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CAPTAIN MARVEL #27
"Time Flies Part 1: Outfoxed"
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Peter David
Pencils: Chriscross
Inks: Anibal Rodriguez
Colors: Chris Sotomayor
Letters: Richard Starkings
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Price: $2.50 US/$3.75 CAN |
Honestly, my excitement about Captain Marvel waned early on, and though I've checked out the title from time to time, I had decided that my early proclamations about it being equal to Peter David's work on the Incredible Hulk might have been wrong. However, over the
last few months, I've been really enjoying the title again, and the start of
this new arc is a great example of David and Chriscross at the top of their
form. It's a good jumping-on point for new readers, but it also has rewards for
long-timers, including hints about the long-running Marlo/Lorraine subplot and a
refreshingly happy status quo for Rick and Marlo. Plus it's got time travel,
which is as good a reason as any to revisit one of Peter David's futuristic
creations during the 1990s.
Chriscross has always impressed me, from his work on Blood Syndicate through his time on Xero, and his work on this issue
is some of the best he's done. I loved the visual redesigns for Starfox and Rick
Jones, both of which take somewhat dated visuals and turn them into fresh new
looks. And his storytelling is fantastic, particularly impressive when you look
at subtle facial expressions like Rick's very visible happiness or Marlo's
equally visible, er, "happiness" on top of the roof. There's also a great sense
of comedic timing in his work, whether it's the cosmic potty sequence, Rick's
brief encounter with Lorraine or the exchange in the car between Rick and Marlo
about their indiscretions over the past few weeks.
With Captain Marvel, Peter David has combined the very
different styles of sitcom and cosmic comic book. This issue has more than a few
examples of that, as we deal in the same issue with a super-powered attack on an
alien planet and a time vortex right alongside married couple banter and jokes
about hairstyles. There are a lot of funny moments in the dialogue and the art
this issue, but there's also a plot driving everything forward, as I wonder what
the deal is with Thanatos and what the time vortex is really meant to
accomplish.
As with most Peter David books, Captain Marvel rewards long-time readers. Small things like seeing Rick and Marlo reunited and happy are a big deal when you've been following their relationship ever since the Hulk. And the hint this
issue that maybe Marlo has more to do with Lorraine's ghostly state than we
originally believed was a nice payoff to that long-running subplot.
It's not every comic that begins on the planet Vargas in the Tau Ceti system and takes us through a toilet time vortex and into the future. In fact, most comics couldn't even pull that kind of thing off. However, in Captain Marvel, it
seems perfectly natural, and it works on the levels of humor and action, thanks
to a very talented creative team.
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