With all the Civil War hullabaloo going on in the Marvel Universe, none of the heroes seem to be thinking too much about what the old rogues gallery might be up to. Seriously, if the Avengers and the Fantastic Four are all busy beating the stuffing out of each other, who's keeping an eye on the bad guys? OK, Steve (Captain America) Rogers has been trying, but in Captain America #22, it's clear that he has way too much on his to-do list to stay on top of everything.

Even if you haven't been keeping tabs on all the Civil War madness (which you really should be, cause it's an awesome story), you can easily jump in with this first part of the "Drums of War" storyline. Sharon Carter, AKA Agent 13, AKA Cap's main squeeze, tries to warn her S.H.I.E.L.D. bosses that Cap is not going to take kindly to their attempts to take away the freedoms of heroic folks who've risked their lives to protect others. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s current leader, Maria Hill, still acts all surprised when Cap refuses to play ball and kicks S.H.I.E.L.D. agent butt all over the map.

Agent 13 suddenly finds herself with some tough choices to make between her personal feelings and her duty. Should she help her boss (who, for the record, is a big jerk) capture Captain America, the leader of the anti-registration resistance? Or should she help Steve stay one step ahead of his fascist former friends at S.H.I.E.L.D.? Of course, it might be easier for Sharon to make these choices if her psychologist didn't seem to have a rather fishy agenda of his own. Remember those unsupervised villains I mentioned earlier...?

Captain America #22 is written by Ed Brubaker, with art from Mike Perkins and Frank D'Armata. Brubaker has already proven himself as a great writer AND someone who really gets what Captain America is all about. Afterall, he found a cool way to bring back Bucky, which no one else ever thought possible. This issue does an amazing job of tying into the events of Civil War, while not being dependent on them. Despite all the big events, this is a very character-driven story. The art from Perkins and D'Armata is also excellent. It has loads of detail, dynamic action, and a dark, painted look that really adds gravity to these events.

If you are reading Civil War, you definitely can't miss Captain America #22. If you aren't reading Civil War, you should still support America's Super-Soldier and read Captain America #22. If you don't support Cap, Tony "Iron Man" Stark wins, and Tony is a bigger jerk than Maria Hill. Stupid Iron Jerk.