The Marvel Universe is always expanding out in new ways. Never a creation able to be fully contained within the pages of a comic, its characters and stories have found their way to other mediums over the years, from television shows to blockbuster films, to action figures and video games. Perhaps the most overlooked area, however, is the prose novel. It’s strange that for a franchise that originated with the written word you don’t see many examples of it embracing the prose form. However, when these books do come along they tend to be really enjoyable re-tellings of stories we already know, or completely new stories that take full advantage of the new format. Titan Books round out their year with two new Marvel books that are great examples of each.
Captain Marvel: Shadow Code (Gilly Segal)
Captain Marvel is a character that’s had a lot of cosmic adventures of the years, no matter which character is wearing the title. Most recently Carol Danvers has appeared in a major movie that saw her fighting aliens in space, but Captain Marvel: Shadow Code subverts things quite delightfully, by bringing Carol to Earth for a more grounded adventure. The book even begins with her heading off into space before being called back to the planet by Iron-Man to help a young grad student who believes her family have been caught up in a conspiracy by a tech giant.
One of the best things about the book is that Carol isn’t alone, and Segal brings a host of other familiar faces along to help out along the way. Early on in the book we spend time seeing Carol’s relationship with fellow Avenger Jessica Drew, Spider-Woman, and it’s rather delightful. The book slows down to show a more familial situation, complete with Jessica’s kid, and it’s something comics don’t often have time to do. And this is one of the best things about this book being brand new, and not based off an existing story, it’s able to take its time.
There are a lot of conventions and expectations when it comes to comic writing. For example, it’s expected that you need to have some kind of action each issue. But as this story is created for the prose form that’s not a consideration, and as such we’re able to take a slower start to things, we’re able to lay the groundwork for the mission, and can have a chapter where Carol is just investigating with her friend and her kid, eating pastries and chilling on the sofa. It’s a nice change of pace to how you expect these stories to play out.
Segal does include plenty of action for those who like it though, and there are some very cool moments across the course of the book that you can’t help but think ‘I’d love to see that drawn on a comic page’. It makes the most of this medium, whilst still appealing to fans of the other. But most of all, Segal captures Carol’s character well, and for a story where you’re almost constantly with the hero that’s perhaps the most important thing. If you’ve just watched The Marvels and are looking for more from Carol Danvers this is a book you’re going to want to pick up.
Captain Marvel: Shadow Code is out now from Titan Books.
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Loki: Journey into Mystery (Katherine Locke)
Loki: Journey into Mystery is a name that some may recognise, and this book is a retelling of the hit comic series by Kieron Gillen, originally published from 2011-2013. However, this isn’t just a copy/paste style adaptation, as writer Katherine Locke has managed to infuse this retelling with enough new flavour and originality for it to be able to stand on its own, and it’s a perfect first Loki story for those who might be coming to this character off the back of the films or television series.
When a plague of fear is sweeping the world, the Asgardians are trying to get to the bottom of things, and it’s believed that Thor is the only one who can defeat the ancient, powerful Serpent. However, the newly reborn Loki will be damned if they’re going to let their brother face this threat alone. Set not long after the death and rebirth of the trickster god, the Loki that we have here is the start of a newer, less antagonistic version of the character, and they begin this story as a younger version of themselves. Because of this, a lot of the expected baggage for the character has been dropped, allowing for Locke to be able to do some interesting things with the character (even whilst sticking to the established story they’ve been given).
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Locke has a history with writing books aimed at Young Adult readers, and is able to bring some of that expertise and style to this story, as we have a version of Loki that’s more like a YA protagonist than the older villain they were in comics before this point. Locke injects Loki with a ton of personality and energy that’s going to appeal to younger readers, and will feel like a lovely refresh of the character; even for those who’ve been reading this version of Loki for the last decade in the comics.
Adapting a pre-established story can be difficult, but Locke manages to do it in such a way that it seems effortless, and if it wasn’t for the cover telling you that this was based on a comic series you’d be able to come away thinking that this was a brand new story. It’s got an energy and flavour to it that’s instantly infectious and gets you excited to read more. A book that’s perfect for Loki fans, and will appeal even to those that have read the original work.
Loki: Journey into Mystery is out now from Titan Comics.
