Review: Captain Marvel #48

The news is out! Captain Marvel #50 will see superstar writer Kelly Thompson leave the book. There are rumours of the series coming to an end, which I could see happening if Marvel are looking to reboot the book later in the year when The Marvels movie hits. So we have three issues (including this one) of Thompson left, possibly of Carol as she is; lets sit back and enjoy them!

Binary is finally free, but in a bad way. However in order to free her “sister”, Carol had to take her place in the Broods manipulation machine. Now, Team Carol have lost their heavy hitter, are essentially carrying a person and still have a horde of Brood to deal with! At least Rogue is back, right? Does Carol have the strength to fight harder, to be stronger then her worst nightmare?

This story feels like it has meandered into the same place for the last couple of issues as Thompson looks to consolidate the Brood as a serious threat. Originally conceived by Chris Claremont, these wannabe Aliens have been a thorn in the side of the X-Men and of Carol in particular. Thompson has used this history well, moving the action from a rescue story to something that is more personal. It has taken a while to get here; this is the sixth part of what is going to end up being, at least seven if not eight parts. With so much of the story set in the Brood hive, it does feel that we have seen this all before, which is why it is important to refocus on Carol. The dialogue is terse, there is no Jess and Carol banter; this is replaced by some gorgeously touching moments between Carol and Binary.

The art is supplied once more by Sergio Dávila who must be getting bored drawing Brood by now! All joking side, by now you know what you will get from Dávila, solid pencils for the X-characters; Gambit is a little to square jawed for my tastes, Psylocke not curvy enough and Jess’s “spider pose” looks a tad awkward. Dávila save his best for the stars of the show, Carol and Binary. Carol is going through the mill giving Dávila a chance to get existential as the Brood look to reshape Carol again. Inker Sean Parsons is on hand to delineate the characters from the Brood backdrop, though the inks can appear heavy in places. This could be a necessity as the colors from Ceci De La Cruz remain dark, for the most part, to match the tone of the story and the danger the heroes find themselves in. De la Cruz does get a chance to lighten things up in one set piece and does so admirably. Vc’s Clayton Cowles leaves the X-font at home, producing excellent work conveying Carol’s pain and anguish.

Captain Marvel, with Kelly Thompson as writer is, by far, the most consistent Marvel put out. The quality of writing is excellent, with Thompson giving us a Carol that we can love, no mean feat given how the character has been used in the past. I was around when Claremont left the X-men; yes I am an Ol’ Timer. Now there is a difference between Claremont leaving X-Men after 18 years and Thompson leaving Captain Marvel after 50 issues, but the sense of loss is at least the same if not worse, given how Claremont had been a fading light, whilst Thompson is flying higher, flying faster.

That one done, only two more to go!

Writing – 5 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Colors – 5 Stars

Overall – 4.5 Stars

Written by; Kelly Thompson
Art by; Sergio Dávila
Inks by; Sean Parsons
Colors by; Ceci De La Cruz
Letters by; VC’s Clayton Cowles
Published by; Marvel Worldwide Inc.

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network