Captain Marvel # 26
Writer: Peter David
Penciller: Leonard Kirk
Inker: Robin Riggs
Colorist: Chris Sotomayor
Letterer: Richard Starkings
Cover Date: February 2002
Rating: 
This week I’ll take a look at Captain Marvel # 26, a holiday tale that takes a quiet approach to its storytelling (This issue came out during Marvel’s “‘Nuff Said” event in the fall of 2002 which saw every title, sans the Ultimate line, tell a story without the use of dialogue); The story itself starts off as depressing with the status quo at the time seeing Rick Jones trying to cope with being a prematurely aged one-armed man while having one of the Nega-Bands stolen from him by a petty thief who wants to raise some cash to buy his mother a Christmas present (It doesn’t help that Rick contemplates suicide due to his predicament but PAD finds a somewhat hilarious gag to make it lighthearted); This is an issue that not only embraces the holidays but finds joy in it, especially when Rick comes across a pregnant homeless woman ready to give birth; The fact that Genis-Vell barely appears in this issue may feel odd but it works when it comes to giving Rick the spotlight while having a well-meaning story to tell and that’s just what Peter David set out to do, but what really impressive is how he took full advantage of the ‘Nuff Said event (I also like how the thief had a chance of heart with one of the Nega-Bands. Simply brilliant)
This issue may feel like a low-budget late 80s movie that may not be the best when it comes to pointing out all of the cliches that come with it (Such as everything being wrapped with several happy endings); looking past that, you can enjoy reading it with an ounce of intrigue and the emotional impact will no doubt hit you in the heart but without zero dialogue and caption boxes, this is an issue that’s worthy of your time.
Well, that’s it for me this week. I’ll be back with another Christmas issue to look at so thanks for sticking around and I will see you all next time.
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