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Marvel Comics, $2.99, 28 pages
Released: June 25, 2014
Story Grade: A-
Issue Score: 75.75*
MARVELOUSLY RECOMMENDED
"Urban Legend, Part Four of Five"
(20 pages / 92 panels / 1,787 words / 12:20 read time)
Writer: G. Willow Wilson
Artist: Adrian Alphona
Artist: Adrian Alphona
Colorist: Ian Herring
Letterer: VC's Joe Caramagna
Letterer: VC's Joe Caramagna
Editor: Sana Amanat
This has been a delightful little book and Marvel is to be commended for putting it out there at $2.99. Ms Marvel is, I believe, the last holdout from the House of Ideas at that price point and, truth be told, I most likely would not have bothered to even try the series at $3.99. But as it was, I was willing to give the books a trial pre-order, and I'm glad I did. It's become one of my favorite books, month-in and month-out.
That said, there are a some weaknesses in this particular issue, a few of which could have been handled on the recap page. The super snot is cool. I mean, what kid wouldn't want a super-hero costume made out of super-snot? But I've completely forgotten whatever reference there was, however many issues ago it may have been, to Bruno's little science project. I assume the super-snot has been referenced before and I've simply forgotten it, and that it did not appear here out of whole cloth. I also could have used a reminder of why Vick is involved with the Inventor's gang. I mean, I remember that he robbed Bruno's store, but I can't remember why, including why a villain who can finance a houseful of robot drones needs one of his minions to knock over a corner market.
It's also unclear to me how long Vick is kept prisoner by the gang in this issue. The actual plot here is pretty light. Kamala, in the middle of trying to rescue Vick at the close of last issue, gets her butt kicked. She then crawls home, has a heart-to-heart with her father, and undergoes an '80s-movie training montage before going back and completing her mission. But how long does the training take? A day? A week? You wouldn't think Kamala would have been able to master her new powers and create a costume from synthetic boogers in an afternoon, but would Bruno really have just allowed his brother to be held hostage for however much time must have passed. Why didn't he or his parents file a missing persons report on Vick? And then tell police, "Oh, by the way, he's not really missing, here's exactly where he is." But, then, the training couldn't have taken that long, otherwise why is Vick not killed or worse by the gang? But again, a reminder of why he's being held may have helped to explain he he hasn't been harmed.
On the art front, I am totally in love with the quirkiness of some of the character designs and the panel depictions are generally strong. I also like the muted, pastel coloring palette used for this books. Both the art and the coloring make Ms Marvel feel like it occupies its own distinct world, even though it exists as a part of the larger Marvel universe.
I said above the storytelling is generally strong, but I did have small moments of confusion during the two basement battles in this issue. In the first, Doyle unleashes the drones, then yells at them to get out of his way, at which point Kamala stares at a rock, then gets attacked by a lightshade and a bannister. I assume the drones, being too numerous, make an uncoordinated attack and prevent Doyle from firing his laser gun, then Kamala pauses to steel up her courage before launching a counter atack. At least that's what I think is happening. Taken on their surface, the two Doyle panels simply seem to contradict each other, the rock thing could be any sort of nonsequitor, and as noted, Kamala looks like she's being attacked by the drones even as her "Rrraah!!" sounds like she's charging them.
Then, when she returns for Round 2, Kamala bursts in riding a giant-sized drone (would have been nice if large versions had been established during the first visit) and, for no apparent reason, the drone appears to be wearing some cross between a giant band-aid and a sumo headband. She then forces one to fire its laser (nice, also, if we had seen that ability during the previous fight) and Doyle crumples to the ground. However, given the close-up of Doyle's face, followed by the fact that he's laying mostly off panel in the next shot, it's unclear where he was hit, or how badly he was hurt.
Still, dispute a few hiccups this issue, Ms Marvel is an excellent book. Kamala is both a geek, which makes her someone most comics readers can relate to, and, as both a girl and a muslim, exotic and interesting — someone the reader naturally wants to learn more about.
The heart of this issue, as has been the case in most so far, is Kamala's relationship with her family, highlighted here by the midnight-snack chat she has with her father. Honestly, don't we all wish we had a father like Abu? He and Muneeba are like the middle eastern Ma and Pa Kent and, of all the characters in this title, I think I love them best.
One question I have, however, is why Kamala calls her parents by their first names. Is that a muslim thing? I know that if I had ever tried that when I was Kamala's age, I'd've been looking for my mouth under the couch, because my mom would've slapped it off my face and clear across the room!
(UPDATE: I've since learned that Abu and Ammi are terms for mother and father, just as I assume jaanu and beta, which Abu uses when addressing Kamala, must be pet names for daughter, although those phrases I was not able to Google up. So, really, what this book needs is those little "editor's notes" boxes that used to exist in comics back in the 1970s, or else a "key to words and phrases used" on the title page.)
I also was confused by Doyle calling Ms Marvel a "bendy girl." I Googled the phrase and, according to the urban dictionary, bendy girls are yoga-obsessed hotties. That doesn't seem right in this case, so I'm hoping for an explanation of the apparent insult in some future issue.
And speaking of future issues, while the last-page splash panel of a villain making his entrance is a comic book cliche I've grown to hate, how can I not love a human-sized talking Cockatoo? I mean, c'mon, on the scale of things that are truly "gosh-wow," that is only a rung or two below super snot!
Oh, and one more thing — and I will bank this drum until the end of time — Ms is not an abbreviation for anything. It is a completely made-up honorific. It does not get a period. So, this title should properly be Ms Marvel, not Ms. Marvel. And yes, I know Ms. magazine used the period, but you know what, Gloria Steinem got a lot of things wrong. Not, everything. But a lot. And that.
That said, there are a some weaknesses in this particular issue, a few of which could have been handled on the recap page. The super snot is cool. I mean, what kid wouldn't want a super-hero costume made out of super-snot? But I've completely forgotten whatever reference there was, however many issues ago it may have been, to Bruno's little science project. I assume the super-snot has been referenced before and I've simply forgotten it, and that it did not appear here out of whole cloth. I also could have used a reminder of why Vick is involved with the Inventor's gang. I mean, I remember that he robbed Bruno's store, but I can't remember why, including why a villain who can finance a houseful of robot drones needs one of his minions to knock over a corner market.
It's also unclear to me how long Vick is kept prisoner by the gang in this issue. The actual plot here is pretty light. Kamala, in the middle of trying to rescue Vick at the close of last issue, gets her butt kicked. She then crawls home, has a heart-to-heart with her father, and undergoes an '80s-movie training montage before going back and completing her mission. But how long does the training take? A day? A week? You wouldn't think Kamala would have been able to master her new powers and create a costume from synthetic boogers in an afternoon, but would Bruno really have just allowed his brother to be held hostage for however much time must have passed. Why didn't he or his parents file a missing persons report on Vick? And then tell police, "Oh, by the way, he's not really missing, here's exactly where he is." But, then, the training couldn't have taken that long, otherwise why is Vick not killed or worse by the gang? But again, a reminder of why he's being held may have helped to explain he he hasn't been harmed.
On the art front, I am totally in love with the quirkiness of some of the character designs and the panel depictions are generally strong. I also like the muted, pastel coloring palette used for this books. Both the art and the coloring make Ms Marvel feel like it occupies its own distinct world, even though it exists as a part of the larger Marvel universe.
I said above the storytelling is generally strong, but I did have small moments of confusion during the two basement battles in this issue. In the first, Doyle unleashes the drones, then yells at them to get out of his way, at which point Kamala stares at a rock, then gets attacked by a lightshade and a bannister. I assume the drones, being too numerous, make an uncoordinated attack and prevent Doyle from firing his laser gun, then Kamala pauses to steel up her courage before launching a counter atack. At least that's what I think is happening. Taken on their surface, the two Doyle panels simply seem to contradict each other, the rock thing could be any sort of nonsequitor, and as noted, Kamala looks like she's being attacked by the drones even as her "Rrraah!!" sounds like she's charging them.
Then, when she returns for Round 2, Kamala bursts in riding a giant-sized drone (would have been nice if large versions had been established during the first visit) and, for no apparent reason, the drone appears to be wearing some cross between a giant band-aid and a sumo headband. She then forces one to fire its laser (nice, also, if we had seen that ability during the previous fight) and Doyle crumples to the ground. However, given the close-up of Doyle's face, followed by the fact that he's laying mostly off panel in the next shot, it's unclear where he was hit, or how badly he was hurt.
Still, dispute a few hiccups this issue, Ms Marvel is an excellent book. Kamala is both a geek, which makes her someone most comics readers can relate to, and, as both a girl and a muslim, exotic and interesting — someone the reader naturally wants to learn more about.
The heart of this issue, as has been the case in most so far, is Kamala's relationship with her family, highlighted here by the midnight-snack chat she has with her father. Honestly, don't we all wish we had a father like Abu? He and Muneeba are like the middle eastern Ma and Pa Kent and, of all the characters in this title, I think I love them best.
One question I have, however, is why Kamala calls her parents by their first names. Is that a muslim thing? I know that if I had ever tried that when I was Kamala's age, I'd've been looking for my mouth under the couch, because my mom would've slapped it off my face and clear across the room!
(UPDATE: I've since learned that Abu and Ammi are terms for mother and father, just as I assume jaanu and beta, which Abu uses when addressing Kamala, must be pet names for daughter, although those phrases I was not able to Google up. So, really, what this book needs is those little "editor's notes" boxes that used to exist in comics back in the 1970s, or else a "key to words and phrases used" on the title page.)
I also was confused by Doyle calling Ms Marvel a "bendy girl." I Googled the phrase and, according to the urban dictionary, bendy girls are yoga-obsessed hotties. That doesn't seem right in this case, so I'm hoping for an explanation of the apparent insult in some future issue.
And speaking of future issues, while the last-page splash panel of a villain making his entrance is a comic book cliche I've grown to hate, how can I not love a human-sized talking Cockatoo? I mean, c'mon, on the scale of things that are truly "gosh-wow," that is only a rung or two below super snot!
Oh, and one more thing — and I will bank this drum until the end of time — Ms is not an abbreviation for anything. It is a completely made-up honorific. It does not get a period. So, this title should properly be Ms Marvel, not Ms. Marvel. And yes, I know Ms. magazine used the period, but you know what, Gloria Steinem got a lot of things wrong. Not, everything. But a lot. And that.
*[COVER: 6.75 — PLOT: 7.50 — SCRIPT: 9.25 — LAYOUT: 7.75 — ARTWORK: 9.0 — EDITING: 6.75 — COLORS/PRODUCTION: 8.0 — DOLLAR VALUE: 7.00 — COLLECTIBILITY: 6.75 —GOSH-WOW FACTOR: 7.0]
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