Captain Britain and MI-13 Annual #1
Friday, June 5th, 2009
The first, and indeed, most probably last annual-sized outing for Captain Britain and MI-13 sees Cornell doing a rare and welcome thing with the format, following up a previous story while springboarding another one out of it. It’s always a welcome effort when the stories in annuals feel relevant – after all, they cost a lot, and there’s ample space for a story, so why not tell one that’s actually special? Cornell, at least, gets that, using this annual to deliver two memorable tales. The first re-introduces Meggan, Cap’s oft-absent wife, and the second doing a new spin on Claremont’s old X-Men baseball games as the Brits gather round for – of course – a spot of cricket.
Now, that aside, this is actually one of the weakest MI-13 stories to date. Re-introducing Meggan means giving us her life story, and the recap is tied-in with her current attempts to get out of Hell, where she’s been trapped following her encounter with Plotka. The flashback and present events don’t mesh particularly well, and the explanation of Meggan’s powers and personality don’t come across well – at least for some like me, who is almost entirely unfamiliar with the character. It’s hard to believe that her presence in Hell could be so effective, and nothing in the book convincingly explains why it should be. The story does end with an effective twist and an unlikely yet appropriate guest star, but the cliffhanger ending doesn’t feel particularly satisfying – Collins’ art is the only part of the strip that really delights.
The next story is a tad better, as the MI-13 crew indulge in a spot of cricket. It’s light and throaway, the characterisation comes through and Cornell even works in the phrase “weak lemon drink” in a move guaranteed to delight about 6 people worldwide, three of whom write for this website. The thing that prevents the story from being really good is Alphona’s artwork. Characters are misshapen and distended in a way that defies mere considerations of stylistics, becoming outright ugly. Worse yet, done up in cricket garb, it’s hard to even see who some characters are.
So, between two rather weak stories, we’ve actually ended up with the worst Captain Britain issue since the series restarted. A pity, given that it’s also the most expensive. The annual’s heart is in the right place, but sadly, it’s ultimately hard to recommend due to its technical failings.


This week, we’re handing out the First Annual Comics Daily awards – one per day – between Christmas and New Year. Each award has been written up by a member of the Comics Daily team after a consensus was reached, and highlights what we feel have been the best of superhero comics this year.







