Captain Marvel #17

By Kelly Sue DeConnick, Filipe Andrade & Jordie Bellaire

Now that the tie-ins to Infinity are finished, Kelly Sue DeConnick can start to focus on the establishment of Captain Marvel as a character post-amnesia. This over sized issue follows Carol as she begins to pick up the pieces of her life left over from The Enemy Within and sees her attempt to rebuild her memories with help of her friend and neighbor – Kit.

DeConnick slows down in this issue and we finally get to see the affects of losing ones memory in Carol Danvers. As Carol works to understand the world as she once did we get to see how the loss of her memories color her relationships. She’s still the same Captain Marvel, stepping in to save the city of New York when a new villain threatens her beloved city. Carol questions with what it means to be a hero and how she relates to the team of people she has surrounded herself with. DeConnick’s character work shines incredibly bright in this issue. We start to see a deeper examination of Carol’s life outside of being Captain Marvel. DeConnick goes a long way to show that the people surrounding Carol are just as important to Captain Marvel as Carol is. After putting Carol through the ringer and sending her into space, this is the pick-me-up issue that is perfect for fans of the series.

Filipe Andrade returns to Captain Marvel with his trademark style and flair. Andrade’s style has been one of the better ones to touch this book’s pages. His lines and unique animation give a light hearted feel to the panels as the characters move fluidly across the space he’s provided. Jordie Bellaire’s colors compliment Andrade’s artwork well, giving the art the look of an oil painting coming to life in front of you.

It will be interesting to see what more DeConnick can bring to the dynamic shift that she is establishing in Captain Marvel between Carol and the other characters. I look forward to see what she does with the story before the new number 1 launches next year.