Captain America to live again in comics

NEW YORK - In comics, death isn't always the end, especially for popular characters. That's good news for fans of Marvel Comics' Captain America, because the NY Daily News reports that Steve Rogers, the original Captain, is returning after writers killed him off two years ago.

Rogers will return to comics in a five-part miniseries titled "Captain America Reborn," debuting July 1.

Steve Rogers was assassinated on the order of Cap's arch-enemy, the Red Skull, in "Captain America #25" in 2007. His sidekick, James "Bucky" Barnes took on the mantle of Captain America after the assassination and has acted as the Captain in comics since.

Writer Ed Brubaker has not revealed how he intends to bring Rogers back to life, but the Los Angeles Times published a preview of the first five pages of "Captain America Reborn." The story begins with the original Captain America participating in the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II before cutting to Barnes as the new Captain America in the present day.

Captain America is set to appear in a big-budget film titled "Captain America: The First Avenger" in 2011. While it may seem like shrewd marketing to bring the original character back to life in advance of the movie, fans aren't complaining. "Consumers are responding to it like crazy. They don't feel like it's a stunt," Gerry Gladston, co-owner of Midtown Comics in New York, told the Daily News.

"Fans always like their favorites to come back," said Eric Neal, owner of Second Chance Books and Comics in Oklahoma. "But they want it done in a way that’s interesting and believable."