Fantastic Arc get Better
This is another fantastic issue from Ed Brubaker. The story continues to move at an accelerated pace as Bucky and Sitwell are trying to track down Leo and Natasha. It is nice to see some actual interaction with Sitwell and have his character built out more than the previous issues. Brubaker does a great job at showing how intelligent and insidious Leo truly is as pieces of his plan are laid out but we are completely in the dark of how it will play out.
This arc is turning to be head and shoulders above the previous one (which I really enjoyed) mostly because of the villain. The first arc was a good set up, but it was basically a prevent world war three mission by stopping generic villains. While we do not know what his end game is, Leo is turning out to be a Joker-esque villain by wanting to mess with Bucky more than conquering the world/stealing money/ or any other standard plot line. It makes for a fantastic story as it messes with the psychology of the hero. I am really looking forward to where this arc goes from here especially with how it ended.
The only thing that I wish was different was the art. This is purely a personal preference and not an indictment of the quality of art in the book. I do really enjoy the work that Guise and Lark have done, I wish Epting was doing the interior of the book. His work drawing Bucky in the Captain America series was my favorite of all time because of how real everything looked. The art in this series really reflects the tone of the story well, but I guess I am just not appreciative of that kind of art and prefer the vivid realism of Steve Epting's work.
