Review: Marvel Action: Captain Marvel #4

Over the last couple of years, there have been publishing crossover featuring a range of characters such as Wonder Woman / Conan, Batman and the Turtles and Green Lantern / Star Trek.  An interesting wrinkle has presented itself  with Marvel farming out some of its top tier characters to IDW to produce an all ages range of books.  Marvel Action  is one such title, which features, on this occasion, the ever popular Captain Marvel.

This issue sees Carol conducting a driving lesson with Nadia Van Dyne, in Tony Stark’s prized possession.  There are a couple of thing to take note of; Firstly, Carol mentions not bumping the car more than once, meaning that it is bound to get a “scratch” and secondly, there is a missing batch of Pym particles too consider.  I think that armed with these two pieces of information, you can probably take an educated guess as to what happens next.

The comic is written by Sam Mags, who presents a simple world with simple plot devices.  This then gives the book its all ages approach.  The beats of the story are not the most nuanced for long-time comic readers, but for the target audience it fits fine.  Mags does well to mirror Carol’s voice.  However, when it comes to Nadia, I do think that Mags misses some key points that were explored in the fun series from Jeremy Whitly, though there are a  couple of nods to her mental health.  Maybe this topic was deemed to mature for all-ages.  The result is that Nadia comes across as just another excitable teen, which is a bit of a disservice.

The art is provided by Sweeny Boo who is a proponent of the current cartoony art style that seems to be eponymous with all ages books, whilst also adding a certain juxtaposition when used for mature stories.  Here, the art is as uncomplicated as the plot, though this is not meant in a negative way; remember the target audience.  The colors are provided by Brittany Peer who gives the book a bright feel.  Finally, designer Christa Miesner also supplies the letters, adding emphasis to make the inner monologue entertaining.

The Marvel Action series is a great way to share the experience of reading comics with younger family members, though I am a little bit of a loss as to why there is a need for these types of books; I read comics as a kid and didn’t need a “child” friendly version of my favourite heroes.  Of course, the rub could be that today’s mainstream comics are a bit more serious than the mainstream of the 70’s, which in some cases may be true and in others less so.  Still, the “read with parent” nature of this series should be applauded, even if it is not aimed at me.

Writing – 3.5 Stars

Art – 3.5 Stars

Colors – 3.5 Stars

Overall – 3.5 Stars

Written by; Sam Mags
Art by; Sweeny Boo
Colors by; Brittany Peer
Letters by; Christa Miesner
Published by; IDW Publishing