5. Bucky Barnes: The Winter Soldier #1 By Marcos Rudy
Fresh off of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and spinning out of the events of Original Sin, Bucky Barnes finally has a new place in the Marvel Universe. Having returned to the screen with that robot arm and sad eyes in the films, it was a no-brainer that Bucky should get his own book for all the movie fans who want more from the tragic former sidekick. What's surprising is that they went in a totally insane direction that involved The Winter Soldier becoming the "man on the wall" who eliminates cosmic threats before they can get to Earth, with gonzo writing by Ales Kot and impressionistic, painterly artwork by Marcos Rudy. Having previously worked on a Spider-Man book last year Martin has ended up being particularly adept at giving new life to old characters. He also totally got the pulpy sci-fi style Kot has in his plotting for the Bucky Barnes title, which frequently riffs on a melting pot of seventies geek paraphernalia from Heavy Metal to 2000 AD to Phillip K Dick. In fact the first issue bore the title of The Transmigration of Bucky Barnes, with the cover art matching the Dick influence with a smirking Bucky breaking out of a series of masks like that one disguise Arnie wore in the movie adaptation of the author's Total Recall. A startling, unique image.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
