Fighting Chance (Captain America Epic Collection, Volume 20)

Captain America fights for his life! Cap is on the hunt for the Skull - the Blazing Skull, that is! Then, Doctor Faustus' mental machinations pit Steve Rogers against his old pal Nomad! But when the Sentinel of Liberty learns that his enhanced physique is shutting down on him, his choice is simple: retire from being a hero…or die in action! But with evil masterminds plotting and dead villains rising, that's no choice at all for Captain America! Can Cap's friends dissuade him from setting the world's safety above his own? Plus: Wartime adventures with the Invaders, Bucky and the Howling Commandos! And Cap unites with Nick Fury to expose a rogue faction of S.H.I.E.L.D.! Collecting CAPTAIN AMERICA (1968) #420-430 and ANNUAL #13, NOMAD (1992) #18-19, CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE MEDUSA EFFECT, and CAPTAIN AMERICA/NICK FURY: BLOOD TRUCE.

Few writers/editors influenced Marvel more than Mark Gruenwald (1953-1996). Famed for pioneering work on Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe and his magnum opus Squadron Supreme, he also wrote a 100-plus-issue run of Captain America; multiple Marvel Two-in-One sagas; and several miniseries, including Contest of Champions, the first of Marvel’s multi-hero sagas. He explored the Marvel Universe’s ancient history in a series of What If? backup stories he also penciled.

Roy Thomas joined the Marvel Bullpen as a writer and editor under Stan Lee, scripting key runs of nearly every title of the time: Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, Sub-Mariner, Thor, X-Men and more. He wrote the first 10 years of Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian and Savage Sword of Conan; and launched such series as Defenders, Iron Fist, Invaders and Warlock. At DC, he developed All-Star Squadron, Infinity Inc. and related titles, proving instrumental in reviving the Golden Age Justice Society of America. Thomas later became editor of Alter Ego, a magazine devoted to comic-book history, and co-scripted the sword-and-sorcery films Fire and Ice and Conan the Destroyer.