CREDIT: Marvel Comics
Rating: 4/5 – Ms. Marvel is a Role Model For Everyone.
by ComicSpectrum senior reviewer Shawn Hoklas.
There’s been a lot of positive press around the new Ms. Marvel series. Marvel has stated numerous times that it’s their highest selling digital comic, and the first issue went into it’s seventh, yes seventh printing back in November. So after ten issues, does this series deserve the recognition and praise? The short answer is yes. Ms. Marvel continues to show why it’s one of the funnest books on the rack that caters to all ages, genders and ethnicities.
Issue ten continues Ms. Marvel’s attempts to thwart the Inventor who’s been the main villain since issue one. After her brief encounter with the Inhumans and learning more about her origins in issue eight, Lockjaw continues to team up with Ms. Marvel as she infiltrates the Inventor’s headquarters. Most of this issue is action heavy with Ms. Marvel taking on the Inventor in a giant sized mech-suit, but there’s plenty of cute and funny dialogue as well, highlighting one of the traits that makes Kamala Khan such a likable character. Not only that, but that same level of humor that’s part of the dialogue can also be found in the action as the mech-suit mentioned above happens to wear a pink fedora. The Ms. Marvel series never takes itself too seriously which is one of the book’s top strengths. To pull off a fedora wearing mech takes some skill in the art department, and that’s where Adrian Alphona comes in.
Alphona’s art has defined the look of this series and does so again with issue ten. His art, much like the writing isn’t trying to be ultra realistic. It’s not trying to make everyone look muscular, or as if they just leapt out of a fashion magazine. His characters look cartoony, and in their own unique way they fit into the world. Alphona’s line is extremely loose, not worrying so much about the boundaries or structures of the human body. Alphona does a great job with this issue’s heavy action, drawing Ms.Marvel in a whole slew of different action poses and sequences. Ian Herring’s colors continue to give this book life choosing darker tones throughout this issue to highlight the danger and threats the Inventor poses.
When the ComicSpectrum review team picked their favorites of 2014, it was a tough choice not to pick Ms. Marvel as my personal “Favorite New Series” (I ended up picking Gotham Academy but 2 other reviewers picked Ms. Marvel), rest assured it ranked right up atr the top for me. There’s a reason there’s so much critical acclaim for Ms. Marvel and if you’ve been on the fence on giving this a try I’d encourage you to do so. Ms. Marvel is a lovable young character who can be a tremendous role model for not only young girls, but for everyone.
Reviewed by: Shawn Hoklas
(shawn@comicspectrum.com)
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