Captain Marvel #29 // Review
Captain Marvel #29 is written by Kelly Thompson, drawn by Jacopo Camagni, colored by Espen Grundetjern, and lettered by VC’s Clayton Cowles. Captain Marvel #29 is the penultimate part of the ‘Strange Magic’ arc that explores the fallout from Carol’s time in the future.
Since returning from the post-apocalyptic future and failing to defeat Ove (see Captain Marvel #26), Carol’s life has been in a tailspin. Breaking up with Rhodey was only the beginning. Going behind Dr. Strange’s back to learn magic after being told by multiple magic users it’s a bad idea. She’s working with the villain Enchantress. Well, less working with and more lying to and manipulating her. And to learn magic from Enchantress? She’ll have to break into a heavily guarded magical area under the sea. Break-in, and steal the Heart of the Serpent, a powerful magical artifact.
Carol does a lot of introspection in Captain Marvel #29, pondering the choices she’s making. She believes they’re necessary for the greater good. If she can stop Ove, she prevents the apocalypse and millions from dying. But her choices still make her feel awful. She’s straight-up lying to Enchantress’s face by concealing the whole truth, telling her that she needs to defeat someone with a combination of Atlantean and Asgardian magic. Carol leaves out the fact that this is Enchantress’s future son.
And if Dr. Strange and the larger magical community didn’t want her learning magic, then they really wouldn’t want her teaming up with a supervillain to steal an ancient magical artifact.
In the time since Thompson has been writing her, Carol has grown so much as a character, and Captain Marvel #29 is no exception. Because of the difficult choices she’s had to make, choices where no option is without harm, Carol is going through an identity crisis. One that began during her trip to the future. But in Captain Marvel #29, we see that become apparent. You can feel Carol’s distress and confusion, her doubt, her guilt.
Camagni excels at drawing facial expressions. And Carol’s especially, are fantastic in this issue. The other characters are equally expressive and well done, but Carol is the focus of the chapter, so hers are what stood out. Carol isn’t some stoic badass who never lets her mask fall. She wears her heart on her sleeve, so to speak. You can tell what she’s feeling by looking at her face.
And she’s feeling a lot of things during this issue. Being trapped, alone, at the bottom of the ocean, Carol breaks down. Her moment alone gives her time to think, and everything that’s happened, everything she’s done, everything she’s sacrificed, it all comes crashing down on her. And Camagni makes her pain, emotional and physical, clear on her face.
Grundetjern’s colors are a beautiful addition to the book. There’s a lot of use of light and darkness, taking advantage of the contrast between Carol’s explosive blasts and the darkness of the deep sea.
In her desperation to change a future, she’s convinced only she can prevent, Carol has begun almost losing herself in the process. And despite the next issue being the last of the Strange Magic arc, it’s clear that the damage Carol has done to herself, and her relationships, will have long-lasting effects on her future.
