Captain Marvel #15 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I don't have much to say here, given the onion-chopping ninjas distracting me right now.  But, DeConnick proves once again that she's a master of characterization, since Tracy's good-bye letter to Carol (particularly the last part) reminds you just how much you knew about her.  It reads exactly as you'd expect it to read, and it's really a marvel that it does, since it shows how invested DeConnick has made us in Tracy.  As I've often said, Carol's supporting cast is one of the best things about her, and DeConnick reminds us of that here.  Now, I've got to get rid of these ninjas.

*** (three of five stars)

Captain Marvel #14 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

The only thing that the Black Vortex seems capable of doing is turning good writers into mediocre ones and bad ones into terrible ones.

(Sorry.  Between "Convergence" and this event, I'm just tired of DC and Marvel churning out shitty comics and making me pay for them.)

Overall, this story is fine.  Carol grabbed the Vortex at the end of "Cyclops" #12 and she's en route to Spartax so that Kitty can use the Vortex (somehow) to de-amberize it.  Fine.  But, DeConnick is clearly phoning in this issue, because we've got a number of internally inconsistent moments.  The best example is Carol declaring that Thane can no longer amberize anyone simply by pointing at them; he has to actually touch them.  First, it makes no sense that the Vortex would somehow make Thane less powerful.  It's supposed to remove inhibitions, not impose them.  But, Carol also knows better.  Does she really think that Thane touched everyone on Spartax to turn them into amber?  Carol eventually realizes her "mistake," but, to me, it's all just DeConnick thinking, "Blah blah blah, another cross-over event that they're making me do, blah blah blah."

I could point out other problems, but, honestly, I'd really just as soon forget this issue happened so that we can happily return to our regularly scheduled programming next issue.  I'm giving it two stars because DeConnick does what Layman failed to do in "Cyclops" #12, namely use the Vortex as a way for Carol to contemplate her past sins (as Binary) and realize that she's moved past the point that she needs that much power to do good and win fights.  If we had more of those moments in this event, maybe I wouldn't be waiting so impatiently for it to end.

** (two of five stars)

Captain Marvel #13 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Man, Marvel is giving us some great stories this week.

After the excellent "All-New X-Men" #37, I was thrilled to see that this story also really delivered.  Harrison realizes that the group of hostile ships firing on them in the Endless Envelope are defending some sort of mining platforms.  What are they mining?  Glad you asked.  They're mining, as Harrison calls it, "water-bear juice."  What's "water-bear juice?"  Carol shared your confusion.  Apparently, the Envelope has creatures in it that resemble water bears from Earth, except that a liquid within them allows for travel through hyperspace.  Cap blows the mining platforms off the bears and then flies Harrison through the liquid that it poured from them, allowing them to punch their way through the Envelope.  I'm not sure that I understand it, but it's still pretty damn cool.  She also decides that she's got to play a more strategic game than the one that she usually plays (i.e., smashing stuff), so she reconfigures the guns on the ship to fire pin-point lasers.  Once they arrive at the Haffensye ship, she uses the beam to slice off the hair of the lead pirate, convincing him that he really should abandon ship and leave behind the hostages (and, most importantly, the cat).

The best part, though, is the farewell between Cap and Tic.  Tic decides to keep the ship; she and the refugees are going to take out the Haffensye to save all the refugees like her that they're using for slave labor.  As Cap and Chewie depart, Tic tells Cap that she's going to miss her, tears in her eyes.  Did I tear up a little in the McDonalds at the airport where I read this issue?  Yes, yes, I did.

***** (five of five stars)

Captain Marvel #12 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

DeConnick returns Carol to space in this issue after her brief Earth sojourn, and it's not an easy homecoming.  

Carol discovers that the Haffenseye have kidnapped Chewie to use him against Mr. Knife as he encroaches on Haffenseye space; they also took Tic, for unknown reasons.  Carol manages to get Harrison online and they head to the slave planet where they think that the Haffenseye are going, based on their trajectory.  They take a "short cut" through the "Endless Envelope," hoping to beat the Haffenseye to the planet.  (In general, if your enemies decide to go around something in their own territory called the "Endless Envelope," it's probably a good idea not to doubt them.)

Unfortunately, DeConnick leaves out some details here, like how the Haffenseye knew that Carol was going to teleport into the ship.  After all, if they didn't know that she was going to teleport into the ship, it wouldn't have been worth it to solder all the doors shut, since she would've had to open one to enter.  I'm also not sure why they wouldn't just kill Tic.  Why take on the liability of keeping alive Tic?  DeConnick seems to argue that they're going to sell her as a slave, but was she really worth the effort?

But, the real joy of this issue is the art.  Lopez's rendering of the Endless Envelope is stunning, and you haven't lived until you've seen Chewie in a full-on Hannibal Lecter mask.  I definitely added a star for that reason alone.

*** (three of five stars)

Captain Marvel #11 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I'm not really certain what happens here.  Let's walk through it.

Last issue, Carol got a letter from her friends, describing how they worked together to defeat Grace Valentine.  (Yay!)  As a result, she got homesick (or her Spidey-Sense tingled, one or the other), so she had Lila Cheney return her to Earth to see her friends.  (She's allegedly been gone the better part of a year, even though 12 issues in comic time is really just a few months.  Whatevs.  I have enough problems here.)  However, instead of seeing her friends, she simply visits a comatose Tracy.  (Kit doesn't appear to this issue, in a great example of pet peeve #2.)  Grace Valentine is somehow no longer in prison and knew that Carol would be there, because she figured that Carol would've returned to Earth once she heard about Grace's misadventures.  (Given that Carol and Grace have only confronted each other once, Grace knows a lot about Carol.)  She and some woman named June apparently plan to steal Carol's powers, even though the whole reason that Grace hates Carol is that she didn't earn her powers in the same way that Grace earned her success.  (If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, I guess.)  They've kidnapped a mall Santa Claus (because Christmas!) to use as a guinea pig, but Carol refuses to go down without a fight.  Mall Santa Claus helps free her from June's power-dampening cuffs, because he winds up being the real Santa Claus!  (In the world of gods and mutants, it really shouldn't be that big of a stretch that the Marvel Universe has a Santa, to be honest.)  But, Grace and June have apparently also stashed explosions at the Fed, just to be extra dastardly, I guess.  (After all, we're not given any reason why they're upset with the monetary authorities.  Do they want interest rates to get even lower to help with their Christmas bills?)  Carol uses Santa's bag and collections all the explosions in time to save the Fed.  Hurrah!

In other words, this issue felt like DeConnick had her intern write it.  It's a really rare miss for her, but I guess everyone has to have one.

* (one of five stars)

Captain Marvel #10 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

If this issue does anything, it'll make you appreciate the travesty that DeConnick isn't writing "Spider-Woman."  I just love her Jessica to pieces.  But, beyond that, it'll also warm your heart, as Carol's friends take turns via letters telling her about how they worked together to beat Grace Valentine and her cybernetically controlled rats.  (Yup, cybernetically controlled rates.)  It's as good as it sounds.  It's also a great platform for DeConnick to do what she does best, delivering pitch-perfect characterization of multiple characters.  If only everyone were this good...

***** (five of five stars)

Captain Marvel #9 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

OMG, this issue is crazy but adorable.  Lila Cheney is supposed to marry a prince from an empire where everyone speaks in rhyme.  (No, really.)  She doesn't want to marry him, and she seeks out Carol (or accidentally stumbles upon her and takes advantage of the moment) to help her call off the wedding.  But, the catch is that he has to be married to become king, and, in his empire, the men don't get to choose who they marry.  Lila can say that she doesn't want to marry him, but his mother will then have him marry some totally evil queen from another planet.  So, it's Lila or the totally evil queen.  Carol likes the prince, so she agrees to fight the evil queen to prevent him from marrying her.  She wins and tries to return to the choice to him as her bounty.  Then, honestly, it gets a little muddled.  But, it all gets resolved in the end, because Tic marries him.  Apparently, her race really only lives until 20 and she's already 14 so she's down with fake-marrying a hot prince.  (Makes total sense to me.)  Plus, once he's on the throne, he's going to change the law, giving everyone the freedom to choose their mate, so she's helping to change the world.  Hurrah!  OK, sure, it totally doesn't make a lot of sense, but it's Lila Cheney and Carol Danvers and a shirtless prince, so, as a gay comic-book fan, it's a win in my book.

*** (three of five stars)

Captain Marvel #8 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

This issue is ridiculous in the best possible way.  Recapping it almost seems like spoiling the fun.  Let's just say hamster cheeks are used as a metaphor for dimensional pockets.

DeConnick continues to show that she really understands how to write characters on several levels, particularly through her ability to give them distinct voices and make clear their motivations.  For example, I loved Rocket getting cranky because he was creeped out when the aliens cut the lights to Harrison, just as I totally bought that he would rally to protect Chewie when he learned she is (like he is) the last of her kind.  In other words, everything he does here intuitively feels like something Rocket would do.

DeConnick also really excels when it comes to writing emotions.  Tic's speech at the end of the issue -- about Carol needing to be brave enough to love Chewie enough to risk losing him -- could be a real turning point for Carol.  She's spent most of these two series fleeing people for fear of hurting them, so it's a big deal for her to decide to open herself to the possibility of letting the people around her make their own decisions when it comes to whether they want to stand by her or not.  It's pretty deep for an issue about cats (ahem, flerken).

My only complaint -- something that I feel required to note if I'm writing an honest review -- is that ditching the kitties at the T.D. Polyviv Refugee Rehab and Relocation Center felt a little like a cop-out.  If Carol was worried about not being able to keep all the kittens safe, shouldn't she have stayed there to help protect them?  Does the Center really have enough guards to protect them from the aliens that attacked her?

But, whatever.  It's a small complaint.  DeConnick is still the best in the business when it comes to combining humor with emotions, and I really hope they let her write the X-Men one day, because those folks could really use that.  (But, it would have to be in addition to Carol.  No leaving Carol, Kelly Sue.)  Her characters feel real, and I can't think of higher praise than that.

**** (four of five stars)

Captain Marvel #7 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I'm not really sure where DeConnick is going with the revelation that Chewie isn't a cat, but rather a "flerken" and, as such, a "living gatewa[y] to pocket dimensions."  But, if it involves Carol and Rocket fighting off aliens trying to get their hands on Chewie to sell her on the black market, I'm going to wind up being a happy camper.  All we need now is Sigourney Weaver to appear...

*** (three of five stars)

Captain Marvel #6 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

If I had to complain about anything, it's that Kelly Sue DeConnick is so good at creating supporting casts of characters that I ended the issue upset that we might see this one again.

Carol buys Eleanides enough time to realize that the Spartax are tyrants and her people will suffer under their "care."  As a result, she has Carol destroy the vibranium mines that J'Son wants so desperately while Gil and Jackie take over her job of holding off the Spartax fleet.  Tic broadcasts J'Son's genocidal rant across the Haffensye network (dude has to start avoiding open mikes), and we end with the people of Torfa free to choose their own destiny.  Good job, team!

It's a tight ending to a great arc.  But, DeConnick makes it clear that the Torfans -- Bee, Gil, Jackie, and Tic -- are going to stay on Torfa, and Carol flies into the dark expanse of space on her own.  DeConnick did such a great job of fleshing out these characters (we even meet Jackie's wife here) that it's just sad to see them go.  Although I originally found myself anxious for Carol to return to Earth to see her supporting cast there again, I'm now hoping that we're not too long gone from Torfa.

In other words, despite my initial reservations, DeConnick has totally sold me on Carol in space.  Onwards and upwards.

**** (four of five stars)

Captain Marvel #5 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

A-ha!  We knew J'Son was plotting something!

It turns out Torfa has vibranium, and J'Son struck a deal with one of the refugee races to mine it quickly, exposing the rest of the population to vibranium sickness.  Carol discovers this connection after losing Tic on Ursor-4 and hurling a piece of said metal to the ground in frustration; when it escapes unscathed, she puts two and two together.  On Torfa, the treachery of the one race is revealed.  Its leader admits the deal with J'Son:  they'd get the bio-engineering that their race needs to survive (their exo-skeletons are why they didn't get the sickness in the first place) and J'Son would be able to build vibranium-shielded starships.  (I'm guessing that it answers the question why J'Son put the refugees on Torfa in the first place, so that this race could mine the vibranium.)  Disgusted by the refugees turning on each other, Eleanides surrenders to the Spartax, knowing that a divided band of refugees can't possibly win against his fleet.

It's all a remarkable tight story.  DeConnick lets it unfold organically, without relying too much on exposition.  In fact, the only rough spot in the issue for me was that I couldn't remember some details from last issue, namely how the Haffensye wound up kidnapping Tic or how Carol wound up holding the vibranium in the first place.  But, those are pretty minor details that I can clarify by flipping through last issue.  I can't wait to see Carol take on the entire Spartax fleet next issue!

*** (three of five stars)

Captain Marvel #4 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Tic:  "'Warlord' and 'goddess' are not exact translations.  Jackie is our chief engineer and Defense Minister."

Jackie:  "I prefer 'warlord' and 'goddess.'"

Carol:  "Sure.  Who wouldn't?"

Man, I love this series.

We come full circle here, with Captain Marvel and her rag-tag band of Torfan refugees arriving on Ursor-4 to buy spare parts, as they did in the first issue.  We now know that they're trying to build orbital space-stations to which they can evacuate the other refugees, since the Alliance's fear of contagion means that it won't allow them to take the sick anywhere that currently exists.  It's a solid plan, though I'm not entirely sure how Captain Marvel's ship is going to hold all the parts that they need to build orbital space-stations.  But, as Carol said, one problem at a time.

Meanwhile, J'Son is still as sketchy as ever, and it seems abundantly clear that he has a specific plan for Torfa.  The only thing that continues not to make sense is that, as Eleanides said, J'Son put them there in the first place.  Did he plan on them all dying quickly, and now he's worried that if they live long enough they'll discover Torfa's secret,l whatever it is?  I guess we'll see.

But, regardless, I'm now totally sold on the cosmic adventures of Captain Marvel.  Sure, I miss her Earth-bound supporting cast, but I should've trusted DeConnick to create an equally awesome one for her in space.  It's like reading "Star Wars" if it were a comic, perhaps more so than "Guardians of the Galaxy" itself.  READ THIS BOOK.

**** (four of five stars)

Captain Marvel #3 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

First, I really do think that we need more stories about cats in space.  If you agree, this issue is for you.

DeConnick cleverly skewers comic-book conventions here, similar to Remender's romp through the Mojoverse in "Uncanny Avengers" Annual #1.  The leader of Tic's people dismantles Carol's offer to help, correctly guessing that said offer is driven by the overconfident belief that she'll be the one to convince them to leave the poisoned planet.  Carol takes the metaphoric punch on the jaw like a champ, and she instead realizes that the leader is correct in her insistence on staying on the planet:  they need to find a cure for the poison if they're going to save the people already affected by it.  Moreover, DeConnick makes you wonder if the Spartax aren't up to something.  Are they really expending all this effort just to help these people?  That doesn't really sound like J'Son, Peter's protestation to the contrary aside.

I'm still not sold on the Carol-in-space nature of this series, but DeConnick is picking up steam with the story that she's currently telling.  I'm happy to hang in there to see the conclusion, though I'm hoping that we'll then return to Earth for some quality time with her supporting cast.

*** (three of five stars)

Captain Marvel #2 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

The adventures of Captain Marvel's cat in space may sound like a bad "Disney, Jr." cartoon show, but, in DeConnick's hands, it's nothing short of hilarious.

The entire issue is banterific, between Carol telling a screeching Chewie that he would've gotten to stay home on Earth if he had been nicer to the people who might've agreed to take care of him and Rocket Raccoon deciding, in an ALF-esque moment, that Chewie is not a cat, but a dangerous "flerken."  Lopez delivers on the premise to the full extent of its promise, full of haughty cat glares and angry raccoon stomping.  (I also liked how Chewie seemed to like Peter.  Who doesn't really?)

Meanwhile, we also learn more about Tic, discovering that, after the Builders destroyed her planet, her people were resettled on Torfa.  Unfortunately, Torfa is a poison planet slowly killing the refugees, but they refuse to leave behind their sick to escape.  (I will say that I'm not quite sure how Carol came into possession of Tic, who gave her the task of transporting Tic to Torfa, and why Tic had to be in stasis for the transit.  Presumably we'll learn more next issue.)

Finally, the only down note, really, is the cover.  Carol looks like an elf in a space suit and, no, it's not a good look.

I'm still concerned that this series will be a cheap version of "Guardians of the Galaxy," but, in a way, having the Guardians appear in this issue, DeConnick appears to show that she's aware of the problem.  If DeConnick sticks to galactic intrigue, as she seems to be building here with the mystery of the "client" of the mercenaries who fire on Carol, while stilling giving us occasional moments of cat-based humor, I think that we'll be OK.

*** (three of five stars)

Captain Marvel #1 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

The revelation that Carol is leading her own Guardians of the Galaxy was certainly a surprise.  I'm not necessarily opposed to it, but I have two concerns.  First, DeConnick did such an amazing job building up Carol's supporting cast that it seems bizarre to see her so quickly ditch it.  She's leaving Tracy as she's dying and Kit as she and her mother have moved into the Statue of Liberty with her?  Really?  We get the tantalizing awesomeness of her dating Rhodey just to see that relationship suddenly put on hold for "maybe a year?"  It just seems to leave so much on the table.  Second, this gambit will only work if DeConnick manages to make it different from "Guardians of the Galaxy."  She doesn't necessarily do that here.  In fact, at times, with the "Star Wars" quips, she's essentially covering the same ground that Bendis has already covered.  I don't want Carol reduced to some sort of time-delayed version of Peter Quill.  But, obviously, it's just one issue.  We'll see how it goes.

** (two of five stars)