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Is It Good? Ms. Marvel #1 Review

Comic Books

Is It Good? Ms. Marvel #1 Review

Welcome back to Marvel Now 2: Electric Boogaloo! We have ourselves a new book this time around. I have had mixed results so far with these new Marvel books (Black Widow being yay and Avengers World being nay), but I’m hoping I’ll strike gold with this one.

Not only is this a new book, but it’s about a brand new character (with an old superhero name but that’s besides the point) and has a rather interesting team at the helm: G. Willow Wilson (who wrote the Vertigo series Air) and Adrian Alphona (who did some X-Men Legacy issues). What can all of this mean for this comic? Is it good?

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Ms. Marvel #1 (Marvel Comics)


ms-marvel-1-cover

Kamala Khan is an everyday teenage Muslim girl who lives in Jersey City. She has some good friends, a perfectly normal obsession with the Avengers (Avengers and My Little Pony knockoff crossover is not stupid, but awesome), and lives a decent life. However, due to her cultural heritage and religion, her parents tend to not let her indulge herself and that is putting a hamper on her social life. So one night, she decides to sneak out of her home to go to a party and things will change for her forever…

ms-marvel-1-cultures
I read the blonde’s dialogue and heard the most obnoxious stereotypical voice imaginable.

This issue is a straight up origin tale. It’s all about setting up the Kamala’s personality and background. We learn about what kind of person she is, where she currently is in her life, and how she views people and the world around her. For the most part, the setup is good and she is presented as the kind of character one could relate to and understand. She comes off as likeable, but still a typical teenage character. The cast of characters around her are the kind of typical cast you might see for movie or book about a teenage girl (her overprotective but strict parents, the best friends who might be a bit wiser than, the jerk jock and girlfriend/cheerleader). Nothing special about them right now, but they are at least characterized well enough so they feel like they have a bit of personality to them.

As a setup and origin issue, Ms. Marvel #1 did its job well enough. Though as a first issue to a new series, it can feel a bit uneventful until the very end when she gets her powers. It reads like a typical teenage drama that just happens to be interrupted by a superhero plotline towards the end of the book. That may not be what people wanted, since it can make the story a bit slow going at first. Sure, the character work and the humor in it are pretty enjoyable, but still.

Also, regarding the origin of Kamala’s powers: She seems to be getting them from the Terrigen Mists that awaken her Inhuman genes. Considering that, this would imply the story is happening around the same time as Infinity, which raises a rather interesting question and problem. The planet is in the middle of an alien invasion at the time and Kamala is only located twelve miles from the attack in Manhattan… why everyone acting so calm and as if nothing is happening?

ms-marvel-1-avengers
Hmm… Rainbow Toots doesn’t look all that rainbow-y to me.

The artwork by Adrian Alphona is solid overall. The characters look crisp and realistic with a decent range of faces, body types, and facial emotions (Kamala is especially good and unique looking). The locations and backgrounds are good and have some nice detail to them. There is some nice imagery, especially evident in scenes at the end when she gets her powers. One interesting thing that I noticed about the panels is that panels themselves don’t have any straight lines to them and are a bit crooked. It’s not a problem or anything, just something I picked out; perhaps they have some further significance.

ms-marvel-1-crowd
Anyone else see that guy in the lower left hand corner glowing? What’s up with him?

Is It Good?

Ms. Marvel #1 is a solid origin issue from this brand new character, Kamala. She has plenty of potential and endearing qualities. While the first issue didn’t really dive into the superhero angle until the very end and feels like a slow start to begin with, there is still plenty of things to like about this comic. Definitely give it a look if you are interested in the onset of a good teenager superhero story.

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