Ian Hannin

Captain America: Civil War is in cinemas now, and everyone’s raving about its impressive set-pieces, complex themes and snappy banter. Marvel Studios and the Russo Brothers not only managed to make possibly the best Captain America film (and the best Avengers film) so far, but they told an awesome, tightly-plotted story that never felt bloated despite the number of characters demanding the spotlight. The Captain America franchise has always skewed somewhat more toward espionage thrillers than your average superhero series, similar in tone to the Jason Bourne series or the modern day James Bond films. If you loved Civil War and want to try some comics in a similar vein --- but you’ve already read Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting’s Captain America run --- we’ve compiled a list of five of the best independent comics to try next.

Valiant Comics‘ shared superhero universe is smaller and less familiar than those of its major rivals, but even a small shared universe can offer a lot to learn about. To help those readers looking to take the plunge into the Valiant Universe, we’ve assembled our own team of delinquents to break things down. Steve Morris knows Valiant inside out; J.A. Micheline is new to the universe. Micheline has the questions, and Morris has the answers. Last time, JAM was champing at the bit to talk about Harbinger, one of the flagship titles of the Valiant Universe. This time, she and Steve are back to finish out the Harbinger Wars and talk about Bloodshot, the Jason Bourne of the comics world!