STORY: 'Captain America' Teaser Reveals Latest Enemy: Poor Shield Upkeep

Brubaker and Epting's revival of Captain America's long-dead wartime partner was controversial at first to long-term fans when it happened in 2005, but before too long, they had been won over by the updating of the character from teenage sidekick to troubled former assassin turned super soldier -- so much so that, when he took over as the new Captain America during Steve Rogers' short-lived demise, he proved almost as popular as the original.

Noting that Marvel was planning to release a hardcover collection of Brubaker's "Winter Soldier" storyline to tie-in with the movie, Brubaker said such a release was "first time Marvel has one specific book to point people to, as opposed to when X-Men: First Class came out and there's 15 trade paperbacks and people who see the movie don't know which one to pick up. So it's exciting, as the guy who gets royalties for that book."

The Captain America: Winter Soldier collection will be released February 2014, two months ahead of the Captain America: The Winter Soldier movie. Brubaker and Epting's Velvet will be available in comic stores and online next month.