I don’t read a lot of superhero comics. They’ve always seemed too difficult to really dive in to. There’s a ton of history with each character, and that’s incredibly daunting for a newbie. And then if you decide to be thorough and read up on all that history, it’s usually not very kind to females.

Enter Carol Danvers. Or, rather, the re-emergence of Carol Danvers. Previously, she was a superhero named Ms. Marvel, a woman who gained her powers thanks to a freak accident with Captain Marvel, a member of an alien race called the Kree. But now Captain Marvel has died, and Carol has to decide whether to take up the name (not-a-spoiler: she does). What’s extra-nice about all this background is that it’s reviewed in the comics themselves, which makes this story arc an excellent diving-in point.

So right off the bat there are huge issues of identity for Captain Marvel to contend with. While she struggles with this, she also has to deal with being a member of the Avengers and all that entails (saving the world, that kind of thing). Oh, and then there’s a small matter of time travel, where she finds herself in the year 1943, on a battlefield, facing down an all-female group of soldiers. We have huge issues of character alongside hugely entertaining plots, and what more could you ask for in a comic?

Captain Marvel as written by Kelly Sue DeConnick has garnered a loyal and very vocal following. It’s difficult to see a lot of female superheroes in comics, with their disproportionate bodies and fondness for nudity and flat characterization, as anything other than straight male fantasies. The re-launch of Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel (with a similar relaunch of her costume to a character-appropriate flightsuit!) smashes those preconceptions. This is a very feminist comic, not because the title character is always talking about feminist issues, but because she is an actual woman – you know, a person, with strengths and hangups like all the other women of my acquaintance. Plus she can fly.

The Cybils don’t honor a lot of superhero comics in their graphic novel categories, but they’ve named the first volume of Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel a finalist for the YA age group this year. It’s well-deserved. The book is well-written, exciting, with plenty of witty dialogue and complex relationships. I liked first artist Dexter Soy’s work on the book more than second artist Emma Rios’, but even my apathy toward Rios’ art didn’t detract from the story.

Marvel is re-launching Captain Marvel yet again with a Captain Marvel #1 this March (DeConnick is still writing and the character is still Carol Danvers, it’s just the beginning of a new story arc and a marketing thing. As a comics newbie I still find this strange). This means the issues from the initial relaunch in 2012 through then make a perfect beginning-to-end story. Comics newbies wanting to dip their toes into the format have no excuse. Or if you want to start completely fresh and clean, reading what everyone else will be reading, start with the upcoming March issue. The cover is very pretty, don’t you think?