BOOK REVIEW: Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal (Ms. Marvel (Collected Editions) #1) by G. Willow Wilson (Goodreads Author), Adrian Alphona (Artist) ★★★★★

Marvel Comics presents the new Ms Marvel, the ground breaking heroine that has become an international sensation!

Kamala Khan is an ordinary girl from Jersey City — until she's suddenly empowered with extraordinary gifts. But who truly is the new Ms Marvel? Teenager? Muslim? Inhuman? Find out as she takes the Marvel Universe by storm! When Kamala discovers the dangers of her newfound powers, she unlocks a secret behind them, as well. Is Kamala ready to wield these immense new gifts? Or will the weight of the legacy before her be too much to bear? Kamala has no idea, either. But she's comin' for you, Jersey!

Admit it - we’ve all day dreamed about becoming our favourite superheroes. For me, it was between Wolverine (regeneration and awesome claws), Mystique (shapeshifting) or Cat Woman (I like cats and her outfit). But not many of us get our wish granted. Carol Danvers is Captain Marvel and now there’s Kamala Khan, a New Jersey Pakistani American, who assumes the identity, takes on her role and has many labels to live up to.

After sneaking out to a party (which she leaves anyway), she is attacked by an unknown substance in a green gas form. In a dream sequence, she meets her idols, Captain Marvel, Captain America and Iron Man. She gets her wish to become just like Captain Marvel but not as she imagined it to be. As she is navigating with her new powers of shapeshifting and regeneration, she helps her best friend Bruno Carrelli’s brother Vick out of a mess from a villain called The Inventor, a humanoid bird looking, man.

It’s a comic book that I’m reviewing for the first time, although I have read many in the past. There was a major hype for this comic and I can see why. The comic spent several weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers List and won the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story in 2015. For the first time (and I think in anything) the Muslim character is NOT THE BAD GUY. It’s a superhero! I’m glad Marvel, are now creating characters with more diversity coming into mainstream comics. Sana Amanat, a comic book editor of Ms Marvel, wanted ‘minority representation and finding your authentic self’.

Aesthetically Ms Marvel is easy to follow comic with beautiful images illustrated by Adrian Alphona, following the usual style of superhero comics. Even in creating diversity, I liked that everyone, especially the Muslim characters like Kamala, her family and her best friend Nakia didn’t look the same and introduction of Pakistani clothes worn by Kamala on a couple of occasions (page 22 and 121).
 

We’re introduced to some key players in Ms Marvel. First up is Kamala Khan, a nerdy, Muslim, Pakistani-American who writes Marvel fan fiction, juggles her teen and cultural lifestyle with some idiotic highs school peers. I do get the feeling she isn’t too proud of her heritage. (page 21).

I instantly related to Kamala. Although I’m in my late 20’s she is a reflection of my high school self; a girl who was juggling between two cultures and religion. Sana Amanat, based Kamala on her own experience. As the child of Pakistani immigrants in the New Jersey suburbs, she hopes the next generation will not experience identity rejection as she did through a relatable superhero. Kamala struggles with self-identity, wanting to be a pretty white girl when that’s idolized in society and stigmatized for being brown. And I think what’s important is that Kamala and Sana realise that the ideal person is a one who is good at heart. That is why I’m excited to see brown representation. 

The images above (page 53 and 54) were typical of my teen years. I was uninterested to go to the mosque and learn about Islam. But does it come from a sense of truth and or broad stereotype? Kamala seems to be only one with depth as the other characters (at the mosque and the Khan dinner scene) relied on stereotypes to carry on the characters, like strict parents, liberal and uninterested children, ignorant non-Muslim. Some readers saw the stereotypes trope as a problem, but Amanat explained, “It's about what happens when you struggle with the labels imposed on you, and how that forms your sense of self.”

Then there’s the Khan family: father Yusuf, mother Muneeba and her older brother Aamir. I don’t know how I feel about how the family is portrayed; it’s either stereotypical or fitting for the storyline. It’s usually the parents who are overtly religious and the children liberal, but in this case, it’s the other way around. (page 10). Marvel keeps it real - the sexism is still there. (page 12).

 Despite forbidding her to attend a party with boys’ present, we do see a soft side Yusuf (page 101).

I did appreciate the addition of Muslim/Non-Muslim friendships. One of Kamala’s friends, Bruno Carrelli is an Italian American who works at Circle Q (coffee place). He’s often praised by Yusuf (see above image) for being a hard worker and I guess sort of like an adopted son to Khans’. (FYI Pakistani parents love comparing other kids to their own). He’s a caring guy who tries to put Kamala on a good path (page 16). But then he finds out about her superhero identity. I do get the feeling Bruno has a crush on Kamala (pretty predictable) but only time will tell (page 77).

Nakia Bahadir is a Muslim, Turkish American who wears the hijab with her stylish clothes. She’s Kamala’s best friend and that’s about how much we know. Other side characters include Bruno’s brother Vick and Chatty Bobby. Zoe Zimmerman and her jerk of a boyfriend Josh Richardson are the insensitive and ignorant white couple who passive-aggressively pick on Kamala who doesn’t even realise it (page 7). 

Can we just look at the villain for a moment? (page 113).

What is that about? All we know is that he got his goons to kidnap Vick, but for what, we don’t know.

The storyline and pacing were good and only made original (in a sense) because of Kamala's Muslim heritage. The idea of self-discovery (coming of age) and being a part of something bigger is typical of superhero stories, aka Spider-man, which is not so different in Ms Marvel. The brown superhero is refreshing against the majority white mainstream superheroes in the Marvel and even DC Universe. I wasn’t expecting much of a storyline or major character development as this is volume 1.

As much as I want to praise this comic, there were some slight snags which can be overlooked. It’s still unclear know how Kamala gained her powers; something to do with the green mist, but I’m sure volume 2 might clear it up. If you’re a fan of Agents of SHIELD, you’ll probably have guessed it.

The other thing was the literal translation of Urdu to English, especially when she meets Captain Marvel, Captain America and Iron Man. Here is an example on page 20. 

This is the Roman English version, which I had to reread to really understand. Captain America and Iron Man translate it, but I found it funny (I guess it wasn’t meant to be). It sounds like a very formal version of Urdu. I don’t know why it really bothered me. It just did.

Ms Marvel has the beginnings of a good storyline to kick start its comic. I definitely recommend it to those who are just starting to read comics and are not looking for something heavy. (the DC comics are dark). I will continue to check out this series from the library because it's engaging, fun and Kamala is a really great character to follow. Plus, I need to know all the answers to the questions left in volume 1. I probably won’t do a book review of very volume that comes.

Rating: 5/5
Publishers: Marvel
Publication date: October 30th 2014 (first published October 15th 2014)
Genre: Graphic Novel/Comic Book /YA/ Superheroes/Marvel