Captain Carter #1 - Marvel Comics

CAPTAIN CARTER No. 1, May 2022

Starting his storyline off after this comic’s titular character has already been revived from her near-eighty year sleep in the frozen Artic Ocean, Jamie McKelvie’s chance to create his own version of the onscreen World War II hero certainly seems to try to plunge its audience straight into some action-packed shenanigans. But whilst the bemused Howling Commando’s brief disagreement with a Russian military representative who claims to have “legitimate” ownership of her certainly must have caused a smile with some of this book’s bibliophiles, the rest of the author’s narrative regrettably lacks any real action until this twenty-page periodical’s final quarter.

Instead, the “prolific comics creator” pens a fairly straightforward set-up which quite neatly establishes the “woman out of time” with both a somewhat zany sidekick, in the shape of neighbour Harley, and an invitation from the Prime Minister to work alongside the newly-formed Special Tactical Reserve for International Key Emergencies – S.T.R.I.K.E. These scenes are obviously necessary so as to provide Carter with a “footing in a modern world that’s gotten a lot more complicated”. However, they also mean that the reader must first negotiate an awful lot of somewhat sedentary, word-heavy dialogue and discussion before “the recipient of the Super Soldier Serum” finally wields her famous circular shield; “Coming for me is one thing. Hurting innocent people to get to me -- That’s quite another.”

Interestingly though, in addition to this attack upon a red London bus by Hydra, the scenario also raises a question as to whether Harry Williams can be entirely trusted as the head of the British government. McKelvie does a splendid job in making it clear the Prime Minister is not best pleased with Peggy when she spurns a photo opportunity with him so as to consider his proposal concerning S.T.R.I.K.E., and this doubt as to the politician’s moral compass grows when it becomes clear that the somewhat suspicious ambush is precisely the motivation needed for the hero to accept his offer.

Likewise, there is plenty to enjoy with Marika Cresta’s artwork, most notably the aforementioned terrorist raid, with the “rising star” making Captain Carter’s fury at the harm to innocents abundantly clear in both her facial expression and body posture. Indeed, it’s clear why during a pre-publication interview for the New York City-based publisher that Jamie stated he couldn’t wait “for people to see Marika's pages - there's so much life and energy to Peggy and the rest of the cast, and the action scenes are stunning."

Writer: Jamie McKelvie, Artist: Marika Cresta, and Color Artist: Erick Arciniega