Oh I am not sick and tired at all. This book is a great break from all of the Marvel mania of Wolverine clones and Dark Rain on Me.

It's not flashy and very serious. And it's got its own mythos that stands very much apart from what is going on in the Avengers books while still somehow seeming a part of that world. Considering that Cap has been out of this book for, what, 2 years now, it's still a book I love to read... and I don't like the whole Winter Soldier concept. So that says a LOT! I love the overall plot and great use of Sam (my favorite Cap partner) and can never get enough Black Widow when she's around.

This is not a happy book and I like it that way. But I also like Incredible Herc, which is a happy book. They are great bookends for me.

I'd give this one an A- for grist and characterization, or a B if you're an action junkie, 'cause there is none.

As usual, lister, I don't  disagree with anything you've said - we're just coming at it from two different angles.

The caption at the top pretty much sums up how I feel.  Like I'm just re-reading the same issue over and over again.  We agree that Brubaker is great at characterization and he can tell a hell of a story.  I love Sam, love the Black Widow, love the serious tone, love the fact that it's sort of set outside the rest of the Marvel U...  I even love the Winter Soldier!  But I feel like the story is just on a treadmill. 

Every issue (or arc) feels like this: Bucky accepts some sort of top-secret mission that deals with his past.  He stares longingly at the Cap costume.  Then he porks the Black Widow.  He goes on the mission, ruminating over the fact that Steve is dead.  Something comes up that involves World War II.  Everybody looks all serious.  Bucky comes home and feels sad.  

Like I said in the prognosis, I did like the issue (C  is not a failing grade) and even at his worst, I love me some Brubaker.  But it's like watching the A-Team - you know that at the 15 minute mark, they're going to confront the bad guys and at the 40 minute mark, they're always going to be building a tank.  It doesn't mean I don't love the A-Team; it's just very formulaic. 

I know this is the story Brubaker is telling, but I just think he occasionally takes his sweet time telling it and I feel like he's milking it or phoning it in.  Is it too much to ask for ONE ISSUE where Bucky/Cap fights a random villain like Paste-Pot-Pete, who doesn't know who the Winter Soldier is, isn't connected to the Red Skull and wasn't in World War II?

 I dropped this book several months ago and was bored out of mind for several months before that. You're right Chad, it's not that it's bad, it's well written and it's got great characters in it. My problem is that the arcs are way too slow to be that freaking long. It's draining as a reader and I usually just ended up scanning pages when I was still reading it. Sounds like not much has changed.

I don't think it's anywhere near as repetitive as claimed. You summed up the last arc, but that doesn't match the previous arcs at all as I remember them. The transition of Bucky to Cap, and Sharon's imprisonment. Not really the same to me. Maybe a chart would illustrate what I am missing.

As for the slowness, well, I like the slow pace and the long arcs. And now we have a standalone issue leading into a #50. What's the problem with that? Some books should be draining mentally in a good way, and for me this one is. Again, not a happy book.

P.S.

Batroc wasn't in WWII and, as far as I recall, isn't connected to the Red Skull in any significant way. And we had two issues with him.

Now then... anyone reading the new R.E.B.E.L.S.?? I love me some Vril Dox. I can handle losing the latest LSH if this lasts more than 25 issues.

Good call on Batroc, lister.  However, the overall story involved that scientist from the 50's, Bucky being sad, porking the Black Widow and a connection to his past as Winter Soldier.

I'm working on a pie chart as we speak! ; )

Haven't read R.E.B.E.L.S. ... never read the old series either.  I've always been somewhat interested in the Legion and their extended universe and I've read a bit here and there, but haven't ever fully delved into it.  I read the most recent series for about the first year or so and enjoyed it for the most part.