Published December 1983
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciller: Alan Davis
Inker: Alan Davis
What's Going On?
The story picks up an unspecified amount of time after Daredevils #11, after Jim Jaspers has taken control over England and super-powered people are placed in concentration camps.
Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- The events hinted at in the alternate Earth of Mad Jim Jaspers and The Fury have finally become reality for Earth 616.
Writing!
This is an interesting transition issue for Alan Moore. While it has become obvious that Captain Britain and friends will need to battle Jim Jaspers eventually, it was an odd choice to leave off last issue with the group going to confront Jaspers and then jumping forward to a world where they have already lost the battle. However, since Jim Jaspers can warp reality, I suppose there is no need for Moore to bother with the build up to their confrontation; with Jaspers' abilities, Moore is able to immediately raise the stakes and skip the less interesting buildup scenes. Very clever, Mr. Moore.
That said, this may be my least favorite issues so far in this storyline. I think I get what Moore is aiming for --- he's raising the stakes by jumping to a dire situation, and he's building the mythology of Captain Britain at the same time. Sadly, though, that means that this issue feels a bit like filler. None of the characters we have been following for months accomplish anything, and in a title that has managed to squeeze in a lot of progress in a small number of pages, this feels like treading water.
On the other hand, this issue's format may be a result of a publishing switch. This issue kind of serves as an introduction to Captain Britain, and since this is the first issue of the storyline published in Mighty World of Marvel, it makes some sense to reintroduce the character to the (potentially) new readers. That doesn't make it any more interesting to read, but I suppose I can follow that logic.
Art!
Alan Davis flexes some new artistic muscles with this chapter, playing with extreme close-ups and shadows. Honestly, he doesn't have a whole lot to work with in this story. He has CapBrit kicking some ass, and the rest of this issue features people being inactive. One of the nice things about an Alan Davis-drawn issue, though, is his ability to make characters look good, even if they are doing nothing.
Retrospectively Amusing:
- Look! Sympathetic characters (without healing factors) smoking!
Worth Noting:
- You might have noticed that this Captain Britain story, which is clearly picking up after the events of Daredevils #11, is not the next issue of Daredevils. That title was cancelled, but the original stories that were being published in Daredevils were adopted by Might World of Marvel. They were both anthology titles, mostly comprised of reprinted stories from the American Marvel line, with the occasional original story from British creators.
- This is the first appearance of Meggan, Captain Britain's eventual wife. Her feral-like appearance is a far cry from the blonde bombshell look she sported in Excalibur (Vol. 1). It will be interesting seeing how she develops, to see how natural her transformation is.
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