Captain Marvel #3: We're Here; We're Waiting

Captain Marvel #3
Writer: Kelly Sue DeConnick
Artist: Dexter Soy
Marvel
August 29, 2012

I decided to keep following Captain Marvel, in spite of the problems I had with the first issue.  I've heard a lot of good things about DeConnick so I wanted to give her the benefit of doubt and keep reading.

It's paying off.  I've been increasingly impressed with the character development of Captain Marvel, including her stubbornness and her inability to back down from a fight (sound familiar, Christian?).

At first, when Captain Marvel spares an enemy pilot from a vicious beating, you're thinking, "Oh ok, so she's straight edge--a little like Captain America.  She won't kill the bad guys; she'll just give them a good beat-down."  But then she tells him to go back to camp and gather up the best army he can muster.  She says, "...when my gals and I hand you your asses...I want you to know beyond any shadow of a doubt...it could not possibly have gone any other way."  And that's when you know that Captain Marvel is completely bad-ass. 

The plot is taking its time to reveal where exactly it's going but it's certainly shaping up.  Characters and plot points that seemed unattached in the first issue are coming around again in the third.  Let's just say, I think there's going to be another pilot in the mix sometime soon.

The only thing, story-wise, that doesn't make sense to me is how there is a half-Japanese soldier in the US army during World War II.  Correct me if I'm wrong but were Japanese people allowed to join the army to fight against their own countrymen?  I guess that's not really the point in the comic book world but the blend of comic book world and real world in this series is a little confusing.

The art style is growing on me.  I have to say that I was thrown by it a couple times in the second issue because the background tends to look more realistic than the characters in the foreground.  The blend makes for a rather jarring splash page.  However, the sharp lines and dark colors lend Captain Marvel a determined, not-to-be-f***ed-with-air about her.  I also really appreciate that she, as well as the Banshee Squad, are drawn as athletes.  Sure, they have hips and boobs, but man, do they have rippling muscles as well!  The action shots really emphasize their movement and their physical presence and power, rather than their body parts.

The interlude is totally enticing--I can't wait for Captain Marvel to look up "Cobb, Helen" in the book.  All in all, "We'll be here.  We'll be waiting"...for the next issue!