Review: The Life of Captain Marvel #1 (of 5)
Not to sound too religious, but it has been said that God loves a trier. If that is actually the case, he must absolutely adore Carol Danvers, who has had more comic book series, with her as the lead than Batman has had Robins!
The book is a not so clever nod to the infamous Death of Captain Marvel from yesteryear and then some. This is only one of the misnomers present; the book is actually the life of Carol Danvers. Marvel must have amended the title because they believe the name Captain Marvel will bring more sales than Carol Danvers, though there is no actual proof of that with all the cancelled series whose covers were adorned with that particular character name.
Captain Marvel is suffering from family related PTSD, causing her to lash out against the bad guys and whopping them within an inch of their lives. Worried about her, Tony Stark sends her on her way for some R&R. Of course, no matter how hard she tries to escape the past, she ends up trying to confront it. Hard to do when the enemy at the gate is her own deceased father. What follows is a snapshot of the aftermath of growing up, leaving town and then returning to realise that your place may no longer be there.
The book is written by Margaret Stohl, who is no stranger to Carol and her life. This isn’t the first time that Marvel have gone for writers from outside of comic books; anyone remember Chelsea Cain on Mockingbird? Stohl’s writing works well throughout the book, capturing Tony extremely well. At times, it feels that the characters in the current Marvel crop of comics are trying to replicate their own form from the movies. Stohl handles this particular quirk well embedding the frailties of Tony’s history with drinking, showing some true comic book history. Also on show are elements of Carol’s past. I have a load of the original Ms. Marvel books from the 70’s; when Chris Claremont came on board he made Carol a more rounded character creating a convincing and complex history. I am glad to see Stohl take nods from this, rather than just plot a movie-type course. The dialogue works well, given the type of environment, there are moments of angst and pathos, which surprisingly do carry some real emotion.
The art is supplied by a couple of artists; Carlos Pacheco covers the present, with Marguerite Sauvage providing the art for The Wonder Years. Starting with Pacheco, the fights scene have all the right parts, heroes, villains, punches and kicking. The flow of the action in the first couple of pages kind of works an understated way. Pacheco does some stellar work with the anger on Carol’s face, though things do tend to lose focus in some of the quieter moments. Sauvage’s work has a sense of fun that can only be seen through the eyes of a child, which makes the troubles Carol goes through even more real. Rafael Fonteriz and Marcio Menyz provide present day inks and colors respectively giving the book a polished look.
I am a long-standing Carol Danvers fan and would hope that Marvel’s fascination in making her their Wonder Woman finally hits it mark. Unfortunately, I don’t think that goal will be achieved, especially as Marvel are already setting their sights and the readers expectation low by advertising what amounts to a term limit. That said, there are two definitive outcomes that may follow this series; it could lead to an ongoing and of course if it fails, Marvel will just re-launch another Captain Marvel book. After all, they have had plenty of practice at it.
Writing – 4 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Colors – 4 Stars
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Written by; Margaret Stohl
Art by; Carlos Pacheco & Marguerite Sauvage
Inks by; Rafael Fonteriz
Colors by; Marcio Menyz
Published by; Marvel Worldwide Inc
Author Profile
- 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
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