Captain America #695

Before/During reading:

After the stunning and quite frankly, somewhat meandering events of "Secret Empire" Cap hits the road seeking redemption. Marvel brought on the excellent creative team of Mark Waid and Chris Samnee to guide Cap on this road. Their run on Daredevil and their (short-lived but great) run on Black Widow has shown that they are capable of excellent storytelling when working together. Waid has been one of the top writers in the industry for years now and his solo character work is always really strong. Samnee is a throwback artist and is the perfect choice to depict Cap reverting back to his heroic roots. There is not a whole lot that actually happens in this story, but readers will enjoy seeing Cap once again being the hero that we all know and love him to be. The structure is a nice set-up in that we get a flashback that has some nice call backs by the end of the book. Some new (seemingly) minor villains are introduced in this one, but you get the feeling we may be seeing more of them and delving deeper into their ranks.

After/Evaluation:

This issue is a very light but super fun read. With not much happening in the way of plot, the creative team does a great job of allowing Steve Rogers to be Captain America again. He is not only heroic in the book, but he is kind, inspirational, and strong. There is an excellent sequence in which Cap displays his leadership and ability to inspire others involving some children that really warms your heart. As far as a comeback for the Captain, this book still has a long way to go. The events of Secret Empire really left a bad taste in the mouth of those who read it, and also those who didn't read it but buried Cap 6 feet under when he decided to "Hail Hydra." The road to redemption is going to be a long one, but readers can rest easy knowing that Marvel has the perfect creative team at the wheel.

8.5/10

Redemption begins