Skip to content

When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Thank you for your support.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Thanks!

Home » Marvel Guides

Ed Brubaker at Marvel Comics: A Reading Guide

Ed Brubaker Captain America Winter Soldier comic cover

One of the most celebrated writers of crime comics, best known for his creator-owned hits Criminal and Reckless, Ed Brubaker gained mainstream prominence during a legendary decade at the “Big Two.” While he left a permanent mark on DC with titles like Gotham Central and Catwoman, it was his 2004 move to Marvel that changed the industry.

Brubaker began as a cartoonist, writing and drawing the hard-to-find Pajama Chronicles and Purgatory USA, and the semi-autobiographical Lowlife. His first crime comic was for Dark Horse Comics, the Eisner Award-nominated three-part serial “An Accidental Death,” with artist Eric Shanower. Two years later, in 1995, he made his debut at DC Comics with Shanower by working on a Prez story (Vertigo). He eventually signed an exclusive deal with DC in 2000 and went on working on Batman, writing his famous run on Catwoman, some Wildstorm comics, and his influential collaboration with Greg Rucka and Michael Lark, Gotham Central. In 2004, Brubaker (with Lark) made the jump to Marvel. 

In this Ed Brubaker Marvel reading guide, we will revisit his influential eight-year run, from the resurrection of the Winter Soldier to his gritty takes on Daredevil and Iron Fist.

Ed Brubaker at Marvel Comics: A Retrospective

Looking for a specific run? Use this guide to skip ahead to his legendary stints on Captain America, Daredevil, the X-Men, and beyond.

  1. The Captain America & Winter Soldier Saga (Must-Read)
  2. Daredevil: The Man Without Fear
  3. The Immortal Iron Fist
  4. X-Men & The Cosmic Side: Deadly Genesis
  5. The Marvel Icon Comics: Criminal & Incognito

The Captain America & Winter Soldier Saga (2004-2012)

If you only read one Brubaker run at Marvel, it has to be Captain America. And if you only read one Captain America run, it has to be Ed Brubaker‘s. Taking over the title in 2004, he began with an unexpected twist by bringing back Bucky Barnes and making him the now-famous Winter Soldier.

Working with artist Steve Epting, Brubaker plunged Captain America into a Cold War noir story, making Steve Rogers go from a superhero to a soldier caught in a web of global conspiracies. (Note: Brubaker and Epting teamed up after that on the underrated Velvet at Image Comics)

We already took a detailed look at the 8-year run in our Captain America by Ed Brubaker Reading Order. In this article, you’ll find all the collections available and more information to explore the Bucky-Cap Era. In this article, however, I’m only listing the Omnibuses. 

Captain America #12 Cover - The Winter Soldier

Secret Avengers 2010 - Reading Order
At that point in the run, Steve Rogers decided to lead an Avengers Black Ops Team: Secret Avengers. Brubaker wrote the first 12 issues featuring Rogers leading a covert strike team, including Black Widow, Sharon Carter, Valkyrie, War Machine, Beast, Moon Knight, and many others.

After Brubaker finished his main run on Captain America, he wrote a 19-issue solo series Winter Soldier focused entirely on Bucky Barnes and Black Widow doing secret super-spy work.

Published around the time of Captain America Reborn, The Marvels Project is an 8-issue miniseries from Ed Brubaker with Steve Epting created for Marvel’s 70th anniversary. It explores how the very first superheroes, like the original Captain America, Namor, the Human Torch, and the Angel, emerged during the dawn of World War II. It’s independent from the Captain America run and can be read at any moment.

Daredevil Reading Order

Daredevil: The Man Without Fear (2006-2009)

For a few years, Daredevil rose to a new level of popularity thanks to Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. When they left, Matt Murdock was in jail. Ed Brubaker came on board, reuniting with his Gotham Central collaborator, artist Michael Lark, to tell one of the darkest Daredevil stories to date. He brought the Man Without Fear to his landmark 500th issue. 

Brubaker’s 40-issue run only began to be reprinted in the Modern Era Epic Collection. You can find more ways to collect it in our massive Daredevil Reading Order. The Ultimate Collection is, for now, the easiest way to read those comics. You only need to know that Civil War takes place around the “The Devil Takes A Ride” arc (issues #89-93).

The Books of Doom (2006)

Looking for a story to learn who Doctor Doom is? The Books of Doom is a retelling of Victor Von Doom’s origins by Ed Brubaker and Pablo Raimondi. From the black steppes of Eastern Europe to the college campuses of New York City and finally to the throne of Latveria, this is the life of Von Doom! This 6-issue limited series has become a Marvel classic.

X-Men Reading Order

X-Men & The Cosmic Side: Deadly Genesis (2005-2008)

Probably Ed Brubaker’s most controversial work at Marvel Comics, he started working on X-Men: Deadly Genesis with artist Trevor Hairsine, retconning the origins of the All-New, All-Different X-Men team that debuted in 1975. He changed Xavier, revealed who the third Summers Brother was, then went cosmic with a 12-part space opera adventure titled The Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar Empire when he became the regular writer of Uncanny X-Men, working with artists Billy Tan and Clayton Henry.

Brubaker took the Uncanny X-Men series past its 500th issue, ending his run with issue #503, co-written with Matt Fraction. To find out how to read those stories in the X-continuity, you’ll have to explore part 4 of our ever-growing X-Men Reading Order.

Uncanny X-Men #475 - Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire by Ed Brubaker

The Immortal Iron Fist (2006-2008)

During his time on Captain America and Daredevil, Ed Brubaker also worked alongside writer Matt Fraction and artists Travel Foreman and David Aja to revitalize Iron Fist’s mythology, introducing the concept of the “Immortal Weapons” and exploring the long legacy of those who held the mantle before Danny Rand.

Brubaker worked on 14 issues of The Immortal Iron Fist, while Fraction left the book with issue 16. You can find how those stories fit in Danny Rand’s long career in our Iron Fist Reading Order.

What If?

  • What If… Aunt May Had Died Instead of Uncle Ben? (2005) – In this somber retelling of Spider-Man’s origin (done with artist Andrea Di Vito), a burglar kills May while Ben is out of the house. Without May’s softening influence, Peter becomes a much darker, more cynical person.
  • Wha… Huh? (2005) – This was a one-shot parody of the What If? series, featuring short, comedic gag stories. Brubaker contributed two absurdist segments (3 pages in total): “What If the Fantastic Four Had Made It to the Moon?“: A goofy take on the team’s origin, and “What If the Ultimate Universe Got Ultimized?“: A meta-joke mocking the “edgy” tropes of the early 2000s Ultimate Marvel line.

The Marvel Icon Comics (2005-2011)

For a time, Marvel had the Icon imprint for creator-owned titles. The goal was to offer big names the possibility of publishing independent work (and owning it) without having to work with another publisher. That’s where Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips started working on Criminal. They produced the first six volumes of the series there before moving the series to Image Comics in the early 2010s. Icon was closed in 2017.

That was just the beginning for Criminal, as the series is still ongoing and more successful than ever. You can visit our Criminal Reading Order for a complete exploration of the series.

Icognito Comics by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips

Following the success of Criminal, Brubaker and Phillips launch another Icon title, Incognito. The story follows Zack Overkill, a former “science villain” who enters the federal witness protection program after testifying against his employer, the super-villain known as Black Death. As part of the arrangement, Zack must take a suppressant that neutralizes his superhuman abilities. Bored with his new life, Zack begins using illicit drugs that counteract the power-dampening serum. Regaining his abilities, he adopts a masked identity and operates as a vigilante. His activities do not go unnoticed, though, and Black Death sends enforcers to eliminate him.

Where is Ed Brubaker Now?

In 2012, Brubaker stepped away from Marvel Comics to focus almost exclusively on creator-owned projects at Image Comics alongside his longtime artistic collaborator, Sean Phillips. If you enjoyed the gritty, noir atmosphere of his Daredevil or Captain America runs, your next stop should be:

  • Criminal: The gold standard of modern crime comics.
  • Velvet: A pulp spy thriller done with artist Steve Epting.
  • Reckless: A series of graphic novels about a “troubleshooter” in 1980s Los Angeles.

Pin
Tags:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *