The New Captain Marvel

Amazing Spider-man Annual #16 by Roger Stern, John Romita Jr. and John Romita Sr.

The first thing to say about this comic is that the art by the two Romitas is terrific.

And it's a story by Roger Stern - so why didn't I enjoy it as much as I expected to?

The story is the introduction and origin of the new (for 1982) Captain Marvel. In fact Spidey plays mostly a supporting role. I think the main problem I have with the story is that I can't get my head round CM's origin and why she subsequently came to New York to meet Spidey and various other heroes (she later joins the Avengers). It doesn't really make sense and, that, along with other details, such as her getting a costume made from unstable molecules for example meant that the issue didn't work for me.

Oh well, you can't win them all. At least with hindsight, I know that Stern goes on to develop CMs character in the Avengers and she's a main character in a lot of good stories from that period.

For me though, her first appearance was not the best.

Rating 6/10