Let’s get this out of the way first: This month’s issue of Captain America is excellent. Possibly less so if you haven’t been following, but it is very good.

We’re still following the trial of James “Bucky” Barnes (meaning lots of passive dialogue stuff) and Master Man has aided Sin’s escape from the mental hospital so she can carry on her father’s legacy as the new Red Skull. But there is still so much left to know. Is Bucky’s freedom or reputation actually in danger in this trial? What is Master Man’s goal in releasing Sin? What does this new Red Skull have planned and how will it affect the outcome of the trial? Not all of these questions are answered in this issue, but you get some ideas as you learn that there are many more questions yet to come.

I’ve been enjoying Ed Brubaker’s writing of the trial and all of the drama that goes along with it. I’ve been okay with just a couple of minor fights in each issue featuring side characters instead of Cap (Falcon this time), but I am starting to miss some classic Cap ass-kicking. I don’t always need lots of violence and bloodshed in my comics, but it does seem like it’s just been too long since I’ve seen Captain America swinging that shield in goons’ faces. And as much as I’m loving the art direction, it’s darkness needs some fun and colorful scenes as a counterpoint. At times the colors are so drab and heavy it loses detail.

Altogether it’s a great book and fits the ongoing story nicely. There is one bombshell that could wreck everything Bucky appears to be, but I’m expecting it comes down to psychopaths are liars and is probably irrelevant. There is also a good cliffhanger that really has me thinking. In the old days of comics the looming threat just wouldn’t happen, but nowadays it wouldn’t surprise me to see an American icon completely decimated.

This issue once again has a tremendous Nomad backup story. Writer Sean McKeever and artist Filipe Andrade are a great team. The first panel threw me off a little though – just how possible is it to accurately fire a handgun with broken thumbs? Nomad’s inner monologue is fantastic and provided me with this week’s favorite line: “My busted thumbs scream at me. I’d scream back that I’d be dead if not for breaking them. But I doubt they’d listen. ‘Cause, y’know, they’re thumbs.” This story also seems to be coming to a nice conclusion and I sort of hate to see it end. Nomad is quickly becoming a character I want to learn more about and maybe even read as a regular monthly.