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Captain Marvel (2016) (Collected editions)
Captain Marvel, Vol. 1: Rise of Alpha Flight
Face front, true believers! The Captain has made her return and oh, how mighty it is. It's a bold new frontier for Carol Danvers as she soars to new heights in her greatest mission yet-leader of the all-new Alpha Flight space program. Yup, Alpha Flight. As earth's first line of defense, Carol and her team aim to protect the planet from extraterrestrial threats. But can Carol be a soldier and a diplomat? Especially when an unknown enemy emerges that Carol can't quite punch. The superstar team behind Marvel's Agent Carter television series, Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas, make their comics debut alongside the awesomely-talented Kris Anka. COLLECTING: CAPTAIN MARVEL 1-5
112 pages, Paperback
First published August 2, 2016
57 people are currently reading
870 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 197 reviews
August 2, 2017
The made-up myth about space stations in comic books identified and then explained: Ostensibly a deep space station is designed as a first line of defense against interstellar threats and that’s partially true; however, the reasoning behind putting superheroes way out there can be summed up like this:
“Give me your tired umpteenth speedster, your marginally interesting Lantern, another wretched guy with arrows, your one-too-many pervy elasti-dude, a Robin, any hero with Aqua- in his name: we’ll keep the light on for ya.”
Yes, they’re essentially dumping grounds for “extra” heroes, so pass me a Molson with a shot of maple syrup, grab a beaver pelt (cuz it’s cold in outer space), and say hello to our Canadian friends in Alpha Flight.
Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel is given a “promotion” and transferred to a space station because her new haircut is too horrible to look at.
What she finds is a trio of Alpha Flight members (Puck, Sasquatch and Aurora)…
…and that green-haired (and green-eyed) meanie, Abigail Brand.
Meeeooowwwwww! Hisssssssss!
Alpha Flight =
Sasquatch – big-foot-ish, hairy, strong and smart. Really, really smart.
Aurora – something, something light powers, I think. (She used them once, she was typically sullen and science-y)
Puck – short, smart, funny and degenerate.
Note to self: look up “viscous” with Google. Filter: off
Plot summary: If you’ve seen a couple of episodes of Star Trek:
Re-work the plot points,
Add babe superheroine,
Add a couple of “B” super heroes,
Subtract gravity
Add catty, disgruntled rival,
Meeeooowwwwww! Hisssssssss!
Divide by spy sub-plot,
Add Marvel-based mysterious interstellar threat somehow connected to babe superheroine,
Add explosions and punching to the tenth power
Multiply times the GNP of Andorra and…
Set microwave on low, cook for approximately 45 seconds. Let sit for ten minutes to cool and congeal.
Enjoy.
Bottom line:
Aside from Puck, who’s a hoot, using Alpha Flight seems a rather pointless exercise in mining Marvel’s rich catalogue of heroes. I love the group just fine, but check out John Byrne’s run for some real Alpha Flight goodness.
The retread plot holds up decently enough, but this book is another “read, shrug and forget” post-Secret Wars Marvel title.
“Give me your tired umpteenth speedster, your marginally interesting Lantern, another wretched guy with arrows, your one-too-many pervy elasti-dude, a Robin, any hero with Aqua- in his name: we’ll keep the light on for ya.”
Yes, they’re essentially dumping grounds for “extra” heroes, so pass me a Molson with a shot of maple syrup, grab a beaver pelt (cuz it’s cold in outer space), and say hello to our Canadian friends in Alpha Flight.
Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel is given a “promotion” and transferred to a space station because her new haircut is too horrible to look at.
What she finds is a trio of Alpha Flight members (Puck, Sasquatch and Aurora)…
…and that green-haired (and green-eyed) meanie, Abigail Brand.
Meeeooowwwwww! Hisssssssss!
Alpha Flight =
Sasquatch – big-foot-ish, hairy, strong and smart. Really, really smart.
Aurora – something, something light powers, I think. (She used them once, she was typically sullen and science-y)
Puck – short, smart, funny and degenerate.
Note to self: look up “viscous” with Google. Filter: off
Plot summary: If you’ve seen a couple of episodes of Star Trek:
Re-work the plot points,
Add babe superheroine,
Add a couple of “B” super heroes,
Subtract gravity
Add catty, disgruntled rival,
Meeeooowwwwww! Hisssssssss!
Divide by spy sub-plot,
Add Marvel-based mysterious interstellar threat somehow connected to babe superheroine,
Add explosions and punching to the tenth power
Multiply times the GNP of Andorra and…
Set microwave on low, cook for approximately 45 seconds. Let sit for ten minutes to cool and congeal.
Enjoy.
Bottom line:
Aside from Puck, who’s a hoot, using Alpha Flight seems a rather pointless exercise in mining Marvel’s rich catalogue of heroes. I love the group just fine, but check out John Byrne’s run for some real Alpha Flight goodness.
The retread plot holds up decently enough, but this book is another “read, shrug and forget” post-Secret Wars Marvel title.
November 17, 2021
2017 read: Marvel, sill trying to propel Captain Marvel to at least Wonder Woman heights, relaunches her book for a ninth(!) time. Taking in consideration her alien heritage they sort of re-make S.W.O.R.D. but as an international collaboration Alpha Flight space program with some former Alphans in the mix. Kris Anka's art was OK, but the Agent Carter TV show creative team of Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas just don't make the transition to comic books right. 5.5 out of 12.
April 23, 2020
"I wasn't born with superpowers. I was in the right place at the right time. I got lucky, and there are days I feel I don't deserve the abilities I have . . . But today is NOT one of those days." -- Carol Danvers, a.k.a. Captain Marvel
Though it boasts an unexceptional plot that is very reminiscent - right down to the 'traitor in their midst' development - of a 60's or 70's sci-fi themed TV series episode, Vol. 1: Rise of Alpha Flight kept me mildly entertained for an hour. (And since it only cost a marked-down $2.99 at the local surplus / discount outlet, what more can a reader really ask for?) Captain Marvel accepts a supervisory-type position at a new satellite-space station manned by Alpha Flight - the unsung 80's-era Canadian superhero team that still gets overlooked, even when every sort of Marvel Comics property is going into production as a movie or TV series - and they are promptly attacked by hostile and aggrieved aliens. What was most notable is that the female writing duo of Fazekas & Butters penned a story that refreshingly featured mainly heroines (including the non-superpowered characters Abigail Brand and Wendy Kawasaki, military officers with distinct personalities) doing the heavy lifting here.
Though it boasts an unexceptional plot that is very reminiscent - right down to the 'traitor in their midst' development - of a 60's or 70's sci-fi themed TV series episode, Vol. 1: Rise of Alpha Flight kept me mildly entertained for an hour. (And since it only cost a marked-down $2.99 at the local surplus / discount outlet, what more can a reader really ask for?) Captain Marvel accepts a supervisory-type position at a new satellite-space station manned by Alpha Flight - the unsung 80's-era Canadian superhero team that still gets overlooked, even when every sort of Marvel Comics property is going into production as a movie or TV series - and they are promptly attacked by hostile and aggrieved aliens. What was most notable is that the female writing duo of Fazekas & Butters penned a story that refreshingly featured mainly heroines (including the non-superpowered characters Abigail Brand and Wendy Kawasaki, military officers with distinct personalities) doing the heavy lifting here.
September 8, 2016
Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers is now head of Alpha Flight for some reason! That’s, uh, something meaningful to someone I guess? Off she goes to a space station orbiting Earth to save us from aliens and stuff. Hooray… belch.
I want to like Captain Marvel but I wasn’t into Kelly Sue DeConnick’s run on the character at all. It was boring, Carol came off as boring, it sucked. But DeConnick has left Marvel now and Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas, the showrunners of the short-lived Agent Carter show, have taken over - maybe now I’ll get to read a great Captain Marvel comic? Nope, this title still sucks!
Any of you Trekkies? I liked Deep Space Nine but only really towards the end when war erupted. You can track the quality of that show by how Captain Sisko looks: if he’s clean-shaven with a full head of hair, the show’s probably terrible; if he’s bald with a ‘tache and small beard, the show’s hit its stride. This new Captain Marvel series is like a two-part episode of DS9 Season One, ie. the worst.
Carol’s still really bland (her character is that she likes to punch stuff) and I’ve never cared for Alpha Flight before and the minimal character work they get in this one doesn’t change that. They putz around the space station, solve a space mystery, fight some aliens - it’s piss-poor quality sci-fi, uninspired and unimpressive through and through.
Maybe some fans of the character might enjoy this - as surprising to me as it is, there are fans of the DeConnick run - but Captain Marvel unfortunately continues to be a really bad comic. It’s not even a big seller for Marvel either - I feel like the only reason they keep publishing her stories is because of the Captain Marvel movie coming in 2019. Eh, I’ll definitely watch it regardless of these crappy books - wouldn’t be the first time Marvel Studios showed Marvel Comics how to do things properly!
I want to like Captain Marvel but I wasn’t into Kelly Sue DeConnick’s run on the character at all. It was boring, Carol came off as boring, it sucked. But DeConnick has left Marvel now and Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas, the showrunners of the short-lived Agent Carter show, have taken over - maybe now I’ll get to read a great Captain Marvel comic? Nope, this title still sucks!
Any of you Trekkies? I liked Deep Space Nine but only really towards the end when war erupted. You can track the quality of that show by how Captain Sisko looks: if he’s clean-shaven with a full head of hair, the show’s probably terrible; if he’s bald with a ‘tache and small beard, the show’s hit its stride. This new Captain Marvel series is like a two-part episode of DS9 Season One, ie. the worst.
Carol’s still really bland (her character is that she likes to punch stuff) and I’ve never cared for Alpha Flight before and the minimal character work they get in this one doesn’t change that. They putz around the space station, solve a space mystery, fight some aliens - it’s piss-poor quality sci-fi, uninspired and unimpressive through and through.
Maybe some fans of the character might enjoy this - as surprising to me as it is, there are fans of the DeConnick run - but Captain Marvel unfortunately continues to be a really bad comic. It’s not even a big seller for Marvel either - I feel like the only reason they keep publishing her stories is because of the Captain Marvel movie coming in 2019. Eh, I’ll definitely watch it regardless of these crappy books - wouldn’t be the first time Marvel Studios showed Marvel Comics how to do things properly!
January 4, 2022
A bit of a slog at times. Capt. Marvel heads up a new space station to protect Earth called Alpha Flight. Basically the exact same thing S.W.O.R.D. did. In fact, a watered down version of Agent Brand is in this book too. The crew also contains 3 members of Alpha flight which is a bit confusing. An alien ship shows up and for some dumb reason gives Carol memories from the original Capt. Mar-Vell. It doesn't make a lot of sense. At the same time, there's a saboteur that is completely ignored as they keep framing others. In the final issue they just walk in on the saboteur on the computer. It's very anti-climatic. I really expected better writing from the writers of Agent Carter.
November 29, 2016
Let me get this out in the open before I start: I am a HUGE fan of Alpha Flight and have been since John Byrne's original run back in the early '80s. They're a team that have struggled to find an audience over the years but have always been too polite to complain. Any book that features the Alphans gets a big thumbs up from me...
... BUT...
... what in tarnation is going on in this book? How did Alpha Flight go from being Canada's premiere superhero team to being the crew of a space station under the command of Captain Marvel? Why are Aurora, Puck and Sasquatch the only members present? Where are the other Alphans?
Well, I wish I could tell you but none of these questions are addressed in this book, which is EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING.
My burning curiosity aside, this book was OK. The first arc didn't exactly blow me away but it was entertaining enough. I'm just hoping some of my (pedantic fanboy) questions are answered in the next volume.
... BUT...
... what in tarnation is going on in this book? How did Alpha Flight go from being Canada's premiere superhero team to being the crew of a space station under the command of Captain Marvel? Why are Aurora, Puck and Sasquatch the only members present? Where are the other Alphans?
Well, I wish I could tell you but none of these questions are addressed in this book, which is EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING.
My burning curiosity aside, this book was OK. The first arc didn't exactly blow me away but it was entertaining enough. I'm just hoping some of my (pedantic fanboy) questions are answered in the next volume.
February 10, 2018
2.5 stars?
I don't know. I impulse bought this book from Barnes and Noble during one of their Buy 2 Graphic Novels, Get 1 Free sales. I love Carol and I love Kristofer Anka so I thought it would be okay. It was very, very meh.
The art is wonderful! I love the lines and the colors. Carol's costume is awesome and I like the look of the ships and alien races. I think Carol's voice is pretty great in this book as well. She reminds me of Kara from Battlestar Galactica and she's kind of an adrenaline junkie. This is the Carol I know and fell in love with when I read the Secret Invasion Tie Ins. Carol likes to leap into battles and sometimes, she has to hit things. I'm way on board! One thing to note, this book was very Prometheus-like to me and made me think of an Alien style MCU film and I really can't wait to see more of what they have in store for her solo film.
That being said, this was a very exposition heavy book. A lot of it was details about the Eridian's and feuds with the Kree and a whole slew of things that would probably make a lot more sense to me if I was a bigger fan of galactic marvel. It was boring to me in the end and I just ended up skimming a lot of it. So, it's not a recommend from me but I loved the art.
I don't know. I impulse bought this book from Barnes and Noble during one of their Buy 2 Graphic Novels, Get 1 Free sales. I love Carol and I love Kristofer Anka so I thought it would be okay. It was very, very meh.
The art is wonderful! I love the lines and the colors. Carol's costume is awesome and I like the look of the ships and alien races. I think Carol's voice is pretty great in this book as well. She reminds me of Kara from Battlestar Galactica and she's kind of an adrenaline junkie. This is the Carol I know and fell in love with when I read the Secret Invasion Tie Ins. Carol likes to leap into battles and sometimes, she has to hit things. I'm way on board! One thing to note, this book was very Prometheus-like to me and made me think of an Alien style MCU film and I really can't wait to see more of what they have in store for her solo film.
That being said, this was a very exposition heavy book. A lot of it was details about the Eridian's and feuds with the Kree and a whole slew of things that would probably make a lot more sense to me if I was a bigger fan of galactic marvel. It was boring to me in the end and I just ended up skimming a lot of it. So, it's not a recommend from me but I loved the art.
August 2, 2017
Captain Marvel has accepted the command of the Alpha Flight Space Station. The station is Earth's intergalactic defense.
Rise of Alpha Flight feels like Star Trek Deep Space Nine with super heroes. Which would be fine except I grew up with my father watching every single Star Trek and I can't take the space tropes anymore. This might be good for someone else but I was burned out on space Sci-Fi by the age of 15 or so.
Rise of Alpha Flight feels like Star Trek Deep Space Nine with super heroes. Which would be fine except I grew up with my father watching every single Star Trek and I can't take the space tropes anymore. This might be good for someone else but I was burned out on space Sci-Fi by the age of 15 or so.
August 14, 2016
SO MUCH COLORS!! CAP M KICKING ASS!! ROCKET RACCOON!! LADIES!!
September 22, 2018
Yeah.. It was ok.
I really want to like Cap Marvel but... that one-dimensional character without having a fucking personality, is not doing it for me.
This is Cap. Marvel: Oh something is coming this way and it looks threatening to the world that I'm protecting. I'm gonna punch it.
Nope.
This has some fun moments but mostly it's boring as hell.
And let me tell you the main reason: ALPHA FLIGHT!
Like Seriously: WHY?
WHYYYY????
You needed yet another space crew like the Guardians? WHY? Marvel already has Star Wars EVERY SINGLE MONTH releasing with Han and Chewey. Why would ANYONE want to read about SASQUATCH and FUCKING PUCK in FUCKING SPACE? In a title called Captain Marvel btw. No.
And it's not even that we're talking about a team that everyone loves or misses or something. Fucking Alpha Flight man. Like every time I tried over the years reading anything with them I either got bored immediately or was forcing myself to finish at least 1 volume. Puck that shit.
Artwork was good.
Space adventures in it were meh. Dialogue was sometimes cringeworthy.. funny attempts and all that.. nope. Anyway. At least Carol's costume looks awesome! That's all I liked I guess, along with the art and the thing with Mar-Vell was nice to read.
No matter how much I want Mar-Vell back... cuz well, I grew up reading Captain Marvel, I don't see him coming back with Carol here having a movie coming up too. I'd expect Marvel would put their A game for the comic, this is at best ok. Like.. get this, at some point Puck is asking Captain Marvel for an autograph, and he's like "it's for my sister"... and next panel "ok... it's for me :) " . Queue laughter now.
Seriously.
The more I think about it ugh.. anyway... I hope it gets better cuz I'm gonna read Civil War II in a bit and continue reading all the CWII tie-ins.
If you're a fan of Captain Marvel, I dunno... cuz I'm trying to be and I can't because Marvel doesn't give a shit I guess, but IF you are--- yeah---then go ahead! Read it. You won't like it.
If you're a fan of Alpha Flight... well.. I'm sorry for you. Go out there and read more comics.
1 star for artwork. 1 more for Carol having the best fucking costume ever. Overall. Ok. I'm just being mean because it was super boring for me and Alpha Flight sucks hockey pucks.
I really want to like Cap Marvel but... that one-dimensional character without having a fucking personality, is not doing it for me.
This is Cap. Marvel: Oh something is coming this way and it looks threatening to the world that I'm protecting. I'm gonna punch it.
Nope.
This has some fun moments but mostly it's boring as hell.
And let me tell you the main reason: ALPHA FLIGHT!
Like Seriously: WHY?
WHYYYY????
You needed yet another space crew like the Guardians? WHY? Marvel already has Star Wars EVERY SINGLE MONTH releasing with Han and Chewey. Why would ANYONE want to read about SASQUATCH and FUCKING PUCK in FUCKING SPACE? In a title called Captain Marvel btw. No.
And it's not even that we're talking about a team that everyone loves or misses or something. Fucking Alpha Flight man. Like every time I tried over the years reading anything with them I either got bored immediately or was forcing myself to finish at least 1 volume. Puck that shit.
Artwork was good.
Space adventures in it were meh. Dialogue was sometimes cringeworthy.. funny attempts and all that.. nope. Anyway. At least Carol's costume looks awesome! That's all I liked I guess, along with the art and the thing with Mar-Vell was nice to read.
No matter how much I want Mar-Vell back... cuz well, I grew up reading Captain Marvel, I don't see him coming back with Carol here having a movie coming up too. I'd expect Marvel would put their A game for the comic, this is at best ok. Like.. get this, at some point Puck is asking Captain Marvel for an autograph, and he's like "it's for my sister"... and next panel "ok... it's for me :) " . Queue laughter now.
Seriously.
The more I think about it ugh.. anyway... I hope it gets better cuz I'm gonna read Civil War II in a bit and continue reading all the CWII tie-ins.
If you're a fan of Captain Marvel, I dunno... cuz I'm trying to be and I can't because Marvel doesn't give a shit I guess, but IF you are--- yeah---then go ahead! Read it. You won't like it.
If you're a fan of Alpha Flight... well.. I'm sorry for you. Go out there and read more comics.
1 star for artwork. 1 more for Carol having the best fucking costume ever. Overall. Ok. I'm just being mean because it was super boring for me and Alpha Flight sucks hockey pucks.
March 21, 2019
This is what I want from a Captain Marvel story - a powerful woman who punches her way through situations until punching doesn't work any more, than finds better solutions. Teaming her up with Alpha Flight (whose characters unfortunately don't get enough development here) and putting her in charge of a situation she's not prepared for gives her many chances to shine, not just in successes but also in her failures. She makes a lot of bold choices here, and not all go her way. While the 'traitor in our midst' aspect doesn't really work as well as it needs to, everything else here, from Danvers' sheer love of action and outer space to the crackling dialogue, to the art style that leans perhaps a little too much on the sleek lines in a story dealing with dead ships, fits together very well. This might be a little heretical to say, but this story comes off a bit like a Hal Jordan Green Lantern story (at its best), and I really enjoyed the ride.
September 9, 2017
3.75!
Good fun, until the rushed ending!
World: Love the art, it's stylish and the characters are full of emotion. The tone is really set well by the art. The world building is even better. I love Alpha Flight, I'm Canadian and it was a thing for me, I even have Alpha Flight #1 from the 90's when they tried to reboot it so having Alpha Flight be a thing and seeing most of the gang there (Where is Vindicator?) makes me smile. The space stuff is also great, it feels like Green Lantern and that's a great thing.
Story: I love Green Lantern it's one of my favorite books and this book reads like a good GL story. You know what they say about imitation and flattery and all that so yes Carol is Hal Jordan that's all I can say and it's great! The story is simple, it's fun, it's loud and full of action and character development sprinkled throughout . The focus on small quiet moments also made for a great story to get to know the team. The end was rushed but other than that I really enjoyed this story.
Characters: Carol is great, she doesn't miss a beat from when she was written by DeConnick, Butters does well. Her personal voice is strong and she is Marvel's best Hal Jordan. Alpha Flight is great, it brings back all the feels I had for Puck, Aurora and Sasquatch when I was in high school good job!
A fun arc that just rushed to end, but wow it was fun!
Onward to the next book!
Good fun, until the rushed ending!
World: Love the art, it's stylish and the characters are full of emotion. The tone is really set well by the art. The world building is even better. I love Alpha Flight, I'm Canadian and it was a thing for me, I even have Alpha Flight #1 from the 90's when they tried to reboot it so having Alpha Flight be a thing and seeing most of the gang there (Where is Vindicator?) makes me smile. The space stuff is also great, it feels like Green Lantern and that's a great thing.
Story: I love Green Lantern it's one of my favorite books and this book reads like a good GL story. You know what they say about imitation and flattery and all that so yes Carol is Hal Jordan that's all I can say and it's great! The story is simple, it's fun, it's loud and full of action and character development sprinkled throughout . The focus on small quiet moments also made for a great story to get to know the team. The end was rushed but other than that I really enjoyed this story.
Characters: Carol is great, she doesn't miss a beat from when she was written by DeConnick, Butters does well. Her personal voice is strong and she is Marvel's best Hal Jordan. Alpha Flight is great, it brings back all the feels I had for Puck, Aurora and Sasquatch when I was in high school good job!
A fun arc that just rushed to end, but wow it was fun!
Onward to the next book!
April 13, 2019
Kind of a slow start. It felt like all exposition and then a rushed ending. It was…underwhelming. I still love Carol though. It’s great to see a woman who loves adventure and likes to punch things. We get this all the time with male characters so don’t fucking tell me she’s bland. She’s impulsive and likes to fight. She’s not violent but somethings things need punching, okay? Plus, you see a witty and sarcastic side come through.
Now, I don’t know much about Alpha Flight so I didn’t feel invested in the rest of the characters but I’m open to learning more. The artwork was nice but nothing spectacular, however, I am loving Carol’s suit.
Now, I don’t know much about Alpha Flight so I didn’t feel invested in the rest of the characters but I’m open to learning more. The artwork was nice but nothing spectacular, however, I am loving Carol’s suit.
March 22, 2018
Love the story and love the art style in this graphic novel. I will have to check out the rest of this series.
March 26, 2019
Not a big fan of the art and the story line was okay; a bit slow and boring.
April 21, 2021
Captain Marvel takes over as a new director of Alpha Flight, who now have a space station to monitor for extra-terrestrial threats.
I think Michele Fazekas took the focus of the book away from Carol Danvers, and the brought it back to Captain Marvel. The volume begins with Cap getting used to her new position, which she quickly abandons for some "on the field" work. This leads to the discovery of a ship which seems largely biological in nature. Turns out it belongs to a race of aliens who hate the Kree, and since ol' Cap is wearing the Hala star on her chest... it doesn't go well for her or Alpha Flight.
I thought the story was pretty straight forward, but enjoyable. Not much as far as characterization or mystery, but just a good action story about space station antics. It was a good chance to show Carol as a leader and as a team member who needs her team in order to succeed. As weird it is to think of Alpha Flight in space, it served its purpose, as it is basically a Guardians of the Galaxy type team in lieu of the original.
Overall a good start to the series. I will definitely be checking out volume 2.
I think Michele Fazekas took the focus of the book away from Carol Danvers, and the brought it back to Captain Marvel. The volume begins with Cap getting used to her new position, which she quickly abandons for some "on the field" work. This leads to the discovery of a ship which seems largely biological in nature. Turns out it belongs to a race of aliens who hate the Kree, and since ol' Cap is wearing the Hala star on her chest... it doesn't go well for her or Alpha Flight.
I thought the story was pretty straight forward, but enjoyable. Not much as far as characterization or mystery, but just a good action story about space station antics. It was a good chance to show Carol as a leader and as a team member who needs her team in order to succeed. As weird it is to think of Alpha Flight in space, it served its purpose, as it is basically a Guardians of the Galaxy type team in lieu of the original.
Overall a good start to the series. I will definitely be checking out volume 2.
January 4, 2020
I was underwhelmed by the previous iteration of Captain Marvel, which had great promise held back by lackluster and, to be honest, incompetent storytelling.
I picked this up for two reasons: a new creative team and Alpha Flight. This version is merely okay.
Carol Danvers and three members of AF are put into a Star Trek-meets-Alien type of situation, with a story that starts strong but kind of trips up on the plotting and timing as it goes. You can see the "Writing 101" cliches immediately, with a story that begins in media res and then jumps to "Yesterday." Then there are multiple versions of The Countdown, used to artificially ramp up tension. There are a couple Reversals and some Reveals, all of which are telegraphed and land softly.
It's not that this stuff is annoying so much as it's amateur. The weird thing is that comics today have such decompressed stories yet they feel light on character development and plot. This story suffers the same problem. 25-30 years ago this would be two issues, max.
I'm a big fan of Alpha Flight's original incarnation -- in fact, the same day I bought this I ordered the big retrospective collection, Alpha Flight by John Byrne Omnibus -- so it was disappointing to see Puck, Aurora and Sasquatch used so sparingly. Puck is an actual supporting character, but both Aurora and Sasquatch could be replaced by redshirts and you'd never know. I think Sasquatch has about six lines in the whole thing, and since Carol is stronger than he is, he's rendered redundant in any action scenes.
I picked this up for two reasons: a new creative team and Alpha Flight. This version is merely okay.
Carol Danvers and three members of AF are put into a Star Trek-meets-Alien type of situation, with a story that starts strong but kind of trips up on the plotting and timing as it goes. You can see the "Writing 101" cliches immediately, with a story that begins in media res and then jumps to "Yesterday." Then there are multiple versions of The Countdown, used to artificially ramp up tension. There are a couple Reversals and some Reveals, all of which are telegraphed and land softly.
It's not that this stuff is annoying so much as it's amateur. The weird thing is that comics today have such decompressed stories yet they feel light on character development and plot. This story suffers the same problem. 25-30 years ago this would be two issues, max.
I'm a big fan of Alpha Flight's original incarnation -- in fact, the same day I bought this I ordered the big retrospective collection, Alpha Flight by John Byrne Omnibus -- so it was disappointing to see Puck, Aurora and Sasquatch used so sparingly. Puck is an actual supporting character, but both Aurora and Sasquatch could be replaced by redshirts and you'd never know. I think Sasquatch has about six lines in the whole thing, and since Carol is stronger than he is, he's rendered redundant in any action scenes.
July 15, 2016
[Read as single issues]
Captain Marvel gets a rebrand as part of the post-Secret Wars world as she takes control of the Alpha Flight space station, and defends Earth from intergalactic threats and must fend off the Kree, the Shi'ar, and Abigail Brand's grumpy attitude.
I love Carol Danvers as a character; one of the first characters I read aside from Spider-Man, and she holds a special place in my comic collection. This storyline is serviceable, but not particularly groundbreaking. It tries to be quite complicated but boils down to basic political intrigue, with writers Fazekas and Butters (of Agent Carter fame) stringing things along and tying them into Carol's Kree history decently; the real gem is the dialogue and the interactions between the characters, which are more compelling than the story itself.
The real MVP though is artist Kris Anka, whose clean style is always beautiful, and he really gets to stretch himself with some space battles and funky aliens to draw too. Felipe Smith gives him a hand with some fill-in art, and the two mesh very well together.
A fun little story for Carol, but not particularly career defining for her. Worth a look.
Captain Marvel gets a rebrand as part of the post-Secret Wars world as she takes control of the Alpha Flight space station, and defends Earth from intergalactic threats and must fend off the Kree, the Shi'ar, and Abigail Brand's grumpy attitude.
I love Carol Danvers as a character; one of the first characters I read aside from Spider-Man, and she holds a special place in my comic collection. This storyline is serviceable, but not particularly groundbreaking. It tries to be quite complicated but boils down to basic political intrigue, with writers Fazekas and Butters (of Agent Carter fame) stringing things along and tying them into Carol's Kree history decently; the real gem is the dialogue and the interactions between the characters, which are more compelling than the story itself.
The real MVP though is artist Kris Anka, whose clean style is always beautiful, and he really gets to stretch himself with some space battles and funky aliens to draw too. Felipe Smith gives him a hand with some fill-in art, and the two mesh very well together.
A fun little story for Carol, but not particularly career defining for her. Worth a look.
August 18, 2018
Thank fucking Stan they brought back Abigail Brand. Best. Character. I’ve. Ever. Missed.
No idea why Alpha Flight has been chosen by the world/SHIELD/USA to be the strike force on the SWORD platform, but as a diehard Canadian I’ll take any representation, even tokenism.
Funny where it should be (looking at you Puck - singing old Bryan Adams?), serious as a heart attack for all the action, with a flair for self-awareness and sarcasm in Carol that keeps us interested.
Fast-paced - no breathing room from plot twist to sudden decision to surprise development - and fluid art. Very acceptable style of comics - a return to compressed storytelling!
No idea why Alpha Flight has been chosen by the world/SHIELD/USA to be the strike force on the SWORD platform, but as a diehard Canadian I’ll take any representation, even tokenism.
Funny where it should be (looking at you Puck - singing old Bryan Adams?), serious as a heart attack for all the action, with a flair for self-awareness and sarcasm in Carol that keeps us interested.
Fast-paced - no breathing room from plot twist to sudden decision to surprise development - and fluid art. Very acceptable style of comics - a return to compressed storytelling!
May 30, 2016
Carol and the Alpha Team are back with new costumes and adventures. Something strange is happening, calling to Carol in the most unnerving way. It'll take the entire team to figure out what's going on and how to stop it.
I really enjoyed this story but I thought it was going to go a lot deeper. Five issues is not enough to dive into what could have been. A lot of build up with a quick resolution; hopefully we see more of this visited later!
I really enjoyed this story but I thought it was going to go a lot deeper. Five issues is not enough to dive into what could have been. A lot of build up with a quick resolution; hopefully we see more of this visited later!
October 4, 2016
A fun read if nothing special. It's basically Captain Marvel on Deep Space Nine which is a really cool premise and it just works so well.
November 3, 2017
Captain Marvel decides a change of scenery and a recommitment to service is in order when she takes a two-year posting as commander of an orbiting space station. Designed as a proactive deterrent to future galactic excursions, the good Captain is expecting a life of adventure, but finds only a bureaucratic nightmare as her first big assignment is renegotiating the facility’s waste management contract. Thankfully she’s saved by the arrival of an ancient spaceship filled to the brim with dead bodies, followed by a second ship with a decidedly more alive, and violent, crew.
RISE OF ALPHA FLIGHT is a decent enough time-killer, but not particularly exceptional. I did like the sci-fi horror overtones presented by the initial starship, and would have liked to see this volume continue in that vein. It takes a pretty quick detour into more traditional sci-fi action, though, but at least presents some neat ideas along the way.
What keeps this from being a better read is that the story itself feels stretched across more issues than it really needs. The art isn’t particularly good either, presented more like an amateurish cartoon. There’s not a lot of detail to the images, but a few of the splash pages come across nifty enough.
There’s some good character work, at least, and the presentation of Puck and a burgeoning friendship with Captain Marvel is pretty entertaining. The science officer, Kawasaki, is also a fun addition to the crew. Other members of Alpha Flight, though, are given little chance to distinguish themselves from the background. As to why this Canadian super team is now living abroad on a space station...who knows?
Probably the best word to describe this volume as a whole is inconsistent, and even the editing is pretty shoddy with missing words or repeated words (there’s at least one instance where “the the” crops up in one dialogue bubble, perhaps to make up for a missing “the” in a previous bubble...). It’s not great, but it’s also not terrible, as it finds some kind of middle ground between those two ends, feeling a heck of a lot like a lesser episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
RISE OF ALPHA FLIGHT is a decent enough time-killer, but not particularly exceptional. I did like the sci-fi horror overtones presented by the initial starship, and would have liked to see this volume continue in that vein. It takes a pretty quick detour into more traditional sci-fi action, though, but at least presents some neat ideas along the way.
What keeps this from being a better read is that the story itself feels stretched across more issues than it really needs. The art isn’t particularly good either, presented more like an amateurish cartoon. There’s not a lot of detail to the images, but a few of the splash pages come across nifty enough.
There’s some good character work, at least, and the presentation of Puck and a burgeoning friendship with Captain Marvel is pretty entertaining. The science officer, Kawasaki, is also a fun addition to the crew. Other members of Alpha Flight, though, are given little chance to distinguish themselves from the background. As to why this Canadian super team is now living abroad on a space station...who knows?
Probably the best word to describe this volume as a whole is inconsistent, and even the editing is pretty shoddy with missing words or repeated words (there’s at least one instance where “the the” crops up in one dialogue bubble, perhaps to make up for a missing “the” in a previous bubble...). It’s not great, but it’s also not terrible, as it finds some kind of middle ground between those two ends, feeling a heck of a lot like a lesser episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
October 1, 2018
Grabbed me from the first page when Carol said, "It's not that I'm a violent person. It's just that some things really, really need punching."
A fun story with cool, compelling characters, especially Brand, and fantastic art. Looking forward to the next volume.
A fun story with cool, compelling characters, especially Brand, and fantastic art. Looking forward to the next volume.
May 26, 2024
Tried to like it. Failed. Carol Danvers is often one-dimensional here, in perpetual “out of my way, I’ve got this” mode for the whole book. It’s cool to be badass and all, but there’s zero dramatic tension when everything is a breeze to handle.
June 16, 2018
Carol Danvers is awesome! Intelligent, witty, sarcastic, loyal, and brave. This was my first foray into Captain Marvel and I’m hooked. I enjoyed getting to know Carol and the crew aboard the space station. The story was intriguing, action-packed, and fun. Looking forward to the second volume!
October 23, 2018
54th book read in 2018.
Number 118 out of 714 on my all time book list.
So good - like a Marvel deep space nine.
Number 118 out of 714 on my all time book list.
So good - like a Marvel deep space nine.
February 6, 2017
I was a pretty unsure what to expect with this one — my first Captain Marvel comic without Kelly Sue DeConnick at the helm. To make it worse, I don’t know anything about Alpha Flight, so I was bombarded with a bunch of new characters; I don’t even know if they appeared elsewhere before? It’s times like this I feel like being a Marvel fan only since 2012ish lets me down: I don’t even know whether to cheer or groan, half the time.
(Civil War 2? Groan. If the solo Captain Marvel comics delve into that too much, I’m gonna hate it. The first one had some powerful storytelling, but twisted the characters to get them into a deadlock against each other. I can’t see a second run at it doing much good, and I don’t want to see Captain Marvel going it against the Marvel universe Tony Stark style. I can’t even remember which side Carol was on in the original Civil War.)
Anyway, Butters and crew are reasonably competent, taking us through a pretty usual story for Carol where she punches things, her phenomenal powers are damped down by something, she punches things some more, and then has to practice the joy of diplomacy. Somehow, everything turns out okay. Maybe I’m just describing all superhero comics; maybe I’m getting a bit cynical. While there were bits of this which felt good — Rhodey’s warnings to Carol, the appearance of Rocket — overall I wasn’t madly enthused. It’s fun while I’m reading it, and I’m willing to try some more, but I feel like the first few DeConnick books worked for me in a way this didn’t. (Though it is, at least, an improvement over Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps.) There’s something unmemorable about it, which probably explains why the only characters I can name without the book on hand are Rhodey, Carol and Rocket.
Originally posted here.
(Civil War 2? Groan. If the solo Captain Marvel comics delve into that too much, I’m gonna hate it. The first one had some powerful storytelling, but twisted the characters to get them into a deadlock against each other. I can’t see a second run at it doing much good, and I don’t want to see Captain Marvel going it against the Marvel universe Tony Stark style. I can’t even remember which side Carol was on in the original Civil War.)
Anyway, Butters and crew are reasonably competent, taking us through a pretty usual story for Carol where she punches things, her phenomenal powers are damped down by something, she punches things some more, and then has to practice the joy of diplomacy. Somehow, everything turns out okay. Maybe I’m just describing all superhero comics; maybe I’m getting a bit cynical. While there were bits of this which felt good — Rhodey’s warnings to Carol, the appearance of Rocket — overall I wasn’t madly enthused. It’s fun while I’m reading it, and I’m willing to try some more, but I feel like the first few DeConnick books worked for me in a way this didn’t. (Though it is, at least, an improvement over Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps.) There’s something unmemorable about it, which probably explains why the only characters I can name without the book on hand are Rhodey, Carol and Rocket.
Originally posted here.
August 21, 2016
Carol's as tough as ever, even with shorter hair! I loved Carol as part of a team, especially one as stubborn and punch-happy as she is. The team had a fun dynamic, although there was probably some previous issues I need to have read to fully understand all the relationships. Regardless, I loved how they worked together and how they figured out the mystery of the ship. It was interesting to see Carol really in trouble from herself, and I loved how Commander Brand wasn't afraid to dish it back to Carol. The ending left a lot open for the future and set up a lot of adventure!
August 6, 2016
THIS is Carol Danvers. THIS is what she was meant to do. After the silliness of Secret Wars (cause seriously, that whole event and many other Marvel events are silly), she is now in charge of Alpha Flight, the successor to S.W.O.R.D. which deals with intergalactic threats. Not one to be confined to a desk, she faces their first threat head on with fists blazing and strategies a-flying. Carol Danvers is one of my favorite if not my favorite Marvel character and she's come a long way so I'm happy to see her being given the treatment she deserves.
August 26, 2016
New Carol has a more consistent script that DeConnick Carol. She is also more superhero-looking and more kick-ass. I missed Chewie, earth Carol, and the comic side of the character that her former writers knew exploited so well.
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