Winter Soldier: The Bitter March TBP
Rick Remender (w), Roland Boschi (a)
Marvel Comics

Liz says: Considering how dense the Marvel mythology has become over seventy-odd years, it’s amazing how much rich terrain there is yet to be explored, as Rick Remender proves in this stellar miniseries. Bitter March provides a valuable backstory for not one but two characters: Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, as well as the villainous Iron Nail. In 1966, when Bitter March is set, the Iron Nail was known as Special Agent Ran Shen, an operative of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Nick Fury’s right-hand man. Agents Shen and Fury are tasked to collect a pair of Nazi scientist’s keys to winning the Cold War. But the Soviets have their own plans for the scientists and have unleashed their secret weapon: the deadly Winter Soldier. The story is a pastiche of great sixties spy thrillers that channels Ed Brubaker’s famous run on Captain America that spawned the Winter Soldier, with beautiful and distinctive art by Boschi. A revealing look into the past of two characters, and a turn of events that cement both of their futures to devastating effect.