Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal

Like I’ve said before, I have little to no knowledge of Marvel outside of MCU. So I’ve heard of Ms. Marvel, and I’d heard the hype about this newer series, starting a Muslim American teenager living in Jersey City. While MCU hasn’t had much diversity (where is our Black Widow movie??) the comics have been doing alright from what I can tell.

This graphic novel collects the first five issues of Ms. Marvel. It follows Kamala Khan as she goes through high school, gets powers, hangs out with her friends, and saves lives. She struggles with the meaning behind her newly-acquired powers and what she is obligated to do with them.

Even though my family is not Muslim, there are so many similarities between Kamala’s parents and mine. These similarities, plus the occasional Arabic, were like little gems for me. I’ve spent the majority of my life without seeing people who look like me in the media. Well, unless they played Terrorist #3. I can’t even begin to express how I fell when I see a superhero who looks like me.

Overall, I enjoyed this graphic novel a lot. Most of it was introductory in nature, so I can’t wait to read more of the series to see where they go.

4/5

Deadpool: The Complete Collection, Vol. 1

This collection of comics by Daniel Way featuring Deadpool span several different series to make one cohesive story line. If they hadn’t been collected in that order, I highly doubt I would have enjoyed the story the same way.

Prior to this, my Marvel knowledge featured information solely from MCU and what I’ve seen in passing on the internet. From everything I’ve seen of cosplayers and elsewhere on the internet, and Ryan Reynolds’s portrayal in the movie, Deadpool was a little less witty than I thought he was going to be. I never thought that the movie version of Deadpool would show a nuanced version of the character, but there you go.

Overall, I enjoyed Deadpool. It was fun, light, and the storyline flowed well. The skip in art styles from series to series was a little jarring (why does Black Widow’s hair have to be different for every incarnation of her character?) but overall, I enjoyed the series and thought it was a nice introduction into the comic side of Marvel. It took me forever to finish. I wasn’t terribly invested in the story. And because I was expecting something less misogynistic, for whatever reason. (Actually, I know the reason. It’s Ryan Reynolds.)

3/5