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Rating: 
Summary: Comes outta left field and wins the game.......
Review: Here's what this book is about: a superhero named Captain Marvel is granted an ability called "cosmic awareness", and goes insane.At least, that's what most people would tell you. In my opinion, Captain Marvel does very logical things with his gift, things I would do in his place. But I'm getting off the subject........... suffice to say, this is a really well-written story, with solid, consistent, appropriate art and an awe-inspiring balance between the somewhat sarcastic view of the bystander (the guy sharing Captain Marv's head) and moments and scenes that have genuine emotional impact with the reader. Good stuff!!!!! Read it, comics fan!
Rating: 
Summary: Good, But Not Up To David's Usual Standard
Review: I bought this book because I missed Peter David's writing on Hulk, which was rudely cut short by bad editorial judgement. The writing here, however, falls far short of his work on Hulk. Its entertaining, but despite the acclaim it is getting I don't feel that it is going to be a classic in retrospect a few years from now.
There are some genuinely funny moments though, but its not as hilarious as David's Hulk was. I still have hopes for the future though; one of the best thing's about David's writing is his ability to change the scenario of a title before it gets stale, so given a few more issues the title could have a completely different feel. I'll probably pick up the second collection to find out and hopefully I won't be disappointed this time. The concept is Rick Jones and Genis, the son of the first Captain Marvel, are linked together. Similar to DC's Captain Marvel, they trade places at will. They are two different people however and can still converse with each other even when one is in control of his body. Hope that makes sense. Marlo makes an appearance in most issues, which is welcome. She is a great supporting character. One thing I want to point out though. The characterisation of Rick Jones seems a little off. I know that Peter David wrote Rick for over ten years, but he seems to be trying too hard to give Rick a hip, slighly abnoxious attitude. This is exaserbated by Chriscross's artwork. He is a great artist and his facial expressions are excellent, but they make Rick Jones seem more like a smartass than he was in the past. I know that Rick Jones started off in the 1960s being an overconfident jerk, but his character has developed over the years. This trade seems to bring him back to square one, only with a 90s twist.
Rating:
Summary: Too light-hearted to be much good...
Review: I love the original Captain Marvel. Especially the Jim Starlin stories (available in "The Life & Death of Captain Marvel" TPB). There is a sense of the writer taking the stories a little too seriously - they are usually overwritten, overblown, pseudo-Shakespearean, outrageous and quirky... but they work! There is an overall appeal to the 1970s stories that are missing from today's comics. Here, we have Peter David, fresh off his decade-long stint on the Hulk, attempting to write about the heir to the Captain Marvel legacy - Genis (who is again merged with Rick Jones just like his daddy was). This series is an offshoot from the excellent "Avengers Forever" maxi-series by Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco. I read that first and immediately followed that with this volume. The change in tone is striking! While Busiek tried his best to write in the "classic" Marvel style reminiscent of Steve Englehart and Jim Shooter, Peter David is more a "modern" Marvel writer (though still staying short of the self-important, no-continuity Nu-Marvel or Ultimate-Marvel these days). He throws in pop-references left and right and overwrites the humour in this book. That is the main difference between the humour in the past and the humour today. In the past, you laugh because the concepts are genuinely silly but still takes itself seriously. Today's writers (like Peter David here) points at the silliness and then proceeds to tell you that you are reading something very silly... thus killing much of the appeal of the character and stories. However, having said all that, I did enjoy this volume quite a lot. And that probably has more to do with my love for the characters Rick Jones and Moondragon than with the quality of the writing. Drax the Destroyer, a grim fighting-machine from the 1970s Starlin stories is shown here as no more than a silly, whiny buffoon - totally out-of-character. The stories are generally light-hearted and easy-reading. I was told that there is more depth in the latter stories following this volume but I wouldn't know because I haven't read them. The highlight of this volume, however, is the art. Chriscross is a genuinely innovative and expressive artist. And his style blends in very well with Peter David's writing. Then there is the fill-in issue drawn by Ron Lim, the legendary cosmic-artist (Silver Surfer, Infinity Gauntlet, etc.). After having him on the title, you wish he'll stay on forever.
Rating:
Summary: Too light-hearted to be much good...
Review: I love the original Captain Marvel. Especially the Jim Starlin stories (available in "The Life & Death of Captain Marvel" TPB). There is a sense of the writer taking the stories a little too seriously - they are usually overwritten, overblown, pseudo-Shakespearean, outrageous and quirky... but they work! There is an overall appeal to the 1970s stories that are missing from today's comics. Here, we have Peter David, fresh off his decade-long stint on the Hulk, attempting to write about the heir to the Captain Marvel legacy - Genis (who is again merged with Rick Jones just like his daddy was). This series is an offshoot from the excellent "Avengers Forever" maxi-series by Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco. I read that first and immediately followed that with this volume. The change in tone is striking! While Busiek tried his best to write in the "classic" Marvel style reminiscent of Steve Englehart and Jim Shooter, Peter David is more a "modern" Marvel writer (though still staying short of the self-important, no-continuity Nu-Marvel or Ultimate-Marvel these days). He throws in pop-references left and right and overwrites the humour in this book. That is the main difference between the humour in the past and the humour today. In the past, you laugh because the concepts are genuinely silly but still takes itself seriously. Today's writers (like Peter David here) points at the silliness and then proceeds to tell you that you are reading something very silly... thus killing much of the appeal of the character and stories. However, having said all that, I did enjoy this volume quite a lot. And that probably has more to do with my love for the characters Rick Jones and Moondragon than with the quality of the writing. Drax the Destroyer, a grim fighting-machine from the 1970s Starlin stories is shown here as no more than a silly, whiny buffoon - totally out-of-character. The stories are generally light-hearted and easy-reading. I was told that there is more depth in the latter stories following this volume but I wouldn't know because I haven't read them. The highlight of this volume, however, is the art. Chriscross is a genuinely innovative and expressive artist. And his style blends in very well with Peter David's writing. Then there is the fill-in issue drawn by Ron Lim, the legendary cosmic-artist (Silver Surfer, Infinity Gauntlet, etc.). After having him on the title, you wish he'll stay on forever.
Rating:
Summary: About as good as it gets!
Review: If you think of a comic book you may think of Superman or Batman, maybe even the X-Men. This story is about a superhero (if you can call him that) who most people have not heard of. That dosent matter at all. This is one of the best comic book stories I've ever read (and I've read quite a few, Watchmen and Sandman series) The art is amazing and tells the story brilliantly. The writing is even better! For an idea of how the story is, imagine that suddenly you became God, you could see how everything is in the entire universe and then you could see how everything effects everything else, then you could see how those things turned out, but you still had the same mind. Would you go crazy? Read this book and you will see! Truly an excellent story!
Rating: 
Summary: Not the HULK
Review: Peter David had a tremedous run on the HULK. he has written the character longer than anyone else and has covered very important aspects of the Green Goliath's exploits. When David was sacked as writer due to creative differences between Marvel and himself, he decided to take on a differenct character from the HULK pages, Rick Jones, who apart from Robin or Bucky, is the oldest side kick in the funny books. David's approach to Captain Marvel, the son of the original Mar-VELL, an who is now fused to Rick Jones, is still found wanting. Though the book reads like a charm, there are certain aspects of both characters that David make seem to be very silly, not what is expected to the caliber of his high days writing the HULK. David dabs more to the silliness aspect of things where Jones and the captain both act like 8 year olds sometimes. Then there's the schizophrenic aspect of the characters when they're fused. It would have been much better if both main characters do not always seem to pop in one another's life through mirror reflections. A great amount of potential would have been garnered if David kept their psyches apart. David gets the last laugh in the end by having the HULK guest star in one of the issues and portrays him as the mindless beast the editors have always wanted him to be. All in all, however, the writing is not too shabby. Peter David delivers the goods here, though he would have to up the ante if he would like to see the character persevere through the long run. On another note, the art by Chriscross is fabulous. Very crisp and fresh. Sort of like a fusion between Terry Dodson and Pascaul Ferry. The art never fails to impress. At one time, Ron Lim takes over the helm of the art and when he does that, you just wish he would stay on this title forever. The book doesn't dab much in the history of why these two characters are fused together. That's another story for another book, which is a downside. It's a great read and the time spent doing that is a time well spent. I know for sure, because I enjoyed how the time passed quickly while reading it on the plane.
Rating:
Summary: He's Back!
Review: This is a surprising book! But what can you expect from a guy like Peter David! After the sucess of Avengers Forever, he brought back this character of Marvel Universe(mixed again with Rick Jones) and gave him a new status! And what about the art style of Criss Cross? Just one word: unique! This is a must have of Marvel Comics!
Rating: 
Summary: Lack of respect for an immensely superior author
Review: When I first read the first chapter in this book I felt that the series had potential. It had an interesting story, pretty good characterization, excellent art and a bit of humor. I figured that I would have enjoyed the following chapters just as much, if not more. I was wrong. I was DREADFULLY wrong. In the second chapter of this book, Captain Marvel decides to "enlighten" one of the greatest and most multi-dimensional characters to appear in any form of literature: Frank Castle, the Punisher. The Punisher had been bogged down for years with bad series that offered nothing more than disgusting mischaracterization. For example, the Punisher used ridiculous weapons such as "laser blasters," had a partner called "Microchip," spoke in incessant drivel such as "I must protect the innocent," and entered logs into a "War Journal." All of this changed for the better when Garth Ennis, author of Preacher, -- which is a highly praised series in all of the entertainment industry -- took control of the character in 2000 and turned him from (for lack of better words) lame and stupid to one of the all-time greats in comic book history, which culminated in the best miniseries of 2003: "Born." One would figure that any author who would use the Punisher would pay respect to Ennis' hard work by actually READING what he had written; after all, it wasn't easy turning someone into gold when they were widely considered nothing more than a laughable excuse of a character. But thus, sadly, is not the case for Peter David. In the second chapter in this Captain Marvel series, David obviously ignored every contribution Ennis made to Frank Castle because everything that made the character stupid -- such as the aforementioned examples in the above paragraph -- were more than present in this pathetic excuse for writing. Shame on Peter David for ignoring the greatness that is Garth Ennis. I wouldn't complain so much if it was not for the fact that Punisher is now considered Garth's character and David did not pay Mr. Ennis and his character the proper respect they deserve. If I hate this blatant disregard of writing talent, why did I give this book a two-star rating? Well, the answer is simple: The art is very appealing. However, despite the fact that the artist's work is excellent, it is overshadowed by the crap that David whips out with his "writing." (...)
Rating:
Summary: Lack of respect for an immensely superior author
Review: When I first read the first chapter in this book I felt that the series had potential. It had an interesting story, pretty good characterization, excellent art and a bit of humor. I figured that I would have enjoyed the following chapters just as much, if not more. I was wrong. I was DREADFULLY wrong. In the second chapter of this book, Captain Marvel decides to "enlighten" one of the greatest and most multi-dimensional characters to appear in any form of literature: Frank Castle, the Punisher. The Punisher had been bogged down for years with bad series that offered nothing more than disgusting mischaracterization. For example, the Punisher used ridiculous weapons such as "laser blasters," had a partner called "Microchip," spoke in incessant drivel such as "I must protect the innocent," and entered logs into a "War Journal." All of this changed for the better when Garth Ennis, author of Preacher, -- which is a highly praised series in all of the entertainment industry -- took control of the character in 2000 and turned him from (for lack of better words) lame and stupid to one of the all-time greats in comic book history, which culminated in the best miniseries of 2003: "Born." One would figure that any author who would use the Punisher would pay respect to Ennis' hard work by actually READING what he had written; after all, it wasn't easy turning someone into gold when they were widely considered nothing more than a laughable excuse of a character. But thus, sadly, is not the case for Peter David. In the second chapter in this Captain Marvel series, David obviously ignored every contribution Ennis made to Frank Castle because everything that made the character stupid -- such as the aforementioned examples in the above paragraph -- were more than present in this pathetic excuse for writing. Shame on Peter David for ignoring the greatness that is Garth Ennis. I wouldn't complain so much if it was not for the fact that Punisher is now considered Garth's character and David did not pay Mr. Ennis and his character the proper respect they deserve. If I hate this blatant disregard of writing talent, why did I give this book a two-star rating? Well, the answer is simple: The art is very appealing. However, despite the fact that the artist's work is excellent, it is overshadowed by the crap that David whips out with his "writing." (...)
Rating:
Summary: Out of this World... and out of touch with reality
Review: When Peter David began writing this story, the word was out that there would be a competition on what character is going to stay for the long haul. You see Captain Marvel's sales were sliding down near the pit of cancellation when Marvel in all its wisdom decided to test the readers' love and loyalty to the character. There would be three Captain Marvel books, having completely differenct charcaters in them with different premises. That would continue for some months and the better series written by the author would continue. The book by Peter David was the one that showcased the original series and characters. That of Captain Marvel, the son of Mar-Vell, and also that of Rick Jones, sidekick supreme. What you get is a whacky ride that is uninspired fromthe beginning to the end. It would seem that David was out to explain a certain philosophy he had in his head about what would happen to a person when they get the powers and knowledge of a god. Basically, you'd go crazy and that's why we mere mortals are only that, humans. The first series that David spat out was excellent. You had equal time that covered both Captain Marvel or Genis and that of Rick Jones. Now Jones is made to be that helpless little background buzz after a night of binge drinking on Friday night. The art is Outstanding. Chriscross is amazing with his pencils and knows that he has got to save this book from the annihilation of the plot that it was leaning towards. The book had such high potential and was very much grounded. Now it was all about this certain philosophy that David lives where he seems to be lashing out at the powers that be in Marvel. First he was booted out of the HULK after an unforgettable run. Now, I think Captain Marvel is out the door and Peter David just has nothing to lose. In the end, I think he does get the last laugh!
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