Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal

by G. Willow Wilson

Adrian Alphona (Artist), Jacob Wyatt (Artist), G. Willow Wilson (Script Writer), and Sara Pichelli (Cover Designer)

Marvel Comics presents the new Ms. Marvel, the groundbreaking 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, New York! It's history in the making from acclaimed writer G. Willow Wilson (Air, Cairo) and beloved artist Adrian Alphona (RUNAWAYS)! Collecting MS. MARVEL (2014) #1-5 and material from ALL-NEW MARVEL NOW! POINT ONE #1.

• ISBN10: 078519021X
• ISBN13: 9780785190219
• Publish Date: 14 October 2014
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Marvel Comics
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 120
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780785190219

Reviews

[nannah]

So I have to preface this by saying I don’t know anything about the original Ms. Marvel, and I don’t really like Marvel in general. But a Muslim superhero who’s the lead? Yeah, I’ll read that!

Book content warnings:
racism

Representation:
The main protagonist is a south Asian Muslim woman
Her best friend is also a Muslim woman

Kamala Khan is an “ordinary girl” from Jersey, until she suddenly gets superpowers. Now the new Ms. Marvel, she has to deal with who she is as a person (and her conservative family) as she struggles with a new enemy.

If it sounds a bit vague, the story kind of is, too. How does she get superpowers? There’s a mist that gathers around the edge of a party. I don’t know why, there just is, and it’s not ever explained. Kamala hallucinates, asks for powers, and BAM! she’s got them! And then this enemy she makes, the Inventor? I know this is just the first volume, but I don’t feel any which way about him. We see his lackeys, who are just basically cringy one-liners of characters -- and we’re supposed to be … intimidated by them? They’re really just hipsters with spidery robots they call kitties. Maybe I feel this way because I don’t read comics often.

I think what let me down the most in Ms. Marvel though is Kamala herself … I didn’t want this whiney character who defends a white girl talking about hijabs as “Culture is sooooo interesting!” by saying, “But she’s so nice!”. I wanted her friend, Nakia, to be the heroine -- who basically personifies the strength of who we see on the comic’s cover.

Before reading, I remember seeing blog reviews about how this novel breaks Muslim stereotypes, with Kamala not wearing a burqa even though she’s Muslim, about how the authors wanted to write about a girl fitting in, instead of making the story all about a Muslim girl, etc. But I’ve seen conflicting reviews from Muslim readers: Kamala and her family are in fact stereotypes (see the overbearing conservative parents), and the fact that Kamala wants to fit in so badly with her white peers doesn’t speak to this generation, who have never wanted to be anything else but Muslim -- and speaks rather to the generation who have lived through 9/11 and faced its struggles → aka, the authors’ generation, instead.

I’m white, and not Muslim, so I can’t speak about that particular issue. I’m just stating both sides. However, I’m not really one for making a marginalized character … “palatable” to a widespread audience by being “just like everyone else”. Or trying to be just like everyone else (as stated in the headline of this Atlantic article). However, I’m very glad Kamala gets over the hatred she seems to have for her own race and religion (though unfortunately that character development happens in about just one page).

This comic does have the potential to become something really fun -- even if the dialogue had me cringing. The relationships between Kamala and her friends, and Kamala and her brother, have a lot of great potential as well. I hope they get the page time to be explored. Overall I’m a little disappointed at how unclear some things are, but again that just might be my inexperience with comics talking.

[Quirky Cat]

I read Ms. Marvel Vol. 1 as individual issues through Marvel Unlimited.

I recently realized that I never left a review for Ms. Marvel Vol. 1, which is a complete shame since I absolutely adore Kamala and everything she stands for. On the bright side, I decided to use that as an excuse to read her series again.

Kamala Khan is the latest hero to pick up the mantle of Ms. Marvel, and she is worthy of that title. She's a hero through and through. Her actions in and outside of her hero garb more than prove that if you ask me.

She started out as an ordinary girl in Jersey City – dealing with the usual teenager things. Family drama, school, friends, etc. But all of that was before the Terrigen Mist hit her city, revealing the truth buried under her skin.

Kamala is an Inhuman, and the mist activated her powers. Once she gets control of them, they grant her the ability to control her body to an amazing degree; from making her hands massive to her entire body small, and everything in between.

“Good is not a thing you are. It's a thing you do.”

Ms. Marvel Vol. 1: No Normal is the first Kamala Khan arc, and it is still one of my favorites, even years later. Her series start is pretty fantastic, all things considered. It's easily one of the best Inhuman starting arcs I've read (though admittedly I haven't read all of them – not yet, at any rate).

G. Willow Wilson is the author behind this first volume, and she did a freaking fantastic job. I love Kamala, and I know I'm not the only one. She's such a passionate young individual, who really has a solid grasp of right and wrong. That may not sound like much, but in the world of heroes it can be everything.

If you haven't read Ms. Marvel yet, I highly recommend that you do. Her series is not afraid to touch upon real-life issues, which is one of the reasons why so many people love her (and why she gets talked about so much online).

The artwork within Ms. Marvel Vol. 1 is fresh and bright – it's so perfect for her series it almost isn't funny. Some of the scenes would have been as impactful (or funny, in one case) without the artwork to support it.

As for Kamala's design – I love it. There are classic elements pulled in from the original Ms. Marvel, but only the good parts (no wedgie's for Kamala). It's actually quite elegant and suits her character quite nicely.

Once again I'm reminded of how much I love this series. I'm going to have to make a point of reading the rest of the volumes when I have a spare moment – it'll be worth it. Kamala's series are always worth it.

Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[leahrosereads]

This was a good read, and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing where this story and character goes. I'm not a huge fan of the Marvel universe, and I didn't think there was enough here to really love for me.

However, I can see myself really liking Ms. Marvel in later volumes, and I'll be interested in seeing how this character continues to develop.

[katie]

"Good is not a thing you are. It's a thing you do." LOVED IT. ♥️

[wyvernfriend]

A Pakistani-american girl finds that her wish to become a superhero may be more complicated than she thinks.

Enjoyed it.

[inlibrisveritas]

Ms. Marvel is the perfect comic series to show why I love superhero comics. Being a fan of a superhero is about more than just some badass stopping villians while wearing killer boots. It’s about connecting on a human level with this larger than life characters because they struggle with more than just saving humanity…they have real problems, they struggle with knowing who they are in a world that tells them who they are. Ms. Marvel is just such a story.

Kamala Khan might be the most important addition to the Marvel superhero roster. She’s a teenage Pakistani-American girl who struggles with her identity. She wants to be someone else, she wants more than what she has…And she learns that wanting more doesn’t necessarily mean having to change who you are. Incidentally it’s the super powers she develops that help her see this. Ms. Marvel isn’t just an origin story, it’s a story about growing up in a world of standards and finding a way to shine through them. If you can’t tell, I love Kamala. I love her humor and her desire to be a better person, even when she can’t tell others about it.

“Good is not a thing you are. It’s a thing you do. I’ll never be ready. But I can be ready enough.”

I love that she has problems like being grounded and having protective parents that kind of misunderstand the situation entirely. I think that’s a frustration that most teens can understand…Of course being grounded and becoming a superhero is a bit…trying and it’s interesting to see how the need to do good is sparking a bit of rebellion in a girl who is normally a rule follower.

Then there is the fact that she is muslim, which YES! We need diversity in all aspects of our lives, even comic books. We got a female Thor, a black Captain America, and a muslim Ms. Marvel. The comic world has always been large, but it’s finally starting to feel that way. Books like these provide insight and empathy to those who might not have had it to begin with.

And finally the art! OH THE ART! Everything in this book is enjoyable to look at…from the way they depict the characters to the small pieces of paper on the ground. I think I laughed more from the tiny drawings in the background than I did while reading Rat Queens. Fire Extinguishers with “Die Fire Die” on them or gems like “Sal’s Used Cheese” and “Free Ranged Syrup”.

Everything about this book is perfection. She finds her first villain, has her first confidant and her very own costume…and I truly can’t wait to get the second volume and see how she handles the delicate balance between her family and her need to help others. I’m only a week into 2016 and I think I’ve already found a favorite graphic novel.

[Nessa Luna]

This year I started to get into Marvel more and more. I watched (almost) all the movies, I watched some of the TV shows and recently I have also started reading the comics. The first comic I read was House of M, which I enjoyed very much. Then there was Civil War, and the latest I read was Ms. Marvel.

I have this game on my phone, called Marvel Puzzle Quest which is basically Candy Crush but with Marvel characters and SO MUCH COOLER! You can collect superheroes and villains and play with them, earn points and upgrades for your characters so they can level up and such. I got Kamala Khan a while back and though I had no idea who she was, she looked awesome and her powers were really cool. Then I found out she was Ms. Marvel I thought she was even cooler, and now that I've read this comic she is the coolest.

Kamala is a Muslim girl (I believe her parents were originally from Pakistan) who lives with her family in New York. She has a brother who is kind of obsessed with praying, a very protective mother and father, and a best friend who I guess kind of has a crush on her? At least, that's what it felt like to me (he might have just loved her as a friend and felt protective over her but idk?). One night, Kamala sneaks out to go to a party and the city of New York is surrounded by a mysterious mist (ha ha ha). After this, Kamala finds out she has these strange powers... What has happened to her?! For those who have seen Agents of Shield, I think you all know what happened to Kamala. I for one knew almost immediately (mainly due to the fact that I already read somewhere that she was Inhuman), so there wasn't really much mystery for me around her getting her powers.. Oh well.

I really loved this comic, because I just loved Kamala right from the start. She is a bit of a fangirl, she really loves the Avengers and even writes fanfiction about them! But she wants to be cool, she wants to belong with the 'crowd' and that is why she wants to be like Capt. Marvel. I also liked the fact that she's a Muslim, because that is something I don't see very often - or in fact I haven't read about a Muslim character before. At least, not that I know of. But yay for diversity!

The style in this comic was really nice, I loved the drawings, and I loved that there were some phrases in Arabic(? I'm sorry I don't know what language it was so I am just guessing, idk if 'Arabic' is an actual language or not), though I don't get why some were translated, when others weren't. And I just love the humour that is in Marvel's comics, something they translated into the movies really well.

I got through this first volume at top speed, because I just enjoyed the story so much, and I loved the characters and the art and oh wow I think I have found a new favourite superhero! I really hope that they plan on adding her to the movies in the future, maybe for the Inhumans movie coming out in... 2018? Anyway, I will certainly read the rest of the Ms. Marvel series, and hopefully read more comics with Kamala in it?

My opinion on this book in one gif:

[vagasker]

Kamala is amazing! Finally a superhero I can relate to (of course I'm talking about her personality and not her superpowers). A typical teenager who's a total Avengers geek, yes please! I'm looking forward to vol. 2 coming out this March!

[celinenyx]

Ms. Marvel is one of the most accoladed comics of 2014, and not without reason. Defying the standard white-washed gendered comic conventions, Ms. Marvel has Marvel's first muslim protagonist.

Shock-factor aside, Ms. Marvel is just a great comic with a great main character. I could relate with Kamala - her problems of identity, friendship, and independance are things every teen struggles with in some way or another. Kamala isn't a stereotype, nor is she a caricature ridiculing the plights of the children of immigrant families. I found Kamala to be incredibly well done, and I really enjoyed her transformation into a super hero. Honestly, the only shocking thing about this all in my opinion, is the fact that Marvel waited so long with creating a non-Christian non-white main character.

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

The new series of Ms. Marvel brings about an exciting new direction for Marvel Comics. Kamala Khan is the fourth character to take on the name Ms. Marvel and for the first time ever, we see a Muslim headlining the pages. Co-created Sana Amanat (editor), G. Willow Wilson (writer), and Adrian Alphona (artist) the new Ms. Marvel was created out of the need for a strong Muslim superhero. However, this is not only a hero that deals with struggling with their superpowers but a minority struggling to fit in with the American culture.

The comic depicts a 16 year-old Pakastani-American Muslim in New Jersey struggling with fitting in, family, religion, school and all the normal teenage struggles. Then one day she has an encounter with Ms. Marvel and she confesses that she wishes she was like her. This wish was granted and now Kamala has to work out not only what it means to be a Muslim woman in America but how to use her new shape shifting powers.

“This is not evangelism. It was really important for me to portray Kamala as someone who is struggling with her faith. Her brother is extremely conservative, her mom is paranoid that she’s going to touch a boy and get pregnant, and her father wants her to concentrate on her studies and become a doctor.” – G. Willow Wilson

What I found exciting about the new Ms. Marvel is the way this series tries to break the stereotypes. As a teenage Muslim living in America, Kamala has all these ideals and stereotypes projected onto her and she has to navigate through it all and work out who she is. Ms. Marvel represents everything she wants to be; a strong, beautiful woman standing for good. However when she becomes Ms Marvel she quickly realises that being a superhero doesn’t solve the struggle of a misfit. This new Ms. Marvel series isn’t just a struggle with new found powers; it is the everyday struggles she faces. Kamala slowly works out that her new powers, religion or heritage is not what defines her but they do play important roles in the person she wants to be.

“As much as Islam is a part of Kamala’s identity, this book isn’t preaching about religion or the Islamic faith in particular. It’s about what happens when you struggle with the labels imposed on you, and how that forms your sense of self. It’s a struggle we’ve all faced in one form or another, and isn’t just particular to Kamala because she’s Muslim. Her religion is just one aspect of the many ways she defines herself” – Sana Amanat

Interestingly there are a few mentions where Ms. Marvel is referred to as Captain Marvel, unfortunately I don’t know the back story of this but I think it is a positive step. Ms. Marvel was originally created as the female counterpart to Captain Marvel. The move to turn Ms. Marvel into Captain Marvel means that the female superhero is no longer considered the counterpart but a strong and dominate hero in her own right.

You may noticed that I haven’t mentioned anything about the art work and this is because I’m new to reviewing graphic novels and have not learned how to talk about art yet. I hope to learn to critically analyse the art but for now I’m leaving it out of this review, not because it is bad but because I don’t know what to say apart from it being good. No Normal is the conclusion of the first arc (first 5 issues) and I’m really looking forward to seeing where this series goes. I think it is fresh and exciting change for the better in the world of comics.

This review originally appeared on my blog: http://literary-exploration.com/2014/08/14/ms-marvel-vol-1-no-normal-by-g-willow-wilson/