Broken Frontier

Ed Brubaker, acclaimed writer of the current volume of Captain America and pulp/noir adventures like Incognito, Criminal, and Sleeper, takes his style and sensibilities and applies them to a team book. Here, recently returned and newly promoted Commander Steve Rogers (formerly Captain America) leads a stealth team of superheroes on more espionage infused surgical strikes.

Gone are the thunderous cries of "Avengers Assemble," replaced with clandestine missions and predetermined rendezvous.  It’s a wonderful change of pace that capitalizes on rarely seen attributes of Rogers’ and a setting that’s in Brubaker’s comfort zone. This is a revitalized writer, which is a passion that seems to have been waning on the Captain America monthly. Here, Brubaker fleshes out his team and their dynamic succinctly, organically, and wonderfully without the typical pomp and circumstance of a first issue.

Skipped is the gathering of the team or picking the roster subplot. This is a Steve Rogers who knows what he needs, and tells his team what they need to know, when they need to know it. This is a man cashing in on the trust he’s earned over the last four decades. His authority is sound and respected. It’s very comforting to see him in such a position of authority. Sure, he’s always been the center and moral compass of the team, but here, he is the undisputed and coordinating leader. It’s a smooth and sensible transition that is handled beautifully.

Speaking the word beautiful brings us to Mike Deodato’s extraordinary pencils. Sure, some of his facial expressions are a little off. At times, some of Rogers’ smiles are almost sneer-ish. Having just come off a year plus working with Norman Osborn, perhaps it’s still in Deodato’s system. Regardless of certain facial tics, you cannot deny his detailed and iconic forms. Seeing him tackle a character like Nova is a treasure that almost makes you wish he would take on more cosmic material. His inks, which I’ve thought to be a little muddy in the past, are well done and add a depth and darkness to the typically shiny visage of the Avengers. A skill like that complements the tone of this book ten-fold. He perfectly captures the superhero spy motif which Brubaker is relishing.

The team Rogers has assembled has a few Avenger veterans, but is mainly fresh faces, all chosen for a certain skill set and psychological aptitude. The Steve Rogers who believes that there’s good and a purpose in every hero isn’t gone and we get to see his offers for membership inspire some unlikely allies.

The glimmers of excitement that Brubaker was able to capture in the last act of Captain America: Reborn, where it became a team book with the various Avengers coming together, is sustained here. He’s even able to elicit that feeling you’d get when reading classic adventures of Nick Fury as a superspy.

Even though this book is dark and operates under the universe’s radar, there’s a long forgotten feeling of adventure and action within these pages. It’s a feeling that can be found in all timeless storytelling. That’s not saying that this is the best thing since sliced bread, merely that it’s beaming with potential. It feels like a classic story. These characters can be swashbucklers with swords or soldiers with muskets. It doesn’t matter because Brubaker infuses them with truth and purpose.

This may be the shady side of the Heroic Age, but it stirs a similar emotion to something unforgettable and unwavering. To be an Avenger you have to be the best of the best and never stop fighting for what’s right. Secret Avengers offers this creed with a pulpy spy twist while maintaining its accessibility to the superhero genre.

I’ve defended the beginning of Brubaker’s run on Uncanny X-Men, The Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar Empire (which I challenge any naysayers to go back and pick up). With that said, this book is a different animal. This is the Ed Brubaker that had the audacity to resurrect Bucky and make it work. This first issue carries the hallmarks of the writer who transformed Captain America for our time and arguably into new heights.

As he and Deodato take Rogers into the next phase of his career, we as readers would be remiss to disregard it or look away.