Captain Carter #1

It’s always a pleasant surprise when I find a superhero comic I enjoy these days. It’s mostly my fault — I’ve read so many of them, and I find many of the expectations of the genre (mostly the idea that anything can be solved by punching) no longer to my taste.

But Captain Carter #1 does many things I like.

It stars a woman, for one thing, and one who’s allowed to be physical, instead of having vague point and gesture mental powers.

It’s British! Well, set in England, anyway. And she speaks with a wonderfully old-fashioned flavor. As the young upstairs neighbor puts it, “No wonder you talk like you’re in Downton Abbey.”

Peggy, even being super-powered, faces some of the same challenges all women have to deal with, such as men talking over her while trying to decide her fate for her. I could relate.

It’s got that culture clash that I so enjoy, as Peggy was frozen during World War II and thawed out in the modern day. This was one of my favorite panels, as a result.

There are action scenes, of course, but they intrigue instead of bore me.

Future issues promise the possibility of one or more of three premises: The Prime Minister wants to exploit Captain Carter to make Great Britain great again. The world has discovered that Peggy is still alive, so she has to cope with popularity and the media. Someone’s trying to kill her, and they don’t care who else they take out.

This is interesting! I want to read more! Great job by Jamie McKelvie (writer) and Marika Cresta (artist). Sadly, it’s only a five-issue miniseries, but at least that means we might get an ending.