Captain Carter #1 by Jamie McKelvie, Marika Cresta, Erick Arciniega and VC’s Clayton Cowles
In the alternate universe created in the Disney+ series What If…?, we once again met Peggy Carter, polite British agent. However in the What If…? timeline she took the super soldier serum in the place of Steve Rogers. Seeing this animated superhero was a watershed moment for a lot of female comics fans, as Captain Carter isn’t your average skinny, high heel wearing heroine. She’s built like a fighter, with the sense of humour that Peggy has always had, and a punch like a Klitschko brother! This is the Peggy that we get in Captain Carter #1, not the misogyny fighting star of the TV show, but a genuine shield-wielding hero.
Bringing her to the pages of her very own comic is debut writer (but long time Marvel and indie creator) Jamie McKelvie, with art from Marika Cresta. This entire book is a joy from start to finish, from the familiar opening scenes, where we go under the ice that any Captain America fan will recognise, through to the very last page.
O Captain!
McKelvie (WicDiv, Young Avengers) has been given access to the Marvel sandbox and has made some – to me – pretty solid choices in who to bring out to play. I knew one of the characters that was due to appear in this first issue and yet still did a little squee of excitement when she appeared. A sign of good writing that! Despite some of the story being dictated by the needs of a debut issue, McKelvie still manages to throw in a few curve balls, and his oft-tweeted political stance is made clear within the machinations of the diplomats in the opening scene, through to the obtuse, sleazy portrayal of the Prime Minister.
There isn’t anything hugely ground-breaking about the plot, but then I wasn’t expecting there to be given the subject matter. We need to properly meet Captain Carter, as she is a new character to comics, and there is plenty of world building done without it feeling heavy-handed or obvious. The opening page of “newspapers” is a clever trick by McKelvie to give readers the background that they need in order to drop us straight into the action in the Arctic Ocean.
My Captain!
But let’s talk about the art for a minute! Cresta (Doctor Aphra) is ably assisted on colours by Erick Arciniega (X-Men, Excalibur). Whilst adhering largely to the Marvel house style, the art is dynamic, exciting and colourful! In particular, the facial expressions that Cresta uses throughout the book are a credit to the comics craft, and add an extra level to the story by making Peggy look like a real person, dealing with real shock.
One thing that I also want to point out (in no way influenced by some other recent Marvel books that lent heavily into cheesecake) is the clothing worn by all the ladies in this book – of which, brilliantly, there are many! At no point do we get an unnecessary cleavage shot, everyone is dressed in clothes that they look comfortable in. We even get a lilac trouser suit – past me is in heaven. If you were a teenage girl in the 90s, you know.
To be continued…
For me, the rest of this series is a must read, and I am hoping that it sells well enough for McKelvie to be given more writing gigs, but more importantly that it means more Captain Carter, and more super heroes who are built like they should be! I just want issue #2 now to see the epic new costume that gets a sneaky preview in the pages of this issue…
Issue #2 of Captain Carter is due to hit the racks on 13th April 2022.
Jamie McKelvie – writer
Marika Cresta – artist
Erick Arciniega – colourist
VC’s Clayton Cowles – letterer
Marvel Comics – publisher
