10. Issue 111, by Jim Steranko! Captain America, Bucky, Hydra, Madame Hydra and groovy colors! This cover could not look more dated and iconic! A must for the list!
9. Issue 256, by Marie Severin! This is the first issue of Captain America that I ever owned. As a kid, it lacked the super hero adventure I was looking for, offering more of a spooky story. But this cover has always stuck with me! You never forget your first!
8. Issue 281, by Mike Zeck! This cover is rocking the old serial vibe while providing an in-your-face shot of Captain America and Bucky, in full color! And Spider Woman!
7. Issue 364, by Kieron Dwyer! I really enjoyed Kieron's big, bulky Cap and he's the guy who brought us Crossbones in the Bloodstone Hunt story! This cover's a dynamic shot of Crossbones fighting Cap, and doing it dirty!
6. Issue 322, by Paul Neary! My childhood run of Captain America started with Paul Neary. Flag Smasher was a great antagonist for our hero and his stark, black and white costume is even more eerie in this snow covered fight scene!
5. Issue 133, by Jim Steranko! This is a cover! Everything about this cover makes me want to read this issue! Bucky crying on the ground at the feet of a Captain America memorial statue, while Hydra agents move in for the kill! Even the bland colors are a contrast of the normally star-spangled color scheme of this book! This book has a story to tell!
4. Issue 445, by Ron Garney! You can't have Captain America without a big, explosive, full color cover! Mark Waid and Ron Garney had an impressive run on the book and this title really brings it home!
3. Issue 321, by Mike Zeck! This is an intense and iconic cover! Captain America uses a sub-machine gun to kill a terrorist and save hostages! Shock! Awe! Oh yeah, Cap was a soldier before he was a super hero and American icon. Still a cool story (involving Flag Smasher, again) and an incredible cover!
2. Issue 287, by Mike Zeck! Zeck's run on Cap is legendary and the Deathlock story is a big part of it. However, as popular as the cover is to issue 286, this one is so much more dynamic! The flame colored background, Cap going for the throat, Deathlock shooting back! Intense!
1. Issue 450, by Ron Garney. Variant cover, before every issue had a Variant cover! A straight up, super cool shot of the man, as only Garney can! And it's part of the Ex-Patriot story? Man without a Country? Cap on the run? Yes! I'll take this one any day!
My entry into Captain America was 50% your recommendation to read Waid and Garney's run on the book, and 50% Garney's variant cover to #450. I still absolutely love that cover, and it's place as #1 on your list is well deserved.
ReplyDeleteGreat list!
I read the few issues that were the original Scourge story but really started reading Cap because of the cover to #374 with BULLSEYE TRIUMPHANT over a fallen Cap. Streets of Poison was GOLD.
ReplyDeleteAndy, Waid and Garney did all the work, i just pushed you in their direction!
ReplyDeletePopa, they just reprinted the Scourge saga in Trade! And Streets of Poison was sweet!