Winter Soldier: Winter Kills

Marvel Comics
Winter Soldier: Winter Kills
By Geoff Hoppe
January 8, 2007 - 21:21

Marvel Comics
Writer(s): Ed Brubaker
Penciller(s): Lee Weeks and Stefano Gaudiano
Inker(s): Rick Hoberg

HAHAHA!!! You probably thought I really WAS illustrating a comic about Saget and Coleman! Not on your life! It was merely a clever ploy to entice you into this review of Winter Soldier: Winter Kills.

Bucky Barnes, Captain America’s ex-sidekick and titular “Winter Soldier,” is still working as Nick Fury’s eyes and hands in the Civil War. In this one-shot, Fury orders Bucky to stop several of the Young Avengers from raiding a Hydra installation. Bucky teaches the kids a thing or two, but not before they realize who he is.

Brubaker's back in his element, working with a character he resuscitated in a heavy action, heavy flashback story. If you liked the “Winter Soldier” arc during Brubaker’s excellent run on Captain America, you’ll enjoy this story that fleshes out Bucky Barnes. If you buy this issue, you’ll be buying it for character development: nothing of consequence happens to affect the Civil War storyline as a whole.

Lee Weeks is one of my favorite lesser-known pencilers. Especially in his early days, he did great layout work and drew excellent fight scenes. He understands kinetic energy like Mother Teresa understood charity work. Unfortunately, the boys at Marvel decided to pair Weeks with Stefan “scratches on paper” Gaudiano. The result looks like a watered-down version of Lee Weeks, rather than the synthesis the Marvel editors must have wanted. Weeks’ talent is present, however, in the fight scenes, and he knows how to make a drawing look like a photograph of someone captured in-motion (it’s harder than it looks—bad pencilers make right hooks look like still lifes).

Worth the money? Given that it’s 4 bucks instead of 3 (don’t know why), I’d recommend it primarily to fans of Bucky and Brubaker.