A new and welcome complication arrives in Kamala’s life.
Creative Staff:
Story: G. Willow Wilson
Art: Takeshi Miyazawa
What They Say:
A mysterious stranger arrives in Jersey City! Is it possible Kamala Khan is about to develop… a crush? Yes. It is. Drama! Intrigue! Romance! Suspense! Punching things!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Ms. Marvel has been on the edge for me with whether I want to keep following it since the stories haven’t been all that engaging for several issues. With the Inventor story leaving me cold and then a silly one-off with Loki and Valentine’s Day, it’s had its moments but the charms of the first six issues haven’t been there for the most part. With this issue, we get the start of a new three issue storyline that has Takeshi Miyazawa stepping in to handle the artwork in a pretty admirable way. What helps with this arc, at least at the start, is that it hits all the things that I’ve been missing with the book for some time as it touches on the Inhuman aspect, the family side and the more geeky side of Kamala. It’s an issue that feels like it finally reconnects us with the rest of the cast.
Kamala’s life is being pulled in a lot of ways, which is normal for those that have secret identities, and having multiple families is almost a given even if they’re a loner. With Kamala, she’s growing and getting better with her Inhuman family as she spends time at New Attilan where Medusa is concerned over her not living there, but admits that she’s definitely improving by leaps and bounds in the quiet weeks since the Inventor incident ended. Seeing her at ease there certainly helps and there’s even a little cuteness with Lockjaw. It’s here that Kamala can be who she feels she really is, which is why her time with her blood family feels a bit awkward and strained at times because of all he rules that have been a part of her life since birth. She handles it largely well enough, but you can see the tension that comes into play at times, especially when her parents talk about someone coming to visit and she can easily see the parade of men that her parents will line up for her some day as potential marriage partners.
So her resistance to someone she knew ten years earlier, Kamran the nose picker, well, she’s ready to bolt the first chance she gets since she doesn’t want to deal with all of this. Of course, when it turns out that the guy is not only handsome and involved in the kinds of work that delights her parents, but also into the gaming that she’s into, everything turns on a dime for her. She’s actually pretty smitten, which is really adorable to watch, as is the freak out that her parents start to go into because all of a sudden the two are talking about things that they don’t understand and realize that things may progress faster than intended here. The connection between Kamran and Kamala is well played here and though it goes fast, it has that whole teenage aspect that really does work well and draws you into both of them in a way that feels very human.
While we do get a lot of fun character material here between the two and especially as her brother is forced into going out with them both since they can’t be left alone, we also ge some superhero action. While the two are off to check out movies, a new player arrives in Jersey City named Kaboom that’s intent on shaking things up from the status quo. She’s a fairly one note character that serves to show Kamala that there are other Inhumans out there not aligned with Medusa, but she pretty much already knew that. What’s fun with all of this though is that she’s had such a good run of downtime in dealing with things that she got sloppy in hiding who she was, which Kamran catches. And that leads to his own reveal, which is actually pretty fun to see because it’s one of the expected paths that could lead to a lot of first-heartbreak for young Kamala, something that can really help define the character for some time depending on how it all goes.
In Summary:
While the recent run of issues has largely left me cool to the book, though not the character, Ms. Marvel has a pretty solid installment this time around. Getting back to the family side of the cast, touching on her time a Attilan and giving her someone that she might not only fall for but also be able to confide in is all important changes that the book needs to grow. Though I’m not a fan of the controlling nature of her parents, I’m glad to have them back in the picture as it helps to remind the things that have made Kamala who she is. The action side here is a little forced and feels rather old school in a certain way, but it helps to set into motion other events and that’s what counts in the end. Simple and fun, but wrapped up in some good character material throughout the book. And enough to get me to follow this arc to completion at the least.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: March 11th, 2015
MSRP: $2.99
