Review: Star #1 (of 5)
Hot from the pages from Captain Marvel comes, well I am not quite sure. Could be another “not” Captain Marvel or Marvel’s version Power Girl; each character has quirks seen in Star.
Originally Star was siphoning Carol’s powers and with said power, almost destroyed New York City. This being the comics, Carol was able to stop Star by punching a hole in her chest. Now, normally this would be an issue, though in Marvel land, a stay in the Raft, an escape and a bonding with the Reality Stone and things are all peachy. Still, Star has enemies and whilst she is trying to work out her powers, she turns to the other Jessica in Carol’s life for help in working out who is out to kill her. Of course, where there is an Infinity Stone there is always going to be outside interest, whether that be from the King of the Frost Giants or from a certain Witch.
There are a couple of reasons why this book feels familiar. First of all, its written by Captain Marvel, and keeper of all things Carol, Kelly Thompson. Thompson has been with Carol for some time now, to the extent that Thompson is now the voice of the good Captain. With Star’s first appearance in Carol’s book and the siphoning element, there is a logical reason why Star and Carol sound alike. I am not complaining; I actually enjoy the almost Carol and her perspectives on the world. The second element that gives the book that familiar feeling is the standard Marvel humour that seems to appear in every book that isn’t the Avengers of X-Books. It’s not that I find parts of the book unfunny; it’s very funny. The problem is that nearly every book has the same tone, so there is nothing new, really. Back to Thompson; her writing is pacy, fast and entertaining. The “not her Jessica” comments are very clever, as is the Loki elements. With the issue being the stone, I do wonder if we are going to see a Doctor Strange visitation at some point.
The art is provided by Javier Pina with Filipe Andrade. The pair deliver a style that works from the outset. The figure work is sublime , at least in the first act. The facial elements also work well for the most part. There is a section where things go a little wonky, as if all the artistic focus was on Loki. Things get back on track with Jessica. The panels combine with the dialogue ensuring that the pace is maintained. The look of the book is helped massively for the colors of Jesus Aburtov who goes for a darker scheme. VC’s Clayton Cowles does his usual great job on letters, here he gets tor mix up fonts to indicate powers used or at least, attempted use.
As stated,this book is a fun read, which may not offer much in the way of ramifications, though, personally I hope that’s not the case. Carol could do with a new counterpart. the ambiguity in Star would serve as an interesting contrast down the line.
Writing – 4.5 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Colors – 4 Stars
Overall – 4.5
Written by; Kelly Thompson
Art by; Javier Pina with Filipe Andrade
Colors by; Jesus Aburtov
Letters by; Clayton Cowles
Published by; Marvel Worldwide
Author Profile
- I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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