As comics fans, we always hope we can find some magic arrow that will transform people who see movies adapted from comics into comics readers. The system is rigged against that, of course: Comics publishers — especially mainstream superhero comics — exist as little more than IP cannon fodder for their vertically integrated masters, feeding movies, TV shows, licensed apparel and anything else that will make more money than the comics themselves.
And of course, because the comics are constantly rebooting and relaunching anyone who tries to read them wouldn’t know where to start, and wouldn’t truly see the characters they recognize from the MCU. And if they did try to find them, they’d have to go to a specialty shop in some downtown area where they’d never otherwise go, where they may be eyed with bewilderment by the aging locals who are there every Wednesday and speak a lingua franca all their own and tend to be mistrustful of outsiders.
Or they could just go to a bookstore or library, pick up the first book of Chainsaw Man and keep going until they lose interest.
But still, we can dream, can’t we?
With The Marvels arriving in theaters this weekend, we at ComicsXF thought we’d at least try to help by suggesting some reading for each of the movie’s three leads: Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau/Photon and Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel. Below you’ll find three recommendations for each character: a collection of some of their earliest appearances, a work considered among their best and their most recent story, along with links to purchase if you are so inclined.
So ignore that Variety piece about Marvel being in trouble and get reading!
Captain Marvel / Carol Danvers
Higher. Further. Faster. The military hero who used to fight crime in a bathing suit but now is Marvel’s Strong Female Protagonist ™.
The first one: Ms. Marvel Epic Collection Vol. 1: This Woman, This Warrior: Carol Danvers began her superhero career as Ms. Marvel, part nod to the feminist movement of the 1970s, part legacy hero connected to the original Captain Marvel, aka the Kree warrior Mar-Vell. The series was first written by Amazing Spider-Man writer Gerry Conway, who put Carol in charge of a women’s magazine offshoot of The Daily Bugle, then was written by Chris Claremont, who introduced several characters who later became fixtures in X-Men, including Deathbird and Mystique. (Collects Ms. Marvel (1977) #1-14, Marvel Team-Up (1972) #61-62 and Defenders (1972) #57.)
The best one: Captain Marvel by Kelly Sue DeConnick Omnibus: The Carol Danvers you see on T-shirts, lunchboxes and cosplayed at conventions starts here, rebranded as Captain Marvel and sporting a costume designed by Jamie McKelvie. Under writer Kelly Sue DeConnick, Carol becomes the Air Force pilot-turned-part-Kree superhero and mainstay Avenger she is today. (Collects Captain Marvel (2012) #1-17, Captain Marvel (2014) #1-15, Avengers: The Enemy Within, Avengers Assemble (2012) #16-19, Avenging Spider-Man #9-10 and Captain Marvel & the Carol Corps #1-4.)
The current one: Captain Marvel #1 (2023): Writer Alyssa Wong (Star Wars: Doctor Aphra) and artist Jan Bazaldua (Mr. & Mrs. X) are Carol’s current stewards, with a new costume designed by Jen Bartel. Carol Danvers is one of the powerhouses of the Marvel Universe, a woman capable of harnessing the energy of the sun. So if you’re coming for Earth, she’s the first one you take off the board. Someone’s figured out how to do just that. Issue #1 dropped Oct. 25, just in time for the movie, so you should be able to find it at your local comic shop.
Ms. Marvel / Kamala Khan
The teenage fangirl from Jersey City with the embiggening limbs and the heart of gold.
The first one: Ms. Marvel Vol. 1: No Normal: Marvel has tried to recreate the Spider-Man struggling-teen-hero concept over and over again, mostly to diminishing returns. Kamala Khan, however, was a breath of fresh air as she explored the intersectionality of her Islamic faith, her newly discovered Inhuman powers and the pressures of being a Jersey City teenager. Written by G. Willow Wilson and drawn by Adrian Alphona. (Collects Ms. Marvel (2014) #1-5 and material from All-New Marvel NOW Point One.)
The best one: Ms. Marvel: Stretched Thin OGN: A standalone middle grade graphic novel published by Scholastic, the all-Muslim creative team of writer Nadia Shammas and artist Nabi H. Ali tells a story about Kamala taking on maybe more than she can handle. Perfect for a younger reader who may want to learn about the character without getting bogged down in stuff like Civil War II or Outlawed.
The current one: Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant: After being unceremoniously slain in an issue of Amazing Spider-Man, Kamala was resurrected on Krakoa and told that on top of being a Muslim teen girl Inhuman fanfic writer superhero, she is also a mutant. We don’t know what her mutant power is yet, but Kamala has been drafted onto the X-Men and is undercover at Empire State University, where Orchis has effectively taken over the campus. Will she get found out? Will her new best friend Rasputin IV come to her aid? Only one more issue to find out! Oh, and it’s co-written by MCU actress Iman Vellani, working with Sabir Pirzada and artist Carlos Gomez (X-Terminators).
Photon / Monica Rambeau
The former Captain Marvel who once led the Avengers, Monica spent the ‘90s and 2000s treated as a joke or an afterthought until current writers began showing her some love.
The first one: Avengers Epic Collection: Under Siege: Writer Roger Stern introduced Monica in an Amazing Spider-Man annual and then brought her over to his run on Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, where she went by Captain Marvel. This collection does not include her introduction to the team but does include one of the best Avengers stories, “Under Siege,” in which Baron Zemo’s Masters of Evil take over the Avengers Mansion. Monica will go on to lead the Avengers for a time during this period. (Collects Avengers (1963) #264-277, Alpha Flight (1983) #39, Avengers Annual #15 and West Coast Avengers Annual #1.)
The “best” one: Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E.: The Complete Collection: I’m gonna be honest, it’s tough to find a mid-period Monica story that deserves the title of “best,” but this was definitely critically well received for its time. In 2006, Very Bad Person Warren Ellis and Very Good Artist Stuart Immonen took five random superheroes and turned them into a corporate-sponsored team, with satirical results. It’s about as good a Monical Rambeau story as it is a Boom Boom story or an Elsa Bloodstone story (Actually scratch that last one; Nextwave is probably the reason Elsa is an MCU character now), but it is incredibly funny and includes a scene in which Fin Fang Foom puts Boom Boom in his pants. (Collects Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. #1-12.)
The current one: Monica Rambeau: Photon TP: From the New Orleans Harbor Patrol to the Avengers, the Ultimates and beyond, Monica Rambeau has been a leader and team player her entire life. Charged with making a very special, very cosmic delivery, this should be light work for Monica, if family drama doesn’t hold her back. But when she runs into someone from her past whom she really can’t stand, it’ll lead to an unexpected — make that impossible — Avengers reunion. Written by Eve Ewing (Black Panther) and drawn by Luca Maresca (Children of the Vault). (Collects this year’s Monica Rambeau: Photon #1-5.)
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Dan Grote is the editor-in-chief of ComicsXF, having won the site by ritual combat. By day, he’s a newspaper editor, and by night, he’s … also an editor. He co-hosts The ComicsXF Interview Podcast with Matt Lazorwitz. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, two kids and two miniature dachshunds, and his third, fictional son, Peter Winston Wisdom.
