Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This is a book you are SUPPOSED to like. It boasts on its cover copy that it's the most IMPORTANT comic book of the year. This is a red letter warning that this book is not very fun, but given the critical acclaim of the book, its high ratings, and that I could read it for free with Prime reading, I decided to check out this Hugo Award-winning book which collects Miss Marvel Issues 1-5 as well as a point one comic.

The book follows Kamala Khan, who gets her powers in the first issue in a way that is never actually explained in this book because instead of seeing her get her powers, we are treated to her having a trippy vision of the Avengers appearing to her. And the nature of her powers is...also not really understood. How it works or what the extent of her powers are is unclear.

Part of the problem is that we're getting a ton of characters introduced and emotional teenage drama frontloaded before we've actually established her as a hero. She's being grounded and sneaking out, and so many other things that really don't work in a first book.

Most of the supporting characters are not all that likable or well-crafted. The exception is her dad. My favorite scene is the one where he has a one-on-one talk with her. The character (practically a giant) really is drawn in a way that communicates how much he cares and you genuinely like him. The rest of these people are mostly unpleasant. The point one comics big plot point is Kamala's mom blowing up at her at a wedding.

While the book is advertised as being about a Muslim character, and we are reminded of this frequently, we never actually get her thoughts about her faith. I'm not saying this should be fleshed out in the first volume, but it's as if everyone's talking about it in general, without our main heroine ever indicating anything about her feelings about it.

The book has some fun moments towards the end, but they're ultimately drowned out by the book's self-importance. This can be done better as DC has illustrated. The Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle from the mid-2000s introduced a character from a minority culture and was fun and likable. Simon Baz is a Muslim Green Lantern who was a Guantanomo detainee, but has writers let us see him as a hero rather than putting so much emphasis on issues of identity that we don't actually get to understand who he is.

From what I've read, some of the plot points that should have been resolved in this book are addressed in the second volume, but this book doesn't leave me wanting more. There's just no excuse for failing to answer basic questions about your main character, while giving space to boring or unlikable characters.



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