If I didn’t consider myself a card carrying member of the Carol Corps before, I definitely am one now. (Are there actually cards? I should look into that…) After becoming a fan of Kelly Sue DeConnick through ‘Avengers Assemble’ and ‘Pretty Deadly’ (and her amazing internet presence), I finally decided to check out ‘Captain Marvel’ when it relaunched for All-New Marvel NOW. If you read my review of the first issue, you can see that I really enjoyed it, but the Carol Danvers Experience totally got better in the second issue.

When we last left Carol, she had just been approached by Iron Man to take a tour of duty with the Guardians of the Galaxy and patrol space for a little while. After talking to Iron Patriot, who she may have been developing a budding romance with, she decided that she would indeed take the spot on the team and blast off into space for a while. Now, along with the alien pod that she and Rhodey saved from crashing to Earth, Captain Marvel pilots her talking spaceship Harrison towards a new adventure. However, things take a slightly complicated turn when she’s met with some resistance from the Haffensye, who refuse to let her and her medical transport through their blockade. Luckily, Star-Lord and his gang are in the vicinity.

First of all, I love that Carol is such a big ‘Star Wars’ nerd. Her ship’s name is Harrison. Her cat’s name is Chewie. Those details are adorable and so is she. Of course, that may also be something that speaks to the themes of this series. In the last issue, we got a scene that could have been taken out of Indiana Jones mythology. As a ‘Star Wars’ fan, it’s easy to see why Carol would name her ship after the actor who plays Han Solo, but it could also indicate the sort of adventures that she expects to have as she heads out into space. Or I’m reading far too into this. Either way, I like the references.

Next, I love how David Lopez draws the Guardians of the Galaxy. In the short amount of time that I’ve been familiarizing myself with these characters, Drax is always either stoic or rage screaming his way into battle. However, he’s shown here laughing and having a good time with Groot. Whatever game they’re playing, I want in because it looks like a blast. And speaking of the resident muscle/houseplant, Lopez’s rendition of the character might be the scariest I’ve come across yet. DeConnick stays true to his gentle nature though and he’s still calm and collected as he proclaims, “I am Groot.” It just so happens that he looks scary as hell as he does so. And then there’s Rocket. His helmet just reminds me of ‘Biker Mice From Mars’. There’s more I love about Rocket in this issue too, but that deserves another paragraph.

While I could go on about Lopez’s artwork on this series, Kelly Sue is truly the star of the creative team. Like I said in my last review, there’s a child-like quality to her books that manage to appeal to adults in a way that reminds them that superheroes are supposed to be fun. Captain Marvel is silly and goofy, but when it comes to taking care of business, she’s a badass. In a way, I find this Captain Marvel to be similar to Peter Parker. Both characters often have a perfect balance of comedy and ass kicking. The difference here though might be that Carol is a bit more adventurous. Spidey keeps to the streets whereas Captain Marvel flies off to different worlds, but it all comes down to relatability. The audience relates to Captain Marvel unlike they do with any other hero. Surely, we’d all jump to save our pets from danger. Carol just does it in space and it’s more fun to watch because we’re not the ones in the chase.

Every time I review one of Kelly Sue DeConnick’s books, I find myself saying the same things over and over again. Her characters are sassy and fun. Her stories are compelling and interesting to follow. And I usually can’t wait to see what happens next. But that’s a good thing, right? She is consistently delivering some of my favorite issues in my weekly pull and ‘Captain Marvel’ #2 is no different. Basically, if you’re not at least giving this title a chance, you’re doing it wrong. This book is too awesome not to at least give it a chance.

Final Score:

CAPTAIN MARVEL #1

Written by Kelly Sue DeConnick

Art by David Lopez & Lee Loughridge