Review – Captain Marvel #8 (Marvel Comics)

Changes in Flight in Captain Marvel #8

Captain Marvel #8 is the start of an all-new plot, and it’s already looking to be an intense one. This plot was foreshadowed at the end of War of the Realms. And now fans have been given even more reasons to be concerned about their favorite hero.

Carol has always been one of those heroes pushing herself to do more, to be better. Her slogan is ‘farther, further, faster’ after all, and that’s the best way to sum her up. But sometimes, that means she’s her own worst enemy. And sometimes that means the struggles a typical hero comes across hit home just a little bit harder for her.

I know I’m not the only fan out there that has been anxiously awaiting this issue. The little teaser at the end of Captain Marvel #7 was just mean. Okay, it was brilliant too. But also mean! Only now we’re stuck waiting for Captain Marvel #9. It’s a never-ending cycle, isn’t it?

Writing

Kelly Thompson was not willing to pull punches in Captain Marvel #8. And I respect her for that. This was a heavy-hitting issue, touching on many of the more somber moments in Carol’s life. But it also explored many of the issues classic for her character. In all, this just furthers the feeling that Thompson has Carol work through her past to become something greater.

This issue was full of highs and lows, the two balancing each other out. Well, mostly. It’s clear that we were meant to feel a specific way at the end of this issue. But I’m not going to spoil it by stating that here.

There was a lot of subtlety woven into this issue and hidden behind the more obvious impacts of the plot. It was well done. It added some depth to the already intense moments and even a distraction at times.

The new character introduced…well, she’s meant to be a mystery, isn’t she? And yet, the tone of everything around her is definitely telling us a story in itself. Though only time will reveal the whole story. It’ll be interesting to see how that goes.

There were several cameos in this issue, on top of everything else. It’s hard to have quick moments from established characters while also acting true to their nature. And yet, this issue did just that.

Art

The artwork for Captain Marvel #8 was terrific. If you follow any of the social media accounts for Captain Marvel, then you probably saw all of the chatter about Carmen Carnero coming back as the lead artist. And honestly? It was worth the chatter.

Working alongside Cernero were Tamra Bonvillain (colorist) and VC’s Clayton Cowles (letterer). Together they brought us some vibrant artwork to enjoy. There were several pages and moments in particular that really caught my eye. For example, the first page is striking. The expressions on Carol’s face are perfectly summing up all of the emotions she’s been dealing with lately.

And, of course, the fight scenes were fun as well, along with a nicely illustrated explosion to boot. Talk about a win-win. But seriously, I loved the art in this issue. Especially the bonus pages with Chewie, but I might be slightly biased there.

Conclusion

Captain Marvel #8 was an intense but interesting read. The intensity makes sense, given that it’s following War of the Realms and a strong sense of foreshadowing. It was a strong lead to a new plot – one that’ll be interesting to see where it ends up.

This review was originally written for Word of the Nerd, but has been ported over to Quirky Cat’s Fat Stacks now that the site has shut down.