Marvel Comics; $5.95 

In 1982, when writer-artist Jim Starlin put together a coda to his association with Marvel’s first Captain Marvel, it was billed as a special event. It received special treatment as the debut of the company’s graphic novel line – larger format, great paper stock, beautiful coloring from Steve Oliff, and a healthy bit of promotion. The adoption of the European graphic album format was billed as – and indeed was – a significant event in the American comic book world. 

It was retroactively billed at Marvel Graphic Novel #1, though that was not included in the indicia. That name was, though, included on the upper left-hand side of the front cover above the price, $5.95, which seemed a bit steep before readers got a chance to dive into its pages. 

Starlin, long one of the top architects of Marvel’s cosmic characters, drew upon not only his own tenure with the character, but the Kree warrior Mar-Vell’s whole history. He found the seeds to Captain Marvel’s demise – and the inability of the most brilliant minds in the Marvel universe to prevent it – in well-established story elements that were familiar to most of the character’s fans. 

While Captain Marvel is for the most part philosophical about the end he faces, he is plagued by doubts about the life he led, his impact, and the lives he touched. His friends and a cross section of other heroes are less accepting of his impending fate.  

Rereading it again after several years, it remains compelling, insightful, and human stuff. 

Mar-Vell’s gradual physical decline in the story runs counter to the building frustration of Mister Fantastic, Iron Man, and the Black Panther, among others, as they fail to turn the tide. The reason that it still resonates all these years later is two-fold: cancer is still a scourge to us today, and in comic book terms the character has not been revived, so the story has not been rendered meaningless.  

The Marvel Graphic Novel line was an outlet for some of the company’s highest profile projects – the X-Men story God Loves, Man Kills, the launch of The New Mutants, Don McGregor and P. Craig Russell’s conclusion of Killraven, and Frank Miller and Bill Sienkiewicz’s stunning Daredevil: Love and War, for starters – but it was also an outlet for creator-owned offerings from the top writers and artists working in the field at the time. 

In short order, the line-up included Starlin’s Dreadstar (following his Metamorphosis Odyssey, which was serialized in Epic Illustrated), Walter Simonson’s Star Slammers, Dave Cockrum’s Futurians, Rick Veitch’s Hearburst, Steve Gerber and Val Mayerick’s Void Indigo, Elaine Lee and Michael Wm. Kaluta’s Starstruck, and J.M. DeMatteis’ Greenberg the Vampire (illustrated by Mark Badger).  

A few of the attempts read like glorified annuals, but on average Marvel published some brilliantly crafted graphic novels in this format. The majority of them stand up very well, and that’s certainly true of The Death of Captain Marvel. 

It’s well worth seeking out. 

Two great trivia notes: This wasn’t Marvel’s actual first graphic novel. That was 1978’s The Silver Surfer by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, published by Simon & Schuster as part of their Fireside Books line. So, Marvel didn’t even publish the first Marvel graphic novel. Additionally, the Marvel Graphic Novel line only carried continuous number for #2 (Elric) through #20 (Greenberg the Vampire). Following a consensus among the Overstreet Advisors, The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide attached numbers to #21 (Marada The She-Wolf) through #38 (Silver Surfer: Judgment Day) as part of the series. Subsequent Marvel Graphic Novel entries were their own listings.  

– J.C. Vaughn