Fri Dec 2, 2016
Hey, a Mark Gruenwald issue of Captain America! And part of “The Bloodstone Saga,” to boot! But how well does it stack up to my memory?
My youngest brother, Patrick, is far more of a Captain America fan than I am. I think it’s fair to say that he, like me, really digs the Brubaker era most of all (which brought us the Winter Soldier and the assassination of Steve Rogers).
The mid-late 300s to 400s (issue-wise) of the original Captain America run were not always great. “The Bloodstone Saga” stands out, though–it involved the magical gem of Ulysses Bloodstone (nigh-invulnerable/immortal monster hunter) and introduced Red Skull crony Crossbones to the world.
The cover to issue 358 shows Captain America crouching in tight quarters, in pit trap with a spiked floor. Cap’s shielding himself (literally) from a spiked ceiling trying to crush or impale him. In a text box in the bottom right corner, there’s text reading, “To rescue Diamondback, Cap enters the Caverns of Death!”

Captain America issue 358
The issue ends up not really doing a whole lot well, pacing-wise. The first third of the comic is Cap’s navigation of a dungeon (the aforementioned “caverns of death”), but all related narration comes from thought bubbles as he recaps the relevant plot.
Eventually, Cap meets up with Diamondback (a character who’s always annoyed me, as she seems incompetent in the worst ways). Together, they manage to track down a fragment of the bloodstone–but it’s in the headdress for a racially insensitive portrayal of an indigenous South American chieftain, who’s captured Batroc the Leaper, Baron Zemo, and others on what appears to be a giant roulette wheel.
Why did I buy this comic? (Actually, I know why. I wanted the complete “Bloodstone Saga” story to offer context for the early appearances of Crossbones. At the moment, I regret this decision.)