Captain America Epic Collection: American Nightmare

A new era begins for Captain America, helmed by beloved comic legend Mark Waid!

The world is happy to have Captain America back — but as his popularity rises and a wave of “Capmania” reaches a dangerous fever pitch, is something sinister going on behind the scenes? Meanwhile, when Cap’s shield is lost at the bottom of the ocean, he must adjust to life without his signature weapon. And he’d better do it fast, because Hydra is rising — with a bizarre new leader. And the lord of the Dream Dimension is plotting to turn Cap’s life into an American nightmare! Plus: Cap teams up with Iron Man to take on M.O.D.O.K. and crosses paths with the new Citizen V!

COLLECTING: Captain America (1998) 1-14, Iron Man & Captain America Annual 1998, Captain America & Citizen V Annual 1998

New York Times best-selling author Mark Waid has worked for every major company in the comics industry in a nearly three-decade-long career, writing thousands of issues, including runs of Amazing Spider-Man, X-Men, Ka-Zar and Fantastic Four. His other works of note include his collaboration with painter Alex Ross on Kingdom Come, which earned an Eisner Award for Best Limited Series. Waid enjoyed his greatest outpouring of critical acclaim with the Eisner Award-winning Daredevil — which included a revered collaboration with frequent artistic partner Chris Samnee. He later took on such diverse pop-cultural icons as Princess Leia and Archie, and ushered in a new era of greatness for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in All-New, All-Different Avengers. His Marvel work continued with Avengers, Black Widow, Captain America, Champions and Doctor Strange.

Having begun his career on G.I. Joe, Eisner Award-nominated artist Ron Garney is known for well-received runs on Captain America and Amazing Spider-Man. He has teamed with writer Jason Aaron on Wolverine, Wolverine Weapon X and Ultimate Captain America. Garney has also contributed design work to such films as Will Smith’s I Am Legend and Nicolas Cage’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. His later Marvel work includes Uncanny X-Force and a collaboration with Charles Soule on Daredevil. Garney reunited with Aaron on Thor: God of Thunder and then the creator-owned Men of Wrath for Marvel’s Icon imprint.

After an artistic apprenticeship under famed father Joe Kubert, Andy Kubert got his start on DC’s space-opera variations Adam Strange and Warlord, as well as the best-selling crossover Batman vs. Predator in collaboration with brother Adam. Kubert’s Marvel career began with a six-year stint on X-Men — continuing into Thor, Ka-Zar, Ghost Rider and others. He collaborated with Orson Scott Card on Ultimate Iron Man, Neil Gaiman on Marvel 1602 and Paul Jenkins on Wolverine: Origin.

Hired on the strength of his Official Marvel Tryout penciling submission, Mark Bagley rose to prominence as the artist of 1990s sleeper hit New Warriors. Following an acclaimed run on Amazing Spider-Man, he worked with writer Kurt Busiek on Thunderbolts. When Marvel launched its Ultimate line, Bagley and Brian Michael Bendis led the way with Ultimate Spider-Man, whose years of success made the pair the longest-running creative team in Marvel history. Bendis and Bagley have also collaborated on Avengers Assemble and the creator-owned Brilliant. His subsequent credits include Fantastic Four, Cataclysm: The Ultimates’ Last Stand, Hulk, All-New X-Men and Venom.