Captain Mar-Vell Omnibus, Vol. 1

Captain Marvel (1968) #1-31

by Roy Thomas (Writer), Gil Kane (Cover Art), Gene Colan (Illustrator)

Branded a traitor for defending the people of Earth, the space-born Kree hero Captain Mar-Vell uses his cosmic powers as our planet's protector. And the good Captain's legacy is From his early adventures drawn by Gene Colan to his reinvention by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane to his iconic cosmic awakening under Jim Starlin, each story is presented in oversized glory in this massive Omnibus volume. Also featuring the first appearance of Carol Danvers, Rick Jones bonding with Cap by way of the cosmic Nega-Bands, war with the vicious Col. Yon-Rogg, battles with the Black Widow, Captain America and Hulk, and last, but not least, the first appearance of Thanos! Collecting MARVEL SUPER-HEROES (1967) #12-13, CAPTAIN MARVEL (1968) #1-33, IRON MAN (1968) #55 and material from NOT BRAND ECHH #9.

Genres: Comics, Marvel

888 pages, Hardcover

First published April 16, 1974

About the author

Roy Thomas was the FIRST Editor-in-Chief at Marvel--After Stan Lee stepped down from the position. Roy is a longtime comic book writer and editor. Thomas has written comics for Archie, Charlton, DC, Heroic Publishing, Marvel, and Topps over the years. Thomas currently edits the fanzine Alter Ego for Twomorrow's Publishing. He was Editor for Marvel comics from 1972-1974. He wrote for several titles at Marvel, such as Avengers, Thor, Invaders, Fantastic Four, X-Men, and notably Conan the Barbarian. Thomas is also known for his championing of Golden Age comic-book heroes — particularly the 1940s superhero team the Justice Society of America — and for lengthy writing stints on Marvel's X-Men and Avengers, and DC Comics' All-Star Squadron, among other titles.

Also a legendary creator. Creations include Wolverine, Carol Danvers, Ghost Rider, Vision, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Valkyrie, Morbius, Doc Samson, and Ultron. Roy has also worked for Archie, Charlton, and DC among others over the years.

Reviews

[Matthew Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve always had a soft spot for Captain Mar-Vell largely thanks to reading some of his comics from the library as a kid, as well as his appearances in the Avengers Earth’s Mightiest Heroes cartoon.

However, and I say this lovingly, I can see why he never quite caught on.

When the character is being written by Roy Thomas and Jim Starlin he is excellent. However, this book suffers from rotating writers, many of whom it’s clear viewed writing this book as a means to an end rather than a passion project.

The book starts off decent thanks to Thomas’ direction, but when he left relatively early and Arnold Drake took over I found the stories became exceptionally dry. I couldn’t name a single villain Mar-Vell fought in any of those issues. The seeds of a great story are there, but a lack of solid direction keeps it from coming together.

Roy Thomas comes back briefly, but by then it was too little too late and the book was cancelled. When it came back the first three issues were done by fill-in writers (again rotating the writers) and THEN we finally get to the Jim Starlin issues which are excellent.

However, the Thanos Wars Infinity Origin omnibus also collects those Starlin issues (and more), and while I enjoyed the Roy Thomas stuff I don’t know if I could suggest picking this book up over that collection instead.

Perhaps if this book included Mar-Vell’s appearances during the Kree/Skrull War over in the Avengers, as well as the Avengers tie-in issue to the Thanos Wars story (collected in the Origin omnibus) but it doesn’t.

The art in this book mainly by Gene Colan and Jim Starlin is excellent, but I can’t say I’d recommend it on that alone.

If you wanna read Captain Mar-Vell, do a wiki search for his earlier appearances and then buy the Thanos omni. You’re not missing too much.

[Jimbo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captain Mar-vell was a different comic for me as a kid. Yes, it was created because Goodman, the then owner of Marvel, was obsessed with the fact that two other Marvels were out there before this Mar-vell.. so he told Stan Lee to get it done.
I think that this was the reason the comic got canceled twice in Volume one. It was derivative of Superman and the other two Captain Marvels out there. Later, when Roy Thomas took over, it was similar to Shazam. Young kid, Rick Jones, and banging together the Negabands.
But despite all the writer changes and direction changes, Captain Marvel had a unique growth from Kree soldier in a green and white suit to Jim Starlin's cosmically aware Cap.

I always, from Marvel Super-Heroes #12, thought his potential was so great. He had a heart, not shared by other Kree warriors. His love for Una was true.

Starlin took Captain Marvel very far into epic tales, so his growth was important to see in this omnibus collection. No, he never got as popular as Ms. Marvel, aka Carol Danvers, but I think his tragic life started as the patsy for Ronan, Yon-Rogg, and the other traitor to The Supreme Intelligence. Although not in this collection, Captain Mar-vell's tragic end, rebirth, and final death create a very cool, strong existence in the Marvel Universe. Also, obe of the few heroes who died forever in comic dom.

Cheers for Marvel collection these stories. Yes, all of them are masterpieces, but still, it is like the chapter in a biography when nothing much happens, but it paints the entire picture for the reader to understand the tragedy that was Caps life.

[OmniBen · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review)
For some reason, I thought this run was smack bang in the middle of the bronze age. Some 70's era cosmic goodness. Sadly for me, I was wrong. This was some silver age silliness that would be able to trigger a persons lactose intolerance from across the room. It was so cheesy, it was a wonder it didn't come sliced and individually wrapped by the page. I'll never complain about having Gene Colan art, but this just isn't what I neither expected, nor wanted. Unless the silver age is your biscuit, I would recommend steering well clear. I couldn't finish it. 2.25/5


OmniBen.

[Greg L Goldstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mixed bag of Mar-Vell's early adventures, but as usual, presented very well in this format.

This character was created for copyright and trademark purposes first and foremost; despite that, his earliest adventures are solid enough (Gene Colan on art) and of course his bronze age revival features art and story from the incomparable Jim Starlin.

It's the material in between that takes some patience as it ranges from mostly mediocre to just plain bad.

But ultimately very nostalgic --- I bought many if not most of the issues direct from the newsstand.

[Isabelle D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by this book.

I'll be honest, the first few issues were rough to get into.

Arnold Drake's run, especially, (#5-13) was very fun to read - maybe a little bit "formulaic" at times but still very fun nonetheless. If I found the "love triangle" between Mar-Vell, Medic Una & Carol Danvers kind of dull, I quite enjoyed the dilemma between Mar-Vell's loyalty to the Kree and his growing affection/fondness for the people of Earth.

After Drake's issues, it was kind of a mixed bag until Starlin. I mean, nothing was really bad (and none were a drag to read) but some issues were simply more interesting than others. Also, it took me a while before appreciating the idea of Captain Marvel and Rick Jones sharing one persona.

At first, I wasn't a big fan of the idea but, by Starlin's run, I was accustomed and it was mostly okay.

(To be honest, I'm also not the biggest Rick Jones fan.)

Now, Starlin's run was mostly excellent. I had a blast reading it and could not put the book down.

I love how creative he is.

His Captain Mar-Vell was more "straightforward" than his Warlock & Silver Surfer (both were made later in its career) and less absurd but still very good and imaginative.

You can see him laying the foundations for his later stuff.

In short, this Omnibus, while a mixed bag, was still very fun to read. Even the less interesting issues were never boring.

3.5/5