Not as polished cover to cover, but still solid entertainment!
I'm a huge Captain America fan which automatically means I'm an Ed Brubaker fan. I've loved his work on Cap and his first issue with Steve McNiven blew me away. It nicely set up this new chapter as Steve Rogers is once again behind the shield. It didn't take Brubaker long to get the action going in the first issue and in Captain America #2 we get an explanation behind Bravo's attempt to kill Cap as Steve and his team converge on a Hydra base believed to be Bravo's base of operations.
I'll be honest, for the first eight pages I had no idea what Brubaker was doing. The entire context evaded me and even after finishing the issue and making the connections, I was still not blown away with the premise. But it didn't take Brubaker long to utilize McNiven's strong point's - huge, cinematic action sequences. Cap's assault on the Hydra base immediately changes the tone of the book and the second act is the issue's strongest. From there Brubaker takes an interesting turn that I found intriguing but even that couldn't prepare me for the final page. I won't give it away but old school Cap fans will love it.
McNiven's art was fairly underwhelming on the first few pages but once the action picked up so did the visual quality of the issue. He is simply one of the best at framing action panels and laying out pages. While I didn't think his work was as consistent cover to cover as the in the first issue, I love his style. And considering how Brubaker writes to his strengths, McNiven really brings it. Just thinking about the last page has me giddy over what McNiven may bring next issue. It should be great!
This a wonderful creative team and this is a solid follow up to a great first issue. The story didn't impress me at first but looking at it from a broader perspective, I really dig it. There's a lot of potential especially considering the final page. This is another quality Cap book from Brubaker and another showcase for McNiven's art skills.
