Review: MS. MARVEL #1

MS.MARVEL (2016) No. 1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review originally appeared on Patreon.]

WRITER: G. Willow Wilson
ART: Takeshi Miyazawa (Pg. 1-21); Adrian Alphona (pg. 21-30)
COLORS: Ian Herring
LETTERS: VC's Joe Caramagna
COVER: Cliff Chiang
VARIANT COVERS: John Tyler Christopher; Sara Pichelli with Justin Ponsor; Jenny Frison (Hip-Hop Variant); Soni Balestier photographed by Judy Stephens (cosplay variant)
36pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (January 2016)

Rated T+

“Super Famous” Part One of Three

Ms. Marvel is a Marvel Comics female superhero character.  The original version of Ms. Marvel was created by writer Gerry Conway and artist John Buscema.  First appearing in Ms. Marvel #1 (cover dated: January 1977), she was meant to be the female counterpart of Marvel's Captain Marvel (who first appeared in 1967), not to be confused with Fawcett Comics' Captain Marvel (which is now owned by DC Comics).

The new Ms. Marvel is Kamala Khan (the fourth character to take the name Ms. Marvel).  Created by Sana Amanat, G. Willow Wilson, and Adrian Alphona, Kamala first appeared in Captain Marvel #17 (cover dated: November 2013).  She is a 16 year-old Pakistani-American from Jersey City, New Jersey.  She idolizes Carol Danvers, the original Ms. Marvel who is now the new Captain Marvel.  Kamala was given her own Ms. Marvel series, which premiered in February 2014, becoming Marvel Comics' first Muslim character to star in her own comic book.

With the dawn of the “All-New, All-Different Marvel Universe” comes the new Ms. Marvel comic book series.  It is written by G. Willow Wilson; drawn by Takeshi Miyazawa and Adrian Alphona, colored by Ian Herring, and lettered by Joe Caramagna.

Ms. Marvel #1 (“Super Famous” Part One of Three) opens with Ms. Marvel participating in superhero activities with her Avengers teammates.  This new life, however, is becoming a problem for Kamala, as she is juggling Avengers duties, school, and online gaming (of course).  Suddenly, Kamala realizes that she has missed something, like the new situation in her friend, Bruno Carrelli's life.  Who is Michaela “Mike” Miller?  And what is “Hope Yards Development,” and what is their connection to Ms. Marvel?

I have thought about it, and I cannot think of another title that might surpass it.  Thus, I feel safe in saying that Ms. Marvel is the best superhero comic book that Marvel Comics is publishing.  It is so different from everything else, and G. Willow Wilson's superb writing makes being different work, while still fitting Ms. Marvel firmly in the Marvel Universe.

Basically Wilson has resurrected what Steve Ditko and Stan Lee did so well in the early years of The Amazing Spider Man:  the merging of the Marvel Comics superhero with teen drama.  The last time someone did a high school superhero comic book this well was Milestone Media's Static, which also recalled the early Spider-Man.  Both Static and Ms. Marvel did it with characters who were ethnically and socially different from 1960s Peter Parker, but Wilson, like Static's writer, proves that Spider-Man's template is universal and could be applied to someone who looks differently and lives in a different place from Peter Parker.  [One could argue that the original Peter Parker/The Amazing Spider-Man is universal because it has been updated and applied to Spider-Man characters that are different form Peter Parker.]

As she did with her first Ms. Marvel series from 2014, Wilson proves that Kamala Kahn can work in the Marvel Universe.  In fact, this series can be a gateway comic book, as The Amazing Spider-Man was over 50 years ago.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: MS. MARVEL #1

MS.MARVEL (2014) #1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

WRITER: G. Willow Wilson
ART: Adrian Alphona
COLORS: Ian Herring
LETTERS: VC's Joe Caramagna
COVER: Sara Pichelli with Justin Ponsor
VARIANT COVERS: Arthur Adams; Peter Steigerwald; Jamie McKelvie
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (January 2015 – Seventh printing)

Rated T+

“Meta-Morphosis” Part One of Five

The original Ms. Marvel, a Marvel Comics female superhero character, was created by writer Gerry Conway and artist John Buscema.  First appearing in Ms. Marvel #1 (cover dated: January 1977), she was meant to be the female counterpart of Marvel's Captain Marvel (who first appeared in 1967), not to be confused with Fawcett and later DC Comics' Shazam-Captain Marvel.

There is a new Ms. Marvel, and she is Kamala Khan.  Created by Sana Amanat, G. Willow Wilson, and Adrian Alphona, Kamala is the fourth character to take the name Ms. Marvel.  Kamala, who first appeared in Captain Marvel #17 (cover dated: November 2013), is a 16 year-old Pakistani-American from Jersey City, New Jersey.  She idolizes Carol Danvers, the original Ms. Marvel who is now the new Captain Marvel.  Kamala was given her own Ms. Marvel series, which premiered in February 2014, and she became Marvel Comics' first Muslim character to star in her own comic book.

I remember the debut of the new Ms. Marvel comic book series, but I ignored it.  Then, I read The Amazing Spider-Man #7 (2014), in which the new Ms. Marvel appeared, and I suddenly became interested in her.  Luckily, my comic book shop had reprints of the first issue of Kamala's Ms. Marvel comic book series, written by G. Willow Wilson, drawn by Adrian Alphona, colored by Ian Herring, and lettered by Joe Caramagna.

Ms. Marvel #1 (“Meta Morphosis”) opens in Jersey City at a Circle Q, where Kamala is holding court with her friend, Nakia, and an employee, Bruno.  This gathering, in a small way, encapsulates the problems that Kamala is having with her parents, her culture, and her religion.  Wouldn't it be cool if she could eat bacon?  If only she could be like her beloved Avengers:  Captain America, Iron Man, and especially Captain Marvel.  Eventually, she will get what she wants, but not the way she wants it.

It was not until after I picked up a copy of Ms. Marvel #1 – Seventh Printing that I discovered that Ms. Marvel was a buzzed-about new comic book.  Some are calling it the best comic book of 2014, as I learned via an email from Diamond Distributors and also from an article at website, Comic Book Resources.  I don't know if I would call it the best comic book of the year, but if I made a list, it would definitely be in my “Top 10.”

I think of Ms. Marvel as a “girl's comic book,” but I do not mean that in a derogatory way.  I am not one of those fans who think that every superhero comic book from either Marvel or DC Comics must be alike.  They don't have to all be rehashes and revamps of the same templates and editorial mindsets that old white guys established beginning in the early 1960s, i.e. the Silver Age.  I don't mind something completely different.

This new Ms. Marvel is something different; it is something else.  It presents a girl's point of view; it is about a young woman struggling to come into her own.  Ms. Marvel is not aimed at me; it is not written to appease my fanboy demands.

And that doesn't matter.  I like Ms. Marvel anyway.  It's so good.  It is so different, yet some of the things with which Kamala Khan struggles are universal, so I recognized the dilemmas she faces.  When I ignored what I expected from the typical superhero comic book, I found myself embracing Ms. Marvel.  I want more of it, and I want to share this with my niece when she is older.

I guess I should not be surprised.  Ms. Marvel writer, G. Willow Wilson's late Vertigo series, Air, was decidedly unusual, but alluring and intriguing.  I had recently stopped giving letter grades to first issues, but I will make an exception for the first issue of Ms. Marvel.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.