REVIEW: ‘Monica Rambeau: Photon,’ Issue #1

Monica Rambeau: Photon #1 is a new mini-series published by Marvel Comics. The comic is written by Eve L. Ewing with art by Luca Maresca with Ivan Fiorelli, colored by Carlos Lopez, and lettered by VC’s Clayton Cowles. Captain Marvel, Spectrum, Pulsar, Photon. Fan Favorite Monica Rambeau, who has saved the universe with a slew of different names and personas, has had an amazing career over the years. She’s also been slowly making her way back into the foreground thanks to the MCU including her in Captain Marvel and WandaVision and her forthcoming role in The Marvels. She’s been in several team-ups, and yet, 2022 marks her first solo comic book series, and it is one we have been anticipating.

Ewing does a great job in the setup of who Monica Rambeau is in her relation to others. Along with her remarkable powers of converting her body into any form of electromagnetic energy, she is a reliable teammate. When she chooses, she’s an incredible leader, all in the name of safeguarding people, the planet, and beyond. Add in characters from her past that new and old fans will recognize and this issue is well-rounded with characters and cameos.

There’s some stunning artwork in Monica Rambeau Photon #1: my absolute favorite being the two-page spread of our titular character flying, zooming and transitioning into light with a dreamy space background behind her. I did love Lopez’s coloring that makes the action sequences pop in this issue, as I did the toned down page that acts as flashbacks to Monica’s early days with the Avengers as their leader. You can instantly pick up the visual cues by the colors and it is a treat to see some of the older costumes on display, especially She-Hulk. Cowles’s lettering is elevated the most in the combat scenes with an opponent with an unusual power. The text speaks volumes in just a handful of words.

I thought the pages of Monica interacting with civilians, not superheroes, were among the most special. The pages of her speaking with an older fan who still calls her Captain Marvel carried a lot of weight. Later pages of our hero seeking comfort and advice from loved ones feel enormously great in the sense that seeing superheroes with family members who aren’t dead always makes me want to send thank you cards to everyone involved in the process. Monica is a Black woman trying to get back in her groove but also transitioning to something new. Reading along and seeing these pages was a timely reminder of not just how Black women are constantly moving and evolving, but how they also need time to themselves when they aren’t saving others.

From the first pages in, Monica Rambeau: Photon #1 starts smartly deconstructing this beloved superhero, whose time to shine solo has finally come. The creative team really succeeds in tackling her from the ground up as someone who takes trips to the bodega, visits her parents, and drops by old friends to help out with jokes and favors. This type of ordinary might sound mundane to some readers but makes Monica in this phase of her life a grounded character who still just might not have seen it all

Monica Rambeau: Photon #1 explores the start of the inner workings of a beloved superhero as she figures out the now of her life, several decades in the making. Monica Rambeau is someone who has been around the block and has been in the superhero business for a while.

Monica Rambeau: Photon #1 is available wherever comics are sold.