Ms. Marvel Vol. 1: No Normal (Ms. Marvel Graphic Novels)

After a Spiderman and X-Men filled youth, I largely stopped reading comic books. What little comic book reading I’ve done since then has been mostly The Walking Dead with a few other Image Comics thrown in. So Ms. Marvel is my first foray back to Marvel (the real stuff, not that talkie stuff the kids are into these days). I will be back. You see, Ms. Marvel is really, really damn good. Ms. Marvel returns to ground well trod by comics: the immigrant experience (Superman); gangly, gawky teenage years (Spiderman); and being the Other (X-Men). But it remains fertile ground when done well, and Ms. Marvel is exceedingly well done. Not in the big ways of great action set pieces or an epic storyline, because at the very least we haven’t had time to get there, but in the little ways. All of them, from Ms. Marvel trying to control her new powers to simple moments between a frustrated, loving father and a teenage girl outgrowing the nest. The teen girl is Kamala: a young, Pakistani-American girl. A more devout female friend (Nakia) and brother, a more Americanized male friend (Bruno) (and love interest?), a “mean girl” (Zoe), long suffering and hardworking immigrant parents round out the main cast for now. The rebellion comes early when Kamala sneaks out to go to a high school party where she has her first sip of booze. It ends like it ended for most of us, with an encounter with a terrigen bomb that activates her Inhuman genes. (You might not understand any of that any more than I did; it’s ok, you don’t really need to because the comic doesn’t much concern itself with the source.) The result is Kamala gaining powers; that is, the power to manipulate her body—both to do stuff like create giant fists and to make herself gigantically huge or ridiculously tiny—and a healing factor. Like I said, the story doesn’t start with a bang, but the volume sets up a Big Bad, someone named the Inventor with suitably villainous inventions. But Kamala starts by pulling girls out of the lake and foiling convenience store robberies. Which is good, because we get treated to wonderful scenes of Kamala trying to control her powers and repurposing a burkini as a superhero costume. And of course all that little stuff, including not just the two-way tension between being a superhero and being a normal teen, but the three-way tension among a stricter faith, mainstream American consumerism, and immigrants striving for the American Dream.

The edges were kinda beat up but other than that it was pretty good.

I've sporadically read comics all my life. I've always been a superhero fan however, mostly playing with the action figures and watching the cartoons as a kid and watching the movies and TV shows as I got older. The stories I have read are mostly event series and standalone such as DC's three Crisis events, Watchmen and Marvel's Age of Ultron, but I've also been trying to keep up with the New 52 Batman stories. This is my first foray into individual Marvel series, and my first ever Ms. Marvel (or Captain Marvel) series. I wasn't sure what to expect going into this comic. I bought it based mostly on reviews and the desire for something different. I'm not a woman, I'm not a Muslim, I'm not a Pakistani-American, and I'm not a teenager anymore. Nevertheless, there is something about Kamala Khan that is incredibly relatable. While the story of trying to figure out your newly gained/discovered powers and balancing the rest of your life with all that is an age old story, it doesn't really feel like we've been there and done that with this. I think that mostly due to G. Willow Wilson's writing and the art from Adrian Alphona and Ian Herring. As with most things Marvel, it manages a great balance between serious and funny while still managing to tell an engaging story. I've already ordered Volumes 2 and 3, and I have preordered Volume 4. Ms. Marvel is a great read, and while it may differ from many other superhero stories, I recommend it for any fans of the genre that like a good story and a unique character.

Many people think comic books should be escapist literature, and that's fair I guess. But I like to be able to connect what I'm reading, even comic books, to my world and my experience in some way and I know my daughter does too. And there's still not a ton of real comic book content out there for girls to connect to, let alone adolescent girls, let alone Muslim adolescent girls. And here we are. This Ms Marvel is a gem; a Muslim girl coming of age in a public high school in New Jersey. A dreamer and an iconoclast, she's living between two worlds, the conservative, protective, closed world of her Pakistani immigrant parents and the Western world of temptations and excess. Keeping her faith and her family ties are important to her but she questions everything around her as her values are shaped by forces from both sides. Her adolescence and her coming into womanhood are echoed in her investment with powers following a strange mist enveloping her city; her struggles with learning her power and her limits and developing a second identity are written and drawn perfectly to appeal to people of all ages with a special nod to those girls who need this exact hero having this exact experience the most. I bought this for my twelve year old daughter and I found it resonated with me too; the male characters are as well written and compelling as Kamala Khan's, G. Willow Wilson has created something very special for everyone in developing this character in 21st century America. Very worth the read.

Ms. Marvel Vol. 1 (Marvel Now! - Ms. Marvel) Ms Marvel beings more diversity to the Marvel setting without being obnoxious about it. We have a semi typical teen trying to find her way in the world who then inherits powers beyond the keen of mortal men. And then the fun starts. With a great cast of characters and a different art style that fits the series, Ms Marvel is well worth a look. Ms Marvel has already been around for several years and has made great strides in growing as a character and as a part of the greater Marvel Universe setting. She starts off as a youth who has ideas of what it means to be a hero. She writes her own fan fiction and has a minor obsession over the Avengers. She loves the original look Captain Marvel had and wants to "be her". And then she gets the chance to change the world as the overarching 'Inhuman' storyline of Marvel gives her new powers. While it's a lazy way to create characters, making them 'Inhumans', in the past she could just as easily been a mutan as Dazzler was way back in the day. This first volume does a great job of introducting Ms Marvel, her friends, family, and the new foes she encounters and while it is a part of the setting, isn't bogged dwn in crossover after crossover.

On the front cover of this edition of Ms. Marvel, a review quote says 'this may be the most important comic of 2014'. While I definitely liked this story, I think this has to be an exagerration. The strong points of this comic have already been covered by others. Marvel's revamp of Ms. marvel into a Muslim teenager from New Jersey comes with some good artwork, humor, and a character who does a good job of showing the clash between trying to fit in at home and with modern culture. All of these certainly make the story enjoyable. But I have read plenty of the other massively critically acclaimed comics of the past, like Gotham Central, Swamp Thing, and Sandman, and this does not measure up because of two flaws. Flaw one: the dialogue. Most of the teen characters in this story talk in a very valley-girlish way. If you play a drinking game where drink every time someone says 'for real' or 'totally', you will pass out. Look, I only stopped being a teenager recently, and this is not how we speak. Flaw two: the home life. Now, don't get me wrong, Kamala's struggle with her parents is one of the books strong points. But this book doesn't deliver on the consequences of Kamala's super-heroing. Her parents say that she is grounded, but she is still shown staying out all the time training and saving the world. It just makes the family life ring false to me. All in all, this is a decent start, but it is getting more praise simply for adding diversity than for the actual writing.

The Ms. Marvel nae has really evolved into something great over the years in Marvel history. With Carol Danvers being the new "Captain Marvel", I think a lot of people cam back to the character's history and appreciated this new take on a powerful female superhero. After reading "No Normal", I strongly believe Kamala Khan will do the same. Kamala is a Pakistani-American teenager. Right off the bat, you see that Marvel is going forward with making many beloved characters more diverse and practical when comparared to the world we live in today. I don't get the sense that her ethnicity is as big as Sm Wilson being the new Captain America or the Hulk being Asian American or Thor being a woman, but I think it's as equally important. Often, the comic uses terms that reference her beliefs and every day life (that isn't as common with non Pakistanian Americans), that I welcome wholeheartedly. Wilson creates an immersive story that will instruct you and bring more of an understanding to the character. Still, it's familiar. If you're a teenager reading this, then you probably have said or at least understood her frustration growing up with strict parents. If you're reading and you've already graduated high school, you remember the themes. I feel as though Kamala Khan is just like the rest of us in some way. She's as big of a fan as THE Ms. Marvel as well as other comic book heroes. I hope my review wasn't too spotty. I tend to jump from topic to topic and digress often. All in all, Kamala Khan comes to embrace and earn the Ms. Marvel mantle and it's very fun watching her come into her own. I think anybody that's on the fence abut this series shouldn't be. Jump in. Come over. This is a great series that's only going to evolve into something bigger and greater. Well done.

This was a pleasant, though quick and kind of shallow read to me. I have to admit: I probably am not the target audience for this comic (as a thirty-something). I think that influenced my enjoyment of the story: I liked it, but wasn’t blown away. The simplicity of the storyline, with quite some (in my eyes) stereotypical characters and not too subtle ways to get points across (such as being happy with who you are), left me wanting a little more depth. I do feel however that it was really refreshing to read a comic with a young, female, not-white protagonist (yes, white male dominated superhero world, I am looking at you!). Kamala felt like a relatable character, with humour, doubt and just enough weird to make her interesting. That alone makes this worth reading and recommending to teens everywhere!