When Marvel Studios announced last month that they are in active development on a Captain Marvel movie, the geek community cheered. The character will be the first female superhero to get her very own solo movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it's an event that fans have been calling for for years. But if you need any further proof that that making the film is a good idea, all you have to do is look at the sales numbers for the current run of Ms. Marvel comics.
Sales numbers have been coming in, and in the comic book world there doesn't seem to be any character hotter than Ms. Marvel. Diamond Comics has posted their list of the top selling graphic novels and trade paperbacks from their distributors in October, and reports that the collected first arc of G. Willow Wilson's recent Ms. Marvel comics was the best selling book of the month. What's more, the New York Times Best Sellers list for paperback graphic novels had the book ranked at number two behind the children's book Sisters from author Raina Telgemeier.
As regular comic book readers know, however, the interesting twist that comes with this story is the fact that the Ms. Marvel featured in this best-selling book isn't the same Ms./Captain Marvel that will be featured in the upcoming 2018 feature film. As was confirmed by Studio President Kevin Feige during Marvel's special presentation last month, the new movie will feature Carol Danvers - the original Ms. Marvel - as the lead character, but G. Willow Wilson's books instead feature the reinvented Ms. Marvel who got her own series beginning this past February. Centering on a Muslim teenager named Kamala Khan (shown above) who is transformed into the new Ms. Marvel, the new books were a critical success, and, as you can tell from the trade paperback's sales, very popular with comic book readers. Regardless of who the person is under the costume, though, what this news tells us is that people are not only ready, but excited to start seeing more stories with female superheroes.
Of course, if readers wanted to start reading current Captain Marvel comics featuring Carol Danvers, that's an option as well. The current run, which began in March and is being written by Kelly sue Deconnick, will be publishing its ninth issue this Wednesday, Digital versions of the available issues are all available for preview and purchase on Marvel's official site.
Back on the movie side, it may be a few years until we start hearing any firm details about the Captain Marvel film - as it is still about four years away - but it's entirely possible that Carol Danvers will be showing up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe before that point (with or without her alien-based powers). We're definitely keeping our eyes peeled.
