Comicbook Impressions as of the beginning
I've only read a few issues (not that there are many as of this review), but I feel like this series needs some more attention. I very much enjoy series like these that are both down to earth and kinda nerdy. Like Spiderman. If I'd have to summarize this series into a word I'd call it: Humanizing. A super-heroine who's a devout muslim and pakistani-american and high-school aged. Yeah she's got quite a ways to find her niche in the world. Kamala's struggles to balance out the various aspects of her life (in particular her superheroics) are very well-written and writes Kamala as being sweet, snarky, and quirky, something I personally enjoy seeing in a character. I'm excited to see this series progress.
Comicbook Ms. Marvel's Origin Arc=Marvelous
In January 2014, we got our first glimpse of Kamala Khan as the new Ms. Marvel: a smart-talking teenage Pakistani-American girl fighting a giant dinosaur trash robot. We also see that she has the common problem of superheroism: family and personal life. She certainly seemed like a fun character.
From February to June 2014 we got her first five issues that make up her origin story, and as origin stories go, it is, for lack of a better term, marvelous. While there is legitimate criticism to the arc as a whole (A little slow, a little too decompressed, a little reliant on past stories), they can arguably be forgiven when put together and compared to her January story in Point One.
Author G. W. Wilson skillfully wrote a tale that really goes into the various intricacies of Kamala: Avengers fangirl, over-protective yet loving family, cultural confusions in her life, and of course, adding superpowers into the mix. These struggles continue to show throughout the rest of the issues, culminating with her eventually donning a costume, trying and failing to be a hero, getting her second wind, and succeeding as her city's new protector. Kamala's complications are very clear to any reader because any reader can sympathize with her. Some say that Kamala's story can be considered the "next-gen" Spider-Man, where Peter Parker was written in mind of 1960's teenagers and their life struggles. Well, the 2010's have Kamala, and with her origin arc, combined with her Point One story, she is definitely here to stay.
Adrian Alphona's art also deserves props. The slightly more stylized and laid back art practically fits this story like a glove; Kamala is just beginning to discover who she really is and what she can do, and its a very small insular story, far away from the bigger events and the A-class heroes. The writing and the art make a really good combination, that its almost a shame that Alphona won't be around for #6 and #7.
All in all, the first arc of the new Ms. Marvel is a great read. It can appeal to any age, any gender, any culture, just...anybody. Its a comic that just hits home so much, and you can almost see yourself in Kamala Khan's shoes. Few criticisms aside, it's all around very solid, and hopefully in time, Kamala Khan will become one of Marvel's mainstays in the future.
Comicbook Creator's Pet?
The hype surrounding this series is probably its biggest drawback, and it might very well be that I'm suffering from Hype Backlash, but I just thought the whole thing was kinda...meh.
Kamala comes off as the writers trying too hard to paint a character as nerdy and non-stereotypical and strong and independent and perfect all at the same time, it all looks a bit Mary Sue-ish. It really feels like all the positive reviews are because the lead character is the only non-villainous Muslim in the MCU, and that's just sad on so many levels. Monet St. Croix "came out" as Muslim in the previous X-Factor volume, but that's never been explored, which leaves us with Kamala, I guess.
Kamala also seems to be guest-starring in as many comics as the editors can think of, including Avengers and Spider-man, which is where I first encountered the character, and she's been coming off the Creators' Pet ever since. Hopefully the title gets better with time, but...as of #12, I don't know.
Overall 6/10.