Written by: Margaret Stohl
Art by: Ramon Rosanas & Michael Garland
Publisher: Marvel
There are some super interesting ideas in The Mighty Captain Marvel #1. The opening four pages? I was super into those. Even afterwards, there were parts that I liked. Unfortunately, writer Margaret Stohl fails to maintain the positive momentum established in the early pages.
The focus of this issue is actually pretty confusing to me. Stohl spends a fraction of the issue with this TV show that Carol is working on–a concept that I would personally love to spend more time with. Her overseeing a TV show about her life not only sounds like a ton of fun, but the perfect breeding ground for some awesome commentary. I’m sure we’ll see more of it, and there’s still room for that to come in the future, but based on this issue, it doesn’t seem promising.
Where the issue falters is when it transitions to more traditional superhero fare. I get that that’s what Carol wants to be doing, but it takes up the bulk of the issue. And, quite frankly, I checked out. Stohl handles it all competently enough, but it felt familiar and disinteresting.
That being said, the intergalactic refugee crisis story has promise. They touch on it briefly towards the end, and I hope that Stohl and, perhaps more importantly, Marvel editorial are willing to actually go deep here. It’s too early to pass judgment, but if handled well, it could make for a super engaging story.
As long as, y’know, it doesn’t get bogged down in prototypical superhero BS.
Visually, the book is a little hit or miss. Ramon Rosanas mostly does a solid job. It looks a lot like a conventional superhero book does, so I wasn’t sitting around going “wow, this is amazing!” But it does the job, and he is able to convey bits of character and world building through the art.
That being said, there are a few panels where facial expressions feel off. This is mostly a small complaint, but as someone who pays a lot of attention to the art, they felt a bit jarring. It really has to do with Rosanas capturing characters in awkward moments, like a character having their mouth open, rather than closed.
The only other critique of the art is that it feels almost too clean. There are panels where this makes sense stylistically, but the style feels out of place elsewhere. Neither the line work nor Michael Garland’s coloring really adapt, and it’s kind of a shame.
It’s rare that I bring up lettering in a review, and it’s never a good sign. After all, the job of a letterer (Joe Caramagna, in this case) is to make sure the reader doesn’t notice the lettering. It does mean they often don’t get enough credit, so maybe I should make more of an effort to praise them when it’s deserved. But there are some panels here that are hard to follow. If it’s not obvious the order in which bits of text should be read, that’s a failing.
It only happens twice, and that does speak to Stohl’s ability to keep most of the dialogue/monologue short and to the point. The Mighty Captain Marvel #1 only feels bogged down by unnecessary words at a few points, so hey, there’s that!
At the end of the day, I plan on giving the book another shot. Probably two more shots, even. Stohl clearly has some incredible storytelling chops–they just aren’t on display for the entirety of this issue. Get away from the boring, conventional superheroics, and the creative team potentially has an all-timer on their hands.
