Captain Britain and MI:13 #8 – Review

By Paul Cornell (Writer), Leonard Kirk (Pencils), Michael Bair w/Jay Leisten & Craig Yeung (Inks), and Brian Reber (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I initially gave Captain Britain and MI:13 a look because of the way it launched as a tie-in to the Secret Invasion. I fully expected to drop the book following the event because, in all honesty, my pull list was starting to get out of hand. But a funny thing happened during only a few short issues. Thanks to Paul Cornell’s writing and some imaginative, vibrant artwork, I found myself quickly drawn into the magical world of the Marvel heroes operating across the pond. Now, seven (going on eight) issues in, I can safely say that I am glad that I stuck around.

The Story: The team, currently without the help of Captain Britain, continues the fight against the demon Plotka and its army of Mindless Ones at the Cloverleaf Estate. Captain Britain, meanwhile, continues to face down his inner demons as a prisoner trapped within Plotka’s soul stealing Dream Corridor. A lot of questions get answered in this action-packed issue, most notably regarding the nature of Plotka, its army, and its ultimate goal.

What’s Good: In all honesty, I have very few complaints about this latest issue. It excels in nearly every area I take into consideration when writing a review. The twisting storyline is wonderfully bizarre and extremely refreshing thanks to the heavy emphasis on magic and the occult. In addition, the writing is laced with dry, British humor that does wonders for both the team dynamic and the overall flavor of the series. As for the artwork, the creative team perfectly compliments the story with some incredibly trippy, kinetic visuals that somehow manage to keep the nearly non-stop action manageable and, for the most part, fairly easy to digest.

What’s Not So Good: My biggest complaint is that series still hasn’t done enough to get those new to the characters (like me) enough information to get totally up to speed. I like the characters enough to keep reading, but I don’t really feel like I know them at all. For a re-launch, Captain Britain is not exactly friendly to new readers.

The other issue I have with the book is that, occasionally, it feels as though there is just way too much going on at once. The creative team does a nice job keeping everything in check for the most part, but I did find myself re-reading sections from time to time just to make sure I understood everything. It’s not a big complaint by any means, especially considering how much is going on, but I feel it’s something worth noting.

Conclusion: A fine package of storytelling, artwork, and character moments, Captain Britain and MI:13 #8 is well worth the cash. Be sure to check it out if you are looking for something from a different corner of the Marvel Universe.

Grade: B+

-Kyle Posluszny

Captain Britain and MI:13 #7 – Review

By Paul Cornell (Writer), Leonard Kirk (Penciler), Michael Bair (Inker), and Brian Reber (Colorist)

Captain Britain and MI:13 continues to roll out, and I keep buying it. Though I’m not entirely sure why. Now that it’s no longer part of the Secret Invasion, it feels cut adrift from the rest of the Marvel Universe, and the cast is, let’s face it, a collection of B-listers. Captain Britain is still a goody-two-shoes dweeb, Peter Wisdom continues to confuse me (Is he Peter Pan or not? If not, why should I care about him?), and the Black Knight is still wearing that damn helmet but not the damn armor. I have no problem with superheroes not wearing costumes– I don’t miss Power Man’s yellow shirt, but if you’re going to be getting into sword fights, shouldn’t you wear some protection? As for the Spitfire/ Blade storyline, it is still completely unconnected to anything else going on in the book.

On the plus side, Plokta, maker of the Mindless Ones, is one of the creepiest villains to ever grace a comic book. He’s a white mask floating above a mass of cosmic protoplasm, and he’s not evil as much as completely and unabashedly selfish. His trick is to give his enemies a vision of their fondest wishes and waits until they’re entranced. He then sucks their magic powers to create more of those one-eyed golems that bedevil Dr. Strange from time to time.

The art is pretty good, but the writing lacks the sort of depth that would make me really care about the characters. I have to admit, I haven’t read Captain Britain since Alan Moore wrote him, so a lot of the details of the book don’t mean much to me, but I imagine a lot of readers are in the same situation. Cornell has the rest of this plot line to convince readers that he can make this book work, otherwise I don’t think it’ll be around much longer.

Grade: B-

– Andrew C. Murphy