Kamala Khan is just an ordinary girl, growing up in Jersey City, with parents who are a bit strict, but very loving.

Until she breaks curfew, goes to a party with boys and alcohol, doesn't like it, and gets lost in a weird fog going home. Surely she must be hallucinating or dreaming her encounter with The Avengers! Hallucination or not, she confesses her dream to be one of them, to be Captain Marvel--and wakes up with some very disturbing new abilities.

Having superpowers and rocking the thigh-high boot look does not, as she had imagined, make her happy. In fact, it makes her life complete chaos. Helping people does, though, even when it's rescuing the school Mean Girl from a near-disaster of her own making.

If only she had an answer she could give her parents about where she disappears to all day, and why she's over an hour late to her cousin's pre-wedding party.

This is a lot of fun. I enjoyed the story and the art. Kamala is a solid, likable young woman, and she has good friends, as well as a family that, even if they don't have any idea what is going on, is only trying to keep her safe and happy.

This is the first pure fun I've had reading Hugo nominees this year, barring The Goblin Emperor, which I read prior to the announcement of the ballot.

Recommended.

I received this in the Hugo voters' packet. ( )

I love the fact that comics are starting to diversify there characters. This is about a Pakastani teen that just wants to be normal ends up as a super hero. ( )

Originally posted at: https://bigpapageek.wordpress.com/2015/01/22/book-review-ms-marvel-1-meta-morpho...

http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/comicsalliance.com/files/2013/11/Untitled...

Superheros have dealt with may threats over the years; trans-dimensional beings, gods, killer robots, menacing doppelgangers. But one of the most enduring foes is also one of the most seemingly benign.

Being different.

Superman was called to defend those least like him. Spiderman is is forced to conceal his identity to protect those he loves. Perhaps most noticeably, the X-Men are defined by being the "other", hated and feared in equal measure, becoming an image of oppressed minorities, specifically the GLBT community.

Few people feel more different than teenagers, especially teenage girls. But a female, nerdy, Muslim teenager unexpectedly gifted with superpowers?

Now that is something truly different.

"Ms. Marvel, #1: Meta Morphosis," by writer G. Willow Wilson (herself a Muslim convert) and artist Adrian Alphona, tackles just such a topic in the person of Kamala Kahn. A normal teenage girl, Kamala writes Avengers fan-fic (a wonderfully meta touch), negotiates a fraught relationship with her immigrant, Pakistani parents, and, oh yeah, is mysteriously gifted with superpowers after the events of "Inhumanity" led to the awakening of latent genetic abilities (most noticeably the ability to manipulate the size, shape and appearance of her body). As Wilson said in a interview prior to the comics' release;

Islam is both an essential part of her identity and something she struggles mightily with. She's not a poster girl for the religion, or some kind of token minority. She does not cover her hair –most American Muslim women don't—and she's going through a rebellious phase. She wants to go to parties and stay out past 9 PM and feel “normal.” Yet at the same time, she feels the need to defend her family and their beliefs.

Ms. Marvel was lauded upon it's release, and with good reason. Having a Muslim lead for the first time in Marvel's history would be accomplishment enough, let alone doing so while rebooting a beloved, decades old character (one frequently outfitted in, we'll say, provocative clothing). But Ms. Marvel also stands out for it's finely observed relationships, it's empathetic portrayal of the immigrant experience, and its beautiful, distinctive art, looking more like an "indie" comic than typical superhero fare. For example, here is a typical panel, remarkable if only for its rich depiction of family life familiar to any person, Muslim or not.

http://howtolovecomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/9-46a62d80d9-773b2.jpg?8eb...

Ms. Marvel only suffered in my mind from being so universally lauded upon it's release that it almost assuredly could not completely live up to the hype. Taken on it's own, however, it is humane, thrilling look at the origins of a superhero that is the face of a new America. ( )