Captain Marvel 9 & 10

 Visions of Captain Marvel 10…9…

Revealed through Jack Kerouac’s Essentials of Spontaneous Prose

Captain Marvel Captain Marvel Captain Marvel—Carol Danvers now the Marvel paragon of the sky—the bad-ass kind-hearted boot-wearin’ kicker of the Marvel sky of New York—what is this hold—this captivation—this mesmerism your story contains that escapes other hero books—especially ones with female protagonists—Because the double x chromosomes are integral to Captain Marvel being a great book—She is a super hero but not super in the sense of being too far beyond mundane humanity—Her powers and heroics give her extra abilities yet her mindset stands rooted in the everyday rather than saving the universe or waging Kree or Skrull wars or whatever other matter may occupy the minds of Medusa Sue Richards or Thor—Captain Marvel is one of us—If given super powers a normal human’s thought process and focus would proceed in a manner very similar to Carl Danvers—Yes YES YES this a core part to her appeal! She’s like the reader or rather the reader feels that he is like her in ways that don’t feel possible with the Hulk or Superman or John Prophet—She has a regular apartment neighbors friends appointments to-do lists and a job (flying an airplane…or all things for a superhero with flight powers to do…this one baffles me the most…why Kelly Sue WHY???!).

And what of the art? Artwork on Captain Marvel has always both attracts and deters (but man those covers by Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson are attractive) and yet the lines and panels of Filipe Andrade have a very nontraditional superhero feel to them—Yet heroics lurk in his lines—When sitting at her table for breakfast the way Carol’s head is propped in her hand—the tightness of the kitchen—the sparseness and tininess of the table makes the whole second panel of the first page seethes with tension—even the cat crouching on the counter looking ready to jump what appears to be a very long distance adds to the tension—and the paradox because at the right end of the panel everything (Carol—the table—the pictures on the wall—the chairs—the vase—coffee—plate and phone on the table seem cramped—yet the left side of the panel seems incredibly open and spacious and accommodating—This juxtaposition in the creation of the paradox holds throughout the book—This paradox (AHH this is the reason Carol flies planes AND can fly with her powers!?) holds part of that fascination—Aspects that shouldn’t go together—and yet they do—and they work (cosmic powers—regular mindset—superhero Avenger—has a job flying airplane—these  things should not be working together and yet they are—Kudos to Kelly Sue for pulling this one off.

Dinosaurs running amok in New York (more paradox and odd juxtapositions…the Jurassic world occurring in the modern world) adds to this fascination—Plus dinosaurs are simply just cool.

Yet the artwork of Andrade seems such an odd fit—Looking at the work with expectations of realism—the proportions of the figures are wrong…legs far too skinny to support the body weight—the space between the eyes seems wide enough that you could land a plane between the sockets—stretching bodies are elongated far past the stretching point of the spine—yet realistic expectations are the WRONG sort of expectations to bring to this book—all expectations are the WRONG expectations to bring to this book—or any book—as a reader just relax and take the art and the story for what they are—Andrade doesn’t put realistic expectations in his panels but the impression—feeling—sense—aura—that does fill the panels  fits with the story and tale and character of Captain Marvel herself—Andrade’s lines MOVE—They move faster than Jack Kerouac on the road with Neal Cassady—Andrade’s stances give the figures an aura of confidence of power of immediacy of AUTHORITY that lends a swiftness and fascination to even some of the more mundane scenes (like when Captain Marvel stands around and talks with Jessica Drew) The hard extreme foreshortened views from a worm’s view visually and instantly depict the grandeur that Kelly Sue has written into this character—A grandeur that is respected—admired—and relateable—The loose lively free suggestive lines of Andrade stimulate rather than stifle the scene—These suggestions—these imperfections I originally called them when taking my numbskull prejudice expecting-realism first glances at the pages—are the very factors that add to the energy and fascination of this book—Andrade’s  style—I’m not sure what you’d call it—impressionistic—European—loose—modern—take whatever label you want—but it doesn’t seem to fit with photographic realism—and yet this none realistic style conveys the realism that can’t be captured with realism—that paradox that haunts the character of Captain Marvel and the tales in this book also haunt the lines and panels and layouts in the artwork—I can’t say as if I understand Captain Marvel or the character or the story or what’s going to happen any better since the beginning of this review—but as far as what hooks and fascinates me with the book—what factor keeps me mesmerized as I gaze and gaze and gaze through the pages wondering why do I like this——lies within the harmony of the paradoxes that spill out upon the page.

 

Keep me perplexed, keep it paradoxical and I’ll keep holding and following the sash of Captain Marvel.