Ms. Marvel Volume 1, No Normal by G. Willow Wilson (story) and Adrian Alphona (artist) made me giddy happy it was so much fun. I completely understand why it won a Hugo Award last week and I am very much looking forward to reading more of the story.
And about that story.
Kamala is sixteen and wishes she were someone else. Her family is Muslim and from Pakistan. She is not allowed to go to parties or go out on dates with boys. Her parents are liberal as far as they can be but even that is too strict for Kamala who wants to fit in and be like everyone else. She loves the Avengers and dreams of being Captain Marvel.
One of the popular girls at school invites her to a beach party and Kamala sneaks out of the house to go only to discover when she arrives that the point of her being there is to serve as the butt of jokes. She runs off and the city is overtaken by a mysterious mist. In the mist Kamala is visited by Iron Man, Captain America, and Captain Marvel. She is granted her wish to be Captain Marvel who tells her that things will not turn out the way she thinks they will.
And it’s true. As Kamala tries to figure out her new super powers and how to use them to help people she often misreads situations and causes more harm than good. But with the help of her best friends, Nakia and Bruno, Kamala learns a few important lessons about friendship, helping others, and being herself. The latter is of course the most important lesson of all because it isn’t until Kamala understands that she can’t be Captain Marvel but only ever herself, everything else comes together. And thus she becomes not Captain Marvel but Ms. Marvel.
By the end of the story she has made a daring rescue and gained a nemesis as well as been grounded by her parents. It’s hard to fight evil when you’re grounded, but I expect Kamala will figure it out.
I’ve never thought of myself as a comic kind of reader and while I enjoy The Avengers films and Agent Carter and Agents of Shield, I have not been especially interested in reading the comics. But Ms. Marvel while on the fringe of the superhero comic world, is her own story that is also outside of all the already known superhero stories. That to me makes it fresh and interesting especially because she is not your average kind of superhero. More fun and adventures ahead!
I’ve been reading this digitally since the first issue, and it is so much fun! Kamala is a charming hero, and I love how the series honors her as a girl and a fan and a Muslim. There are some delightful run-ins with other Marvel characters, but they’ve done well at keeping it adjacent to the Marvel universe so that it can be enjoyed on its own. I had always been kind of interested in trying comics but was overwhelmed at the many interconnected stories, so I’ve been glad to find books like Ms. Marvel. (Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye is similarly adjacent to the wider Marvel Universe but entirely different in style from this.)
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Teresa, I am so glad you’ve been reading them all and say you have been enjoying them! I am about to request the next volume from my library. I do like the bits of cross-over into the Marvel Universe but that it is adjacent I like that better, not so much history and backstory and all that to have to wade through. Like you, all the backstory stuff have kept me from wanting to jump into comics. Hmm, I might have to check out Hawkeye sometime.
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I am not much of a comic fan either, but me thinks me will give this one a try…its sounds very interesting!
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cirtnecce, Ms Marvel I think is a great place to venture out into the comics world plus it is great fun!
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Well this sounds super fun. I have been seeing squee for this for ages, but this is one of the first reviews of it I have actually read. How did you like the art?
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Nikki, it is super fun! The art is great, really well done and expressive. The colors tend to the muted side which is kind of surprising when it comes to what I expected from a superhero comic. But it actually works really well and ended up really liking the muted tones.
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Completely new to me, but as a child I was a comic addict, waiting at the newsagents for every new delivery of ‘Superman’ and his ilk. Perhaps this is the time to go back and revive my childhood passion.
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Alex, Ms. Marvel is a newer comic I believe. Well, if you loved Superman as a kid, you should totally give this one a try! It might revive your interest in comics 🙂
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Funny, how for a while most of us outgrew comics, and then things took a twist in content and presentation and the industry began appealing to an older, more thoughtful audience with graphic novels.
Ms Marvel sounds fascinating!
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jenclair, isn’t that true! I loved comics as a kid too but “outgrew” them. It is really marvelous that there are comics for grown up these days! Ms Marvel is lots of fun 🙂
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I must take a closer look at this–my library just got volume 2 in today as a matter of fact and I was thinking I really do need to read more graphic novels. I never think of myself as a Marvel comics sort of reader either, but this sounds like fun.
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Danielle, it’s a quick read, a nice hour or two on a weekend afternoon. I doubt I will ever venture into the full Marvel Universe but this adjacent story is very fun.
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Can’t wait to read it.
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Laila, I hope you enjoy it!
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I’m not a comic fan either, but my son has introduced me to graphic novels so my mind is more open these days than it used to be BS (Before Son)! This sounds worth giving a go.
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whisperinggums, are you sure “BS” just means “Before Son”? 😉 Ms Marvel is a lot of fun and a good way to dip in a toe if you want to see what comics are like these days.
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Haha, I have no idea what you mean, Miss Stefanie!
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Pardon me if I’m a bit skeptical 😉
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This is a new one to me but thanks to your review, I’m adding it to my TBR list! Thank you!
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Jess, you bet! I hope you like it if you give it a try!
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