Plus, how awesome is this costume redesign? Answer: very awesome. (image from marvel.com)

Captain Marvel the character and CAPTAIN MARVEL the book have been two of the most genuinely pleasant surprises of the past year or so in comics. Yes, I know Carol already existed in the Marvel U, but the slight tweaks to her personality and development of a supporting cast have all hit nicely. It started around the same time as HAWKEYE and has, I think, been overshadowed by it because of how capital E Excellent that book was, but CAPTAIN MARVEL is a consistently good comic, a solid superhero offering that features action, fun, and strong characterization. Plus, not to play this card, but yes to play this card, as a dad of a young daughter, the portrayal of women and especially the young neighbor warms my heart.

Anyway, last week’s Psych Ward was all about the new status quo for Carol. I urge you to read my piece and hopefully be inspired to start buying the series. Or maybe (hopefully) dive into the back issues and/or trades. Especially starting with the second arc in when the narrative drive of the series really kicks in.

A few weeks back I also Psych Ward-ed (boom, verb made!) the Ultimate version of Jean Grey who really shows off some of the advantages of the Ultimate Universe where you can make a beloved practically founder of the Marvel U (Reed Richards) into a the worst villain on the planet or a the first female X-Woman a ruler of a country with very grey designs on uniting the mutant populace. By doing that, you can explore themes from a direction the main U. would never be able to handle and plumb other aspects of the characters you've never seen before.

The Ultimate Universe also allows artists to give characters excellent hairstyles that might otherwise never have. In my opinion. (image from marvel.com)