First time I've read some proper, old-school Captain Marvel. It was very weird.
And my copy has no cover, so I've never seen that creepy AF cover up there.
I've never really understood the draw of Captain Marvel. To me, he's always been a less-interesting Superman. But today's comic is just really weird. I've been thinking a lot lately about the stories that writers were able to tell under the restrictions of the Comics Code. Some of the work we get is good, but definitely pretty standard. Would it be too strong to say that the Comics Code inspired a few decades of mediocrity being the standard. And only when you had a particularly imaginative writer or artist would we get what might be seen as a comic that pushes the genre forward.
Captain Marvel's adventures are definitely very different from those that I've seen in other superhero comics, especially of this era. There's actually something of an Archie feel to this comic for me. The situations are every bit as weird as the ones that the Riverdale gang get themselves into in the 60s and 70s, but instead of American teenagers, it's a guy in a bright red costume. I wonder if I could transpose the Riverdale characters into stories of the Marvel Family?
I don't think I actually have more than 10 comics in the collection that feature Captain Marvel, and that's a liberal estimate. I may have to track down a bit more of the C.C. Beck stuff, though, as his art style is just so lovely.
More to come...
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