Captain Marvel: In Pursuit of Flight

 

Writer: Kelly Sue DeConnick
Art: Dexter Soy (issues 1 and 2), Dexter Soy, Rich Elson, Wil Quintana, Karl Kesel, Javier Rodriguez (issue 3), Dexter Soy, Al Barrioneuvo (issue 4)
Colours: Will Quintana (issue 4)
Letters: Joe Caramagna
Publisher: Marvel

What’s it about?

Captain Marvel is a relaunch of a 45 year old character (in reality, not in continuity) known as Ms Marvel, or Carol Danvers.  Carol is an air force pilot who was caught in an alien explosion, granting her superhuman powers – flight, super strength, invulnerability, and energy beams that she can shoot from her hands.  She’s a powerhouse, probably on a par with Superman.  This relaunch updated her costume from a swimsuit-and-sash style to a full body uniform that has in more in common with the early 2000’s X-Men films, and it changed her name to Captain Marvel, more in fitting with her military background.

In this story she meets with an old friend and is catapulted back through time to the 1940s, to meet a group of Women Airforce Service Pilots fighting on a Japanese occupied island.  On her journey back to the present day she is bumped through various different years, meets her childhood heroes, and gets to fly planes with some of the most talented women of the 20th century.

Suicide Squad – Trial by Fire

Writer: John Ostrander
Artists: Luke McDonnell, Bob Lewis, Karl Kesel, Dave Hunt

Colourist: Carl Gifford

Letterers: Todd Klein, Albert Deguzman

Publisher: DC

What’s it about?

The Suicide Squad are a motley bunch of (mostly) supervillains looking for a chance to get a government pardon by joining a secret government group, more formally named Task Force X.  Task Force X was first established in World War 2, the members names themselves Suicide Squad once they realised the sort of work they were being asked to do.  It’s not pretty, it’s not glamorous and it sure as hell isn’t safe.

Now, with a brand new roster, the Squad is sent on dangerous, politically sensitive and unpopular missions to deal with superpowered threats.  Members are utterly disposable and utterly deniable.  The formidable Amanda Waller, otherwise known as ‘The Wall’, controls the group, and she makes sure people do what she wants, when she wants, as she wants.