Review: Captain Marvel Volume 1 - Higher, Further, Faster, More

When a young alien crash lands on Earth, Captain Marvel volunteers to take her back home. She soon discovers that the girl comes from a planet whose people are dying of an unknown sickness. Never one to turn away from those in need, Captain Marvel sets about uncovering a political conspiracy that is at the root of the planet’s diseased population.

Captain Marvel Volume 1: Higher, Further, Faster, More collects issues #1-6 of Kelly Sue DeConnick’s second Captain Marvel series, with art by David Lopez.

Much like the preceding DeConnick-penned Captain Marvel series, this trade proves itself to be an enjoyable and accessible read that showcases its titular heroine as capable, funny and multidimensional. As far as Avengers go, Captain Marvel is one of the more likeable in large part due to DeConnick’s efforts here. She continues to explore Carol’s desire for independence and her need to find an identity through adventuring.

Higher, Further, Faster, More is funny. Really funny. This is perhaps the book’s greatest strength, since the storyline itself is fairly straightforward and lacks gravitas. These light-hearted moments punctuate the otherwise paint-by-numbers storyline of ‘hero helps a doomed planet,’ creating many standout scenes. A particularly zany exchange occurs when special guest star Rocket Raccoon insists on killing Captain Marvel’s cat due to mistaking it for an insidious alien species.

Besides the humour, DeConnick is able to craft relationships between her characters that help readers to invest in the narrative and ups the stakes. Her dialogue continues to impress, particularly due to her level of wit and cleverness, but also because she’s not afraid to point out the hypocrisies of her characters either.

David Lopez’s art is also to be praised. Generally speaking, I’m not the biggest fan of his work. I find his characters often all look the same and his women tend to seem very stocky. Here, however, it seems like he’s put more effort into distinguishing his characters and the colours help to add more dimension as well. Beyond that, I’m most impressed by the expressiveness of his art in this collection. The way the characters react, particularly Captain Marvel herself, has an anime-like quality that really works with the overall tone of the book.

Higher, Further, Faster, More is cute and it’s fun. It’s a breezy kind of read that showcases DeConnick’s punchy dialogue and impeccable character work, as well as Lopez’s ability to illustrate within a campier style. This collection doesn’t have the same kind of sense of importance or as high of stakes as DeConnick’s previous series, but it’s free of the baggage Captain Marvel has carried with her and serves as a prime example of just how cool and funny she is.

RATING: B+