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CAPTAIN MARVEL Issue No. 18

The essence of Death is hiding within Rick Jones' girlfriend Marlo in order to avoid destruction at the hands of the mad death god Walker. Thanos, Thor, and Jenis in trying to protect both Death and her host body take the pair to Purgatory the one place Death has no dominion. But Walker follows them, changes Jenis back into Rick, ages the sidekick to senior citizen status and shatters one of his arms. Against an enemy like this, even Death herself may have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

As comic books fans have come to learn, you either love Peter David or you hate him (that opinion generally changes based on whatever he's writing at the moment). Unfortunately, this latest issue of CAPTAIN MARVEL, while steering clear of the 'hate' category, definitely qualifies as a 'strong dislike.' For starters, anyone who titles a story 'Who Let The Gods Out?' should have his writer's license revoked. Even David, who can never resist a good (or a bad) pun, should have fought his inner demons harder on this one.

Second, the 'cosmos in peril' type of storyline may have worked back when Jenis' daddy, Mar-Vell, was wearing the mega-bands, but it doesn't have quite the same effect with today's readers. Given the title's penchant for not taking itself too seriously, a plot involving the imminent death of Death seems way out of place. It's not that otherwise light books should never tread on heavier territory David has proven often enough that he can usually juggle between the two with ease. Here, however, the heaviness of the plot prevents CAPTAIN MARVEL's main strength to be fully realized: there's almost no humor of any real sort to compliment the dire circumstances (apart from a few half-hearted jokes about Thanos looking like an eggplant).

It's also just plain silly that a title character as powerful as Captain Marvel would constantly need super-hero guest stars to back him up. The hero shouldn't need to work with anyone, especially if they have less to add to a fight than he does. Thanos is only around to explain what's happening to the lesser mortals, while Thor ends up being nothing more than a demi-deus ex machina. By issue's end, with several plot strands left unresolved, the reader has no sense of accomplishment from any of the main characters.

Some would assume that Jim Starlin's artwork would save the issue from becoming a complete waste, but we all know what happens when you assume. Starlin's heart isn't any more in this particular story than David's is. The artwork is nowhere near what readers have come to expect from the masterful artist. Even when the script calls for the occasional vast and majestic imagery, Starlin delivers vague and cramped images instead. For example, the moment in which we see Purgatory for what it truly is (obviously meant to be a pivotal moment based on the characters' reactions), all we see is a set of line drawings reminiscent of Keith Harring. Being surrounded by Harring drawings may be Starlin's idea of Purgatory, but it probably doesn't frighten you or me as much as it seems to frighten him.

Sadly, even the so-called 'final battle' seems more like a minor skirmish between characters who have nothing better to do, much as David must have felt when he wrote this issue. True, the ending does portend some serious changes in the title, and if this one issue is anything to go by, CAPTAIN MARVEL could seriously use them. If this sounds sad, it's because it's coming from a real fan of the series who just one year ago praised David for revitalizing an old character. Let's hope this is just a sophomore slump and nothing more serious.