubaker - Volume 4
Of all superheroes, Captain America benefits the most from a writer who is sensitive to the political tenor of the times.  When Brubaker took over scripting duties on the title, it had been floundering somewhat, looking for such a voice.  Brubaker hit hard, with darker, espionage-oriented tales that thrust the Captain into a murkier moral environment that challenged his Depression-era patriotism.  Here, Brubaker brings his eight-year tenure to a close, throwing the character against a group of super-terrorists and a television hate-monger seeking to undermine the country’s belief in him and concluding Cap’s several-volumes-long hunt for Agent Bravo.  Brubaker, with an assist from Bunn, tells an action-oriented story but also manages to ask disturbing and relevant questions about a man who represents a country whose political environment is increasingly debauched.  The art is solid throughout, particularly in the last part, where Epting, Brubaker’s original collaborator, imbues the story with the sense of deep melancholy that has been an emotional hallmark of Brubaker’s history-making run.  Add to that the character’s recent cinematic successes, and this title demands shelf space. --Jesse Karp