Captain America set to return in January!

Steve Rogers, the Sentinel of Liberty, was cut down in a hail of gunfire in March's CAPTAIN AMERICA #25. And whether or not you agree with the decision, he's still dead. But a character as iconic and important as Cap can never truly die. Who better to reimagine Cap for a new age, a new character, a new costume, than Alex Ross? Working closely with Ed Brubaker, Steve Epting and Tom Brevoort, Captain America makes his return—or debut, if you prefer—in January's CAPTAIN AMERICA #34.

So why did it take nine months to reinstate Captain America? Rest assured, it was all in the cards. "This was always the plan, to have—with issue #34, halfway through the whole big, 'Death of Captain America' epic story—[a new Cap]," explains Brubaker. "So, you know, it's all very, very planned out, believe it or not. [Laughs] I have an extensive notebook that I sometimes lose. [Laughs] Which is kind of traumatic."

Luckily, Brubaker never lost sight of working with Ross, an idea that'd been percolating for a while. "Well it was my suggestion to Tom [Brevoort], like months and months ago, knowing that we were going to have a new Cap starting in January," admits Brubaker. "You know, just an off-handed suggestion, let's see if we can get Alex Ross to help design the costume, thinking there was no possible way. I think this is when I found out that they were doing [AVENGERS/INVADERS]. Tom was like, 'You know that's not exactly outside the realm of possibility,' and I was like, 'What?!' [Laughs] So as it got closer to needing something, Tom actually broached the subject and asked Alex about it. I didn't know him at all, but yeah, it was great."

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Epting lays it down very simply: "After 30-plus issues, I don't think anyone should doubt that Ed can make this story great."

Who's in the new Cap outfit? How'd they get to that point? What's different? What stays the same? Read CAPTAIN AMERICA #34, on sale in January.