- Writer: Sam Maggs
- Artist Layout: Mario Del Pennino
- Inks: Isabel Escalante
- Colorist: Heather Breckel
- Editor: Megan Brown
- Design and Production: Valeria Lopez
- Main Cover Art: Sweeney Boo
- Variant Cover Art: Gretel Lusky
Thanks to IDW Publishing for the review copy!
Captain Marvel is one of the Marvel characters who has become immensely popular thanks to the movies. And she certainly deserves the popularity. She’s got high level super powers. She has a cat named Chewie (not Goose) who is really a member of an alien species called Flerken. She deals with everyday problems along with being a superhero. While Captain Marvel is great, what got me excited about this book was its inclusion of a character who hasn’t hit it big time, insofar as hitting the big time means being included in the live action Marvel Cinematic Universe.
As the truth in advertising cover reveals, this issue features a team up with the Ghost Spider, aka Spider-Gwen (In the interest of full disclosure, my wife and I think Spider-Gwen is so cool we dressed up our baby as her for Halloween). If you’ve seen SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE or read her comic, you know that Spider-Gwen is from a dimension where Gwen Stacey got bitten by the radioactive spider instead of Peter Parker. If you haven’t seen INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE or read her comic series, now you know too!
Like a previous arc where Captain Marvel teamed up with the Unstoppable Wasp, Carol Danvers is cast in the ‘older character mentoring a teen superhero’ role. It’s an interesting way to position her in a book that’s geared towards younger audiences. It almost feels like the writers are using Captain Marvel as the draw to introduce readers to new characters.
This book is age appropriate for younger readers, making it an ideal entry point into comics for kids who may know about Captain Marvel due to her role in the movies. The first few pages introduce Carol Danvers, Chewie, and Ghost-Spider so prior knowledge is not needed. The art is brightly colored and easy to understand. The characters, including the bad guys, are pretty accessible, with big expressive eyes. There is some violence, but it is fairly benign.
While this book is geared towards younger audiences, there’s definitely enough going on to let you enjoy it with your children. The plot twist will likely be seen a mile away by adults, but it will be fun for your kids. Also, there are some great surprise guest appearances from some fan favorite characters. Based on the cliffhanger ending, this issue could serve as an introduction to an even more interesting story.
MARVEL ACTION: CAPTAIN MARVEL #1 is now available.
Check back in a few weeks for my thoughts on the second issue of the series.
Are you going to pick up the issue? Let me know on Twitter or leave a comment below!
