Captain Marvel, Vol 1: Higher, Further, Faster, More written by Kelly Sue Deconnick and illustrated by David Lopez

Captain Marvel, Vol 1: Higher, Further, Faster, More written by Kelly Sue Deconnick and illustrated by David Lopez is the first volume in the second story arc/sequence starring the new Captain Marvel (the first sequence thingy had two volumes and included her origin story and I haven't read it as of this writing). A friend recommended starting with this volume (and described it as "Captain Marvel in SPACE", which is accurate) but there were a few characters that were obviously in the earlier comics that I wasn't familiar with. Now I want to go back and read those two earlier volumes. (I should also admit that part of the reason I decided to start here is because the Volume 2 immediately following this one has a swarm of cats on the cover...) Goodreads leads me to believe that this is the first volume of the 8th... volume of Captain Marvel stories. The Carol Danvers version of Captain Marvel seems to have begun with the 2 or 3 volumes of the 7th... volume. (Wow, turns out you have to be quite awake to understand comic chronology.)

Hero! Pilot! Avenger! Captain Marvel, Earth's Mightiest Hero with an attitude to match, is back and launching headfirst into an all-new ongoing adventure! As Captain Marvel, a.k.a. Carol Danvers, comes to a crossroads with a new life and new romance, she makes a dramatic decision that will alter the course of her life - and the entire Marvel Universe - in the months to come. But as Carol takes on a mission to return an alien girl to her homeworld, she lands in the middle of an uprising against the Galactic Alliance! Investigating the forced resettlement of Rocket Girl's people, Carol discovers that she has a history with the man behind the plot. But when the bad guy tries to blackmail Carol and turn the Avengers against her, it's payback time! Guest-starring the Guardians of the Galaxy!

To summarise my review: Captain Marvel is awesome and she should have all the movies. ALL. THE. MOVIES.

This was my first exposure to Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers or otherwise) unless you count Tumblr fanart. Turns out, she's incredibly awesome. Basically, Captain Marvel, aka Carol Danvers, is night impervious (bullets bounce off her, she doesn't need to breath in space — and can magically talk in space without a helmet...), can fly, and shoots energy/fireballs from her hands. AND she has a pet cat which she takes to space with her. WHAT is not to like? Seriously.

As I'm sure you can tell, I have a new favourite superhero. I'm not sure I had a strong favourite superhero before (but right now Ms Marvel is probably number 2), but I do now. I am lacking a bit of background on her, so I'm sure I missed some references at the start (and there were a couple of characters who I had zero context for) but the actual story made sense the whole time. Captain Marvel is sent to a "poison planet" whose inhabitants are all getting sick but don't want to evacuate. Along the way she runs into the Guardians of the Galaxy (exactly like the movie set of characters) and the annoying raccoon is mean to her cat. (I already didn't like the raccoon from the movie, so this is just another point against him.)

The main action in this volume's story arc is Captain Marvel saving the planet in a roundabout way — a lot is made of the fact that just because she's an Avenger doesn't mean that her mere presence is magical or wanted. Although she enjoys punching people in the face, the day-saving has to be a little more indirect than that. And the important thing is, the cat is unharmed. (The cat is, in fact, on the cover of Volume 2.)

I loved Captain Marvel and highly recommend her to anyone who likes superheroes, kickarse women, or cats. I'm not 100% sure that Higher, Further, Faster, More is the absolute best volume to start with, but it's not a bad place to come into Captain Marvel's story. I will definitely be reading more Captain Marvel.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: 2014, Marvel
Series: Um. Captain Marvel (2014) #1-6, (Volume 1 of ongoing) and the third volume since Carol Danvers became Captain Marvel.
Format read: Trade paperback
Source: All-Star Comics, Melbourne