Unlike Superman, there was no miraculous return from the grave for Captain Marvel. Nor did Marvel die a heroic death in battle while saving the universe. But then he didn't need to, for he had already fought that great battle- against Thanos, the Titan who had become God Himself, and who sought to deliver the totality of Creation unto Death Herself....

No, Captain Marvel had already fought his great battles and was enjoying the hard-won fruits of semi-retirement. He had finally found the peace, and the love, that had eluded him for so long. And then he was diagnosed with what is known on Titan as Inner Decay, and among the Kree as Blackend- and on Earth as... Cancer.

Yet, the Captain faced this last foe with courage and dignity that put the rest of the Marvel Universe to shame. Hero after hero, from Captain America to Thor, came to wonder at the dignity and nobility with which the Captain faced a foe that could not be defeated. No, Marvel wasn't tired of living- he made that abundantly clear- but when he knew his time was done he accepted it. Not only that, he made sure that the comrades and loved ones around him accepted- and learned- from his example.

Of course, in a way, Marvel was the best prepared of any of the heroes for this final journey. After all, the bombastic Captain Mar-vell, super-soldier of the mighty Kree Empire had died once before- to be reborn as Captain Marvel, the cosmically conscious warrior champion of the entire universe. This was because Mar-vell had faced death once before with pride and power and ego- and he had failed.... After that, he was taken to a place beyond space and time by the being named Eon. Under the direction of this being, created by Kronos, the Cosmic Balance, some eight billion years before, Mar-vell the soldier died, or at least his colossal pride and ego did. After facing his inner demons, he was reborn as the champion of all-things. This was possible since he was now cosmically aware and he knew that he was truly part of all-things. The Universe had crystallized out an antidote for ultimate evil in its time of need- a cosmic champion.

You don't really have to he familiar with the saga of Mar-vell to enjoy this story. It is all spelled out right here. While I know of a number of graphic stories as good as this one, I really don't know of any that are BETTER than this one.

First of all, this is good stuff by one of the all-time greats of comic storytelling. It falls squarely into the category of Marvel Comics' must-reading. Highly recommended.

Any long-time reader knows what I'm about to say next, but since there are often casual readers buying TPB's when the same people would likely not buy actual comic BOOKS, here goes:

This Captain Marvel is not THE ORIGINAL Captain Marvel who was as big as Superman in the forties in comics and serials, and who appeared on TV on saturday mornings a few decades back and appeared on Drew Carey a few years ago. The original character fell out of publication for a few decades and the trademark on his name expired. Marvel Comics opportunistically snatched up the name and created an all-new character of the same name (with a few similarities that were strictly for homage purposes, like the adult/kid Mar-Vell/Rick Jones thing). When the original character returned under the banner of DC Comics, he still used the name Captain Marvel, but he can't appear in a comic TITLED "Captain Marvel". So the adventures of the original Captain Marvel are reprinted in "The Shazam Archives", "JSA" collections and the "Power of Shazam" graphic novel.

Don't believe the review that complained this book is an uncomfortable mix. The first half of the story is actually the highlight, teeming with energy, while Captain Marvel's death is, as you might imagine, quite depressing. This storyline is the one that started Jim Starlin's long career doing cosmic epics, and it is almost impossible to underestimate how important it was at the time. It starts out simply, in a couple of issues of Iron Man,where he stumbles upon creatures from space called the Blood Brothers, building nice suspense until it reveals Thanos, the Mad Titan. What follows is an imaginative space opera that was one of the great highlights of comic in the 70's, featuring characters like the the Controller, Drax the Destroyer and Eon, who grants Mar-vell cosmic awareness, a character that has to be seen to be believed. The passions and motives of the characters here almost leap off the page. First, there is Thanos, who wants to deliver all the universe to death, his mistress (who's identity, familiar to everyone now, is kept a secret to the end here). Then, there is Drax, the Destroyer, who hates Thanos and wants him dead at any cost, consumed by an insane passion. And then, there is Mar-vell, trying to make sense of it all, and not only trying to figure out what Thanos is up to, but trying to help the Titans, stop Thanos and save the universe. The final battle, where Mar-vell tries to destroy the cosmic cube, is some of the greatest graphic storytelling ever seen in comics.

The second part of this story is seen in Starlin's next work, Adam Warlock (hopefully that gets a decent treatment, too, someday). The stories in Captain Marvel and Warlock are still the best representations of Thanos by far and, unless one reads them, one really can't understand what he's really all about and how he has evolved - he seems to be used far more liberally these days. Those who don't get how great these two stories are don't really get comics either, and are probably better off sticking to the mainstream comics. These are comics done by adults, for adults, and not for everyone, certainly not for people who don't appreciate epic storylines. Personally, I get tired of reading reviews of comics by people who have no sense of the history of the genre, only picking up what happens to be the fad for the day, then try to comment on what has gone before. Starlin both writes and draws each of these books, by the way, and, while most comic artists are influenced by other comic artists, the main influence in Starlin's work is an artist by the name of Michelangelo (the cover to this book, by the way, is even Michelangelos' Pieta, in case it looks familiar).

The last part of this story is Captain Marvell's death, drawn years after the other one. It is true that it is poignant, but it's also depressing, too. Starlin's interest in death in the early days was actually pretty morbid, and Mar-vell is one of the few Marvel characters to actually stay dead (one of the others being Gwen Stacy). The current Captain Marvell, is an updated, hot-headed, mod version meant to appeal to a younger generation. The one here is noble, courageous and will risk all in order to triumph over evil - qualities that seem all too lacking everywhere these days. On the other hand, the death does bring about some closure in the book.

One last note - the original books have gone up quite a lot in price and are considered collector's items, it's lucky to have them all together here. Created three years before Star Wars, they more than match that trilogy in both sweep and sense of the epic. Just to look at the storytelling here, one can almost see the first Thanos epic made into a great movie, especially how special effects have evolved these days.

I love Marvel Comics for their quirky, outrageous, cosmic stories. Most of the time, they are so overblown and crazy that you just have to wonder what the writers were smoking at the time he wrote them. And they don't come quirkier or more outrageous than Jim Starlin and his 70's "cosmic-co-horts", Al Milgrom and Steve Englehart.

This TPB reprints the best of Starlin's run on Captain Marvel in the 70's (originally reprinted in "The Life of Captain Marvel") and the Graphic Novel (also by Starlin) "The Death of Captain Marvel". Oh yes, the first appearance of Thanos (Iron Man #55) is also included here - for those who love the rocky-faced Titan from all those "Infinity" crossovers! The high-points of this collection include the tale of Captain Marvel's acquiring "cosmic-awareness/consciousness", the Thanos War (involving the Cosmic Cube, the Titans and the Avengers) and finally the poignant story of Cap's death by cancer.

Read this and savour the delight of cosmic Marvel comics. They just don't make them like this anymore! And if you want more of the same, check out "Avengers:Kree-Skrull War", "Avengers:Celestial Madonna", "Avengers Forever" and "Infinity Gauntlet".

This trade paperback brings together two books: the collected LIFE OF CAPTAIN MARVEL and the original graphic novel THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN MARVEL. I was more familiar with the late Captain from the graphic novel, as well as scattered appearances in other characters' titles. TDOCM is a very powerful story, due to its study of the mortality of a hero. I had never read the stories from his actual series: those that defined his powers and supporting cast, as well as set the stage for his death. It seems only natural that Marvel should combine these two books, but they certainly don't belong together.

The early Captain Marvel stories in this book are a prime example of great ideas carried out with little style. They may have been exciting reading for the time, but they don't mesh well with the final graphic novel. Quite a lot happens in these stories, actually: CM meets the Titans, joins forces with Iron Man & Drax the Destroyer, faces Thanos, and gains cosmic awareness, but holy cow - this is some bad writing! It's pretty obvious that Jim Starlin was trying to spin a tale on the level of Jack Kirby's Fourth World saga (with some embarrasing similarities), but at this point in his career, he had not attained his flair for engaging plots or intelligent dialogue (for that, see his Cosmic Odyssey from DC). The basics are: Drax pursues Thanos, Thanos tries to drive him mad, CM gets into the mix, Thanos has our heroes under his thumb but doesn't kill them, and it starts all over again. This goes on for over 200 pages! It's helpful to get the high points, but boy is it a painful process.

The payoff is the final chapter, which is one of the more moving tales ever to come out of the Marvel House of Ideas. Jim Starlin did some excellent work on TDOCM, and it is a true masterpiece.

One more little problem I have with this book: Marvel has adopted the practice of putting advertisements in their trade paperbacks lately. Having the last moment of Captain Marvel's life facing a page with an ad for cookies seems undignified.