Alright, forget the cautious optimism of my last review. Let’s have our cards right out on the table – Captain Britain and MI:13 is the successor to Ultimates 2 as Marvel’s best current ongoing superhero comic, Paul Cornell is absolutely brilliant, and in a world where All-Star Batman and Ultimates 3 top sales charts, it’s incredibly heartening to see comics readers with common sense making this thing a smash hit, sell-out success.

Cornell’s main achievement, really, has been in giving British readers, finally, a hero – in fact, a set of heroes – of which they can be proud, instead of faintly embarrassed. It’s only taken him three issues, but already the reestablishment of Captain Britain – of all people – as a genuine superheroic force to be reckoned with is firmly in place courtesy of an air-punchingly brilliant closing few pages that doesn’t want for bombast yet stops short of outright arrogance (“We just don’t like to make a fuss”).

Those disappointed by the lack of actual story in the last issue or so of Secret Invasion, meanwhile, might find rather more to engage with here in MI:13. Rather than being hamped by launching in the midst of a crossover, the series has made excellent use of the overarching plot, and has shown one of the front lines of the Skrull invasion in a far more immediate and tangible sense than its “parent” title.

It’s also been a showcase for Cornell’s entirely sure-footed knack for dialogue – and while this issue is lacking slightly on the wisecrack front compared to last month, there are choice speeches throughout, whether it’s Skrull John defiantly taking a stand against his own people, or the magical (er, quite literally) sequence that reveals the source of the voice in Pete Wisdom’s head. Strong character development has been a cornerstone not just of the early issues of this run, but going back to Wisdom as well - and even at this early stage the book’s a candidate for one of the best supporting casts out there (the disappointment at the non-appearance of Captain Midlands so far is surely tempered by the promise of the next arc’s title, “Hell Comes to Birmingham”).

Leonard Kirk’s vibrant and clear artwork is the icing on the cake, really - kudos to his Canadian pen for its grasp of UK-style backgrounds, streets and landmarks, though; are you watching, Greg Land? His triumph comes with the genuinely iconic imagery of the closing splash page, complete with a fantastic bit of new costume design. And if there’s a criticism, really, it’s simply that the cover is completely unrepresentative of the issue’s contents. A minor quibble, though, when you consider that the attention to detail present in the series is such that each issue has had a page at the end devoted to helping readers find out more about the character - here, yes, it’s true that it’s basically an advert for some trades, but it’s evidence of an inclusive approach to the series, and it’s pushing Alan Moore books, so who can complain?

If I’m honest, my opinion of the series is probably coloured slightly by the fact that it’s a British writer, writing proper British characters - upholding a longstanding Marvel tradition and kicking the arse of the likes of Secret Invasion in the process. But even if I were American, I can’t see myself not enjoying this - it’s entertaining, swift-paced, action-packed comics with a sharp edge, driven by great ideas. Aside from its use of mythology, it may not be the weightiest comic out there - but damned if it isn’t up among the most enjoyable.

Following the quite surprising media “storm” brought about by the appearance of Gordon Brown in issue #1 (something that yours truly, who was reading the comic anyway, hadn’t even spotted), Paul Cornell’s Captain Britain and MI:13 suddenly finds itself under something of a spotlight. It’s a good job, then, that it’s already proving to be such a good series. Cornell seems to be bringing one of the strongest attributes of a certain time-travel related TV show for which he writes to the comics table – that is, a reliance on strong central ideas.

Finding himself in the position of having to essentially show “the British front” of an editorially-dictated war with the Skrulls, Cornell’s priority is therefore to find a unique angle, rather than simply playing out the events of Secret Invasion in different costumes. This he does by having the Skrulls go after the strongest card that Marvel’s Britain holds – not superheroes, as in the States, but magic. What we get, therefore, is a twist on the usual trope of magic always being able to win out in a technological situation - bring technology into a magical world, and the unfamiliar technology will triumph. It’s a neat idea, and at the same time as this victory enhances the Skrull threat, we can already see from the world of Avalon that Cornell is building up (even the Green Knight gets in there at one point!) the sort of themes that are going to inform the series as a whole, the strengths of Marvel’s “British mythology” that it’s going to play to.

That aside, there’s little that’s hugely remarkable about Captain Britain (save for the fact that its titular character is afforded a significant impact without actually appearing in its pages, right from the excellent opening page that compares the difference between the British and American public’s “discovery” of the deaths of their champions - although, you know, if Braddock is actually dead, I’ll buy the trade paperback and EAT it). But as with the first issue, this is simply a finely-crafted, strongly-executed, terrifically entertaining slice of superhero comics. Cornell already brings no small measure of confidence to his storytelling, even this early in his comics career, and he litters the pages with sharp dialogue (choice examples including “Don’t call me ’sir’, it’s… weirdly horny” and “this voice… is half like Gandalf and half like Mr Kipling”) and great characters (it’s no small feat that Faiza is already so likeable and well-defined, given that she’s only had a few pages of each issue in which to be introduced).

The solid craftsmanship extends to the art, as well, with Leonard Kirk on career-best form - although there are certain action beats that could do with being a bit clearer, his character design is strong and there’s a great sense of energy. He’s clearly going for something of a Bryan Hitch style, and on the whole pulls it off rather well.

The overriding feeling about Captain Britain and MI13 - quite aside from the fact that getting Paul Cornell into the industry was an absolute masterstroke on Marvel’s part, and they need to take full advantage of his talent while they can - is that, from a UK-based reader’s perspective, it’s fantastic to have a proper, British superhero comic of which to be proud. The last one I can really think of was Miracleman, and before that… well, Moore’s Captain Britain, really. Cornell is carefully building up his own little corner of the Marvel Universe here, and packing it out with characters about whom I can’t wait to read and discover more. And that’s before Cap himself has even had a chance to come out fighting.

 
Various European Spidermen, a user’s perspective on the newsarama overhaul, yet more reportage on the Captain Britain media storm the UK is weathering, a quick look at an interesting new “beginners guide to comics” and the usual Den of Geek links! All in today’s (just scraping in on) Sunday Pages!
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It’s a Bristol Comic Expo special this week, and with James having already done his thing over at CBR, it’s left to yours truly to provide a recap of our weekend. Of course, despite being able to namedrop here and there, we’re hardly Rich Johnston (although we do know him, as well), so don’t expect too much in the way of insider revelations in what is really more of a diary entry than anything else. But come this way for some truly fascinating tales of story pitching competitions, hypothetical scenarios on Earth-Dave, lost bags, appalling town planning systems - and even some comics…

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Captain Britain launches off the back of Secret Invasion as Pete Wisdom and Skrull John uncover a Skrull infiltrator in the British government. Over the course of the issue, Cornell introduces his cast, showing them all responding to the Skrull threat in their own ways. After Young X-men and Mighty Avengers have both done generic “round up the cast” issues in recent weeks, Cornell really shames that approach by introducing people in the context of, you know, an actual story that’s happening.

Cornell gives the Black Knight a fairly blatant personality overhaul - he even admits it in-story - but it manages to make him one of the most interesting cast members. Artist Leonard Kirk gives him a new, non-ridiculous costume that echoes the original while making it a little less ceremonial. It’s no mean feat to make a chracter from the Avengers C-List into a credible support, but this is a Black Knight I can be interested in. As with any overhaul, there are going the staunch Black Knight fans might not like it, but even if it prevents both of them from buying the book, it’s a risk worth taking.

Likewise, Captain Britain himself gets something of a makeover, though it’s on the conceptual level rather than his look or personality. It’s been a while since he was interesting, and it never helped that under Chris Claremont there’s been a lot of emphasis on the Captain Britain Corps and him being the protector of reality. Reverting him back to the level of a simple, superheroic icon akin to Captain America gives him both a nice focus and a more conventional angle.

Cornell has really thrown himself into the world - there’s a little less exposition than I’d like about what the Siege Perilous actually is in Marvel continuity, for those of us who haven’t kept up with Captain Britain trivia. It feels a little under-explained, given that it’s the focal point of the story and the thing we’re supposed to be worried about. There are also a few bits where it feels like Cornell is hamming up the “British” dialogue for the benefit of American readers, but to be fair, this is comics, that’s just the shorthand you use when you can’t make use of accents. Overall, it’s actually pretty refreshing to see British superheroes, in Britain, with a  British writer who knows how to show that in a mostly subtle way.

The issue goes out with a literal bang - it’s fair to say that Captain Britain probably isn’t going to die (at least, not permanently) so it’ll be interesting to see what the resolution is. Looking at the cover preview of issue #2, it’s bound to involve Excalibur. That said, it’s worth remembering that “Captain Britain” is a title that can be passed on. Between Cornell’s immediate mastery of superheroics and Kirk’s engaging artwork, there’s no good reason Captain Britain should fail. Get on board immediately.

(also, I don’t usually mention it, but how fantastic is that trade dress? Best looking comic I’ve seen in years.)

Do you like Starman? Do you like Paul Cornell and the Fantastic Four? If so, there’s probably something worth reading in here, I guess. If nothing else, why not come in and read my latest Alternate Cover column? A must for people who like the Buffy and Angel comic, though an even bigger must for people who don’t like it! And we tell you who to vote for in what nobody calls “the comics industry’s BAFTAs”, the Eagle Awards. Continue reading »