Review: Captain Marvel #1 (2012)

Captain Marvel has arrived.

I'll dispense with the plot description, and simply say that I found this book to be brilliant. I must not be alone, since it has sold out along with Avenging Spider-Man #9, and gone back for a second printing. Kelly Sue DeConnick has written a labor of love, and given her own experiences growing up an Air Force brat, I can't imagine anyone else better to develop Carol Danvers. 'Watching' the opening fight between Carol and Creel was not only fun, but also inspiring. When you encounter the type of rare, empowered characterization like this (or her depiction in Avenging Spider-Man #9) it's like a breath of fresh air. It makes you suddenly, keenly aware how dull your emotional senses have become by being bombarded with the typical tropes on parade, week after week on your LCS rack. Carol Danvers is being portrayed as a warrior and believable, relatable women first and foremost, with fully-realized agency. 'Sex symbol' a subjective, distant third, fourth, or fifth on the list, if at all. Fantastic!


Changes made were welcome, from the name to the costume. 'Ms. Danvers' works. 'Captain Marvel' works. 'Ms. Marvel' always felt like an awkward deference to me, which has thankfully been passed to history. Also gone (but auctioned off for a good cause) is the wedgie-rific leotard costume, which I always found eye-rolling rather than 'iconic', at least given the character it was attached to. DeConnick herself recently pointed out that the costume may be considered striking, but simply did not feel right and make sense within the context of a military women like Danvers, and I agree. There's a serious difference between skin-tight and skin-baring, and I'm going to guess that any fan-boy who doesn't grasp that difference (from the psychology of the character's point of view) has never walked around in a bikini vs a wetsuit. Character psychology reflected in the attire matters. Just ask Spider-Woman or She-Hulk!

I liked the original cover image well enough, but felt that altering her hair after the fact (simply to emphasize that it wasn't short) to placate angry uproar over the 'military cut' look was absurd. One could probably write a paper on the fascinating dynamic behind military hairstyles, hair length in relation to presumed sexuality, and fear of anything even suspected of violating the norm.

It all resulted in an image that felt so distractingly-altered to me that I opted for the beautifully-done Adi Granov variant, whose work I adore. Susan Harlow, Conley Smith, Hanie Mohd and Caitlin Hare created wonderful fan work as well, which was thoughtfully included at the end of the issue.

Dexter Soy's interior work was a shock, and gave me pause. I simply have never seen his work before that I can recall, nor have I seen work that resembles it in any way. My first impression was that it felt overly dark and muddy, with washed-out colors and an exceptionally-heavy, almost dominant use of blacks. It gave the book an overall somber tone, despite the humor, and seemed off-putting at first. But I quickly grew accustomed to it, and found it working well with the story by the end of the book. If I were prompted to pick at it endlessly until I found a nit, it would be the full page image where Carol declares her intention of 'taking the damn name'. I'm not exactly sure where she's at in space. She has two planetary bodies behind her, and neither one of them resemble the Earth or the Moon. Not only that, just seconds before, she is clearly seen plummeting into orbit (in flames, no less). More continuity would have been good here. Also, Soy seems a little overly-fond of butt cleavage. Beyond that, it all works very well.

With regard to her helmet, I’m not sure if my opinion is due to personal taste, or the emotional tone set when she decides to take the Captain Marvel name, but I feel like the helmet will work best if used sparingly, as a sort of infrequent device used to convey a serious, ‘taking the gloves off’ action. If she were only to use it during moments where she is pushed to the point of hard violence, activating it would become a dramatic act within itself. As a side note, Jennifer Hale voiced Carol Danvers in Avengers: EMH, as well as the female version of Shepard in Mass Effect. I will now forever have her voice in my head as I read the dialogue in this and all future issues.

If you ever find yourself curious about the 35 years of history behind Carol Danvers, there are one or two videos that can bring you up to speed, as well as one for the original Captain Marvels themselves. So to speak. In an interview conducted by Comics Alliance, Kelly Sue stated that "There will be robots! And astronauts! And dogfights! (Not the kind with actual dogs.) Dudes will get kicked. Stuff will, in fact, 'splode."
 

Sign me up. I can't wait!