Captain Marvel #43

Writer – Kelly Thompson

Artist – Sergio Davila

I have been making a conscious effort to try to get to my LCS, Phantom of the Attic, every two weeks to clear my pull box. My strategy when I arrive at the store is to give a hearty greeting, get my pulls, look at new releases, then go back and look at the comic racks to check and see if I missed any releases from the past month. The comics are displayed alphabetically which is a big help and one comic that I decided to pick up was Captain Marvel #43. The reason – the little box on the cover that said, “Revenge of the Brood Part One.”

The Brood might be my favorite alien species (in comics) of all time. These gross and slimy creatures are parasitic in nature. If a superhero is infected by a Brood, the creature retains all the powers of its host. Heroes must do whatever they can to save their fellow friend or teammate without killing them, which can be a tough task sometimes.

In this issue, Carol Danvers receives a transmission from Rogue and visits the X-Men at their Treehouse base in NYC to mount a rescue mission. After some deliberation, its decided that Carol will lead a small group into outer space to find Rogue. Just before they leave, Carol receives a call for help from Binary. Noting this can’t be a coincidence, Carol and company rush off planet post haste. The crew finds Rogue’s ship and encounter a Brood onboard. As they try to capture it, the final panel of this issue will leave you in shock and looking forward to Part 2.

It’s funny – just the other day I was thinking about picking up an issue of Captain Marvel to see what Carol has been up to lately and I was lucky enough to find this issue and dive right in. I enjoy the humor throughout the issue. One particular part I found funny was when Carol, Rhodey, Spider-Woman, and Hazmat lay their eyes on the Treehouse for the first time and try to contain their excitement without coming off uncool in the eyes of the X-Men. Although there isn’t a lot of action in this issue, it’s a good setup for what’s to come. As a fan of Avengers Academy, I was thrilled to see Hazmat in this issue and it makes me want to check and see if any other alumni are being used in other comics currently.

Besides the blurb about the Brood on the cover, the other reason I bought this issue was because of the cover art by Juan Friegeri. It might be “basic”, as the kids say nowadays, but it’s breathtaking. There’s something about the look in Carol’s eye that says, “Don’t mess with me.” This would make a great poster. Heck, I might buy one of those comic frames and hang it on my wall.

This issue is new chapter in the history between Carol, the X-Men, and the Brood and I have a feeling not everyone will be making the trip back to Earth unscathed. If you missed this one on New Comic Book Day, it should still be available at your LCS since it was released the week of November 2.

Next Issue – “REVENGE OF THE BROOD” PART 2!

“The Uncanny Carol Danvers returns to space – and to the X-Men?! A mysterious degraded message from Rogue has arrived at the same time that Carol’s emergency beacon begins screaming with cries from Binary, and that cannot possibly be a coincidence. Carol assembles a team of allies, including Polaris, Gambit, Wolverine, and Psylocke, bent on rescue, but what they find instead is a dangerous old enemy bent on revenge.” In Stores December 7, 2022.