Customer Reviews

Captain Marvel: First Contact

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love the original Captain Marvel. Especially the Jim Starlin stories (available in "The Life & Death of Captain Marvel" TPB). There is a sense of the writer taking the stories a little too seriously - they are usually overwritten, overblown, pseudo-Shakespearean, outrageous and quirky... but they work! There is an overall appeal to the 1970s stories that are missing from today's comics.

Here, we have Peter David, fresh off his decade-long stint on the Hulk, attempting to write about the heir to the Captain Marvel legacy - Genis (who is again merged with Rick Jones just like his daddy was). This series is an offshoot from the excellent "Avengers Forever" maxi-series by Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco. I read that first and immediately followed that with this volume. The change in tone is striking! While Busiek tried his best to write in the "classic" Marvel style reminiscent of Steve Englehart and Jim Shooter, Peter David is more a "modern" Marvel writer (though still staying short of the self-important, no-continuity Nu-Marvel or Ultimate-Marvel these days). He throws in pop-references left and right and overwrites the humour in this book. That is the main difference between the humour in the past and the humour today. In the past, you laugh because the concepts are genuinely silly but still takes itself seriously. Today's writers (like Peter David here) points at the silliness and then proceeds to tell you that you are reading something very silly... thus killing much of the appeal of the character and stories.

However, having said all that, I did enjoy this volume quite a lot. And that probably has more to do with my love for the characters Rick Jones and Moondragon than with the quality of the writing. Drax the Destroyer, a grim fighting-machine from the 1970s Starlin stories is shown here as no more than a silly, whiny buffoon - totally out-of-character. The stories are generally light-hearted and easy-reading. I was told that there is more depth in the latter stories following this volume but I wouldn't know because I haven't read them.

The highlight of this volume, however, is the art. Chriscross is a genuinely innovative and expressive artist. And his style blends in very well with Peter David's writing. Then there is the fill-in issue drawn by Ron Lim, the legendary cosmic-artist (Silver Surfer, Infinity Gauntlet, etc.). After having him on the title, you wish he'll stay on forever.

Peter David had a tremedous run on the HULK. he has written the character longer than anyone else and has covered very important aspects of the Green Goliath's exploits. When David was sacked as writer due to creative differences between Marvel and himself, he decided to take on a differenct character from the HULK pages, Rick Jones, who apart from Robin or Bucky, is the oldest side kick in the funny books.

David's approach to Captain Marvel, the son of the original Mar-VELL, an who is now fused to Rick Jones, is still found wanting. Though the book reads like a charm, there are certain aspects of both characters that David make seem to be very silly, not what is expected to the caliber of his high days writing the HULK. David dabs more to the silliness aspect of things where Jones and the captain both act like 8 year olds sometimes. Then there's the schizophrenic aspect of the characters when they're fused. It would have been much better if both main characters do not always seem to pop in one another's life through mirror reflections. A great amount of potential would have been garnered if David kept their psyches apart. David gets the last laugh in the end by having the HULK guest star in one of the issues and portrays him as the mindless beast the editors have always wanted him to be. All in all, however, the writing is not too shabby. Peter David delivers the goods here, though he would have to up the ante if he would like to see the character persevere through the long run.

On another note, the art by Chriscross is fabulous. Very crisp and fresh. Sort of like a fusion between Terry Dodson and Pascaul Ferry. The art never fails to impress. At one time, Ron Lim takes over the helm of the art and when he does that, you just wish he would stay on this title forever.

The book doesn't dab much in the history of why these two characters are fused together. That's another story for another book, which is a downside. It's a great read and the time spent doing that is a time well spent. I know for sure, because I enjoyed how the time passed quickly while reading it on the plane.

I bought this book because I missed Peter David's writing on Hulk, which was rudely cut short by bad editorial judgement. The writing here, however, falls far short of his work on Hulk. Its entertaining, but despite the acclaim it is getting I don't feel that it is going to be a classic in retrospect a few years from now.
There are some genuinely funny moments though, but its not as hilarious as David's Hulk was. I still have hopes for the future though; one of the best thing's about David's writing is his ability to change the scenario of a title before it gets stale, so given a few more issues the title could have a completely different feel. I'll probably pick up the second collection to find out and hopefully I won't be disappointed this time.

The concept is Rick Jones and Genis, the son of the first Captain Marvel, are linked together. Similar to DC's Captain Marvel, they trade places at will. They are two different people however and can still converse with each other even when one is in control of his body. Hope that makes sense. Marlo makes an appearance in most issues, which is welcome. She is a great supporting character.

One thing I want to point out though. The characterisation of Rick Jones seems a little off. I know that Peter David wrote Rick for over ten years, but he seems to be trying too hard to give Rick a hip, slighly abnoxious attitude. This is exaserbated by Chriscross's artwork. He is a great artist and his facial expressions are excellent, but they make Rick Jones seem more like a smartass than he was in the past. I know that Rick Jones started off in the 1960s being an overconfident jerk, but his character has developed over the years. This trade seems to bring him back to square one, only with a 90s twist.

This is a surprising book! But what can you expect from a guy like Peter David! After the sucess of Avengers Forever, he brought back this character of Marvel Universe(mixed again with Rick Jones) and gave him a new status! And what about the art style of Criss Cross? Just one word: unique! This is a must have of Marvel Comics!