Captain Marvel Annual #1: Once More Into the Breach…

Captain Marvel and the mystery of where the hell did she go after the end of issue 37 from her current series, and the answer is space. It’s always space, but with no current Marvel title exploring the Marvel celestial firmament being published, this one will have to do. Besides, I love Marvel’s Cosmic side. Its potential is still untapped, with an infinite amount of stories just waiting to be told. Writer Torun Gronbekk’s using some golden oldies with the supporting cast for the annual, where we’re treated to a sci-fi pirate story with the Starjammers, and Bean, a kree girl who was experimented on by a group called the Kree Four (think the Kree version of the Enclave) in order to jump start the Kree’s genetic potential. 

Gronbekk’s leading this fun little space ditty with rising star artist, Carlos Gomez, and it’s just what the doctor ordered after Carol’s recent challenge going up against Vox Supreme, and his army of goo-filled doppelgängers. Gronbekk’s staccato style of character work is perfect here. The voice she has for the Starjammers, keeping it light and comedic, while the situation going on with Bean still keeps the proper atmosphere as well. It’s a nice little end to a story from Carol’s Alpha Flight days, as well as setting up material to be mined further down the road. It’s also a nice little setup before we jump into the next big arc that focuses on the new Binary, and what effect this will have on Carol and her abilities. Also, with giving birth to a sentient Binary, how will this affect Carol’s mental state? Will she be a tabula rasa? Or will she have some of Carol’s memories and emotions? Could this be like the Rogue situation, or something completely different. I can’t wait to see where Kelly & co. takes us from here. 

Carlos Gomez is on art duties here, and puts in some quality work here. Gomez has been Marvel’s go to guy when a book needed an artist to give the series regular art teams a break, he’d jump in and provide some quality work. His wealth of work has spread from the Fantastic Four, to X-Factor, to helping the art team finish Nick Spencer’s run on Amazing Spider-Man, all the while honing and developing his style with each new assignment. His style is fun and conveys motion, while the characters look like they’re having a great time on this little adventure. Seeing him here brings hope to see him on something bigger, or even get a series all his own in the near future (no spoilers to those who follow his social media accounts).