Reading Comics 165 "Comics from 6/17/15"

Comics covered: Justice League of America #1, Martian Manhunter #1, MIND MGMT #34, Ms. Marvel #16, Prez #1, and Robin: Son of Batman #1.

Justice League of America #1 (DC)
That image can't help, for me, but evoke Mark Waid's The Kingdom, an attempt at a follow-up to the much more famous Kingdom Come.  Killing off Superman en masse will always have visual impact...Anyway, the rest of Bryan Hitch's debut (he was exclusive over at Marvel for a decade starting in 2002, and has been making a slow return to the DC fold for a few years now) of the latest Justice League title makes it clear that this is not an in-continuity series (although since Convergence, "in-continuity" doesn't mean that much anymore), and as such can be recommended to anyone looking for their DC fix without too much commitment.  The line-up is the same as the original from Geoff Johns' flagship.  That's about it.  Good, competent storytelling.  Nothing wildly exceptional, but then, I guess that doesn't particularly matter.

Martian Manhunter #1 (DC)
I've been waiting for a decent Martian Manhunter story from the New 52 era.  Thankfully, it arrived at the same time the unexpected ongoing series launched.  This is a character ripe with potential because he's never a given for the publishing schedule, which means anytime DC trots him out (for a solo story), chances are good that a creative team came together to tell something decent.  His only other ongoing series was somewhat of an exception for me (spinning out of Grant Morrison's JLA), featuring the creative team of John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake, who somehow made an alien character too alienating.  And this is a character who thrives on that distinction.  The later A.J. Lieberman mini-series was actually the first of the great Martian Manhunter material that I've had the fortune to read, and for me remains the high water mark for the character and his best presentation.

But that might change.  The writer is Rob Williams, whom I've previously encountered in the unremarkable Classwar.  Taking a cue from Ostrander, Morrison, and Lieberman, Williams has focused on how much is really known and/or set in stone in Martian Manhunter mythology, which again is perfect for exploring because while he's iconic his relatively scant publishing history makes him ideal for innovative storytelling (but less ideal for randomly killing, as Morrison discovered in the pages of Final Crisis).

The Eddy Barrows image I included, from the first page of the issue, features "Mr. Biscuits," whom I assume is actually Martian Manhunter.  Again, more of what you can do with a character like this.  The art, especially the depiction of Mr. Biscuits, is a major revelation for a reader like me only familiar with Barrows from the pages of Nightwing, where he was perfectly serviceable if not especially inspired.  Which is to say, he's definitely inspired here, and is a real strength for the series, moreso than Mandrake was in the previous series (nothing against Tom Mandrake, but his art was the major hindrance of that run).  Barrows can convey classic superhero and the rest of the range Williams requires.

It's that range that showcases everything right with this vision.  It's pretty sensational, really, and that's without even mentioning the character Pearl, who is that rarest of superhero characters, someone from the Middle East who isn't at all what you'd expect, but rather a traditional superhero character introducing us to an all-new vision of the Middle East, at least as compared to...everything else you tend to see.  She's the Catwoman of Arabia.  Brilliant.

I look forward to future issues, eagerly.

MIND MGMT #34 (Dark Horse)
I mentioned with the previous issue that Matt Kindt had reached the heist portion of the series, where the plan is explained, and how he exhibited how this story is different because the plan won't go wrong because, well, that's what kind of series this is.  This issue calls to mind Christopher Nolan's Inception.  Which is basically a heist movie.  So I guess this is to say, if you're wondering what kind of story MIND MGMT is, I guess you can say it's like a Christopher Nolan movie.  For me, this counts as a considerable endorsement.  I've been a Nolan fan since Memento.  And now, hopefully, years from now I will be able to say I've been a Kindt fan since MIND MGMT.

Ms. Marvel #16 (Marvel)
For the past few issues, I've been wondering if I should continue reading this series, because more often than not I've found myself disappointed.  Unlike a lot of other readers, I didn't start reading Ms. Marvel for its cultural uniqueness, but because the writer is G. Willow Wilson.  I became a fan of Wilson through work (Air) I considered the best of all the comics I was reading over the course of two consecutive years (2009-2010).  That comes with significant expectations for any future work.  And when this one started, Wilson absolutely lived up to the hype I gave her.  I read Wilson because of her ability to keep things interesting, on a number of levels.  Lately those levels have dropped.

I mention all that because this is one of those issues that reminds me why I like Wilson.  It's part of Marvel's Secret Wars event (hence "Last Days of..." printed over the logo).  I've found that sometimes ongoing comics really can knock out of the park what can otherwise be a cumbersome mandatory tie-in for an "end of the world" story (during DC's The Final Night two decades ago, for instance, this happened, and that's one of the reasons I love that event so much).  For Wilson, it seems to have been a fruitful chance to refocus, bring back some of the sharp observations that've been Ms. Marvel at its best, rather than the lukewarm ones that've been floating around lately.

So that was good to see.

Prez #1 (DC)
DC makes infrequent attempts to candor to the youth vote, as it were.  The last time I found it particularly effective was Final Crisis Aftermatch: Dance (the Super Young Team mini-series).  Prez is kind of like that, but I think it has a better shot at being noticed, so long as there's a willing audience out there.  The creative end certainly does its part.  In that above panel alone there's inspiration from Alan Moore, Frank Miller, and even Jeff Smith to be found, which is not bad company at all.

Writer Mark Russell seems to be pretty new, and he's certainly seized this opportunity.  I will, however, be concentrating my praise on Ben Caldwell.  I've been praising Ben since his exceptional Wonder Woman material from Wednesday Comics, which Prez evokes to a certain degree.  I say "certain degree," because I think part of the reason I seem to be somewhat singular in my devotion to Ben and his Wonder Woman is that he took his creative freedom in that project to a perhaps excessive extreme.  He's dialed in it here, but the work is still uniquely vivid, and that's what I love about him.

I think the big fear everyone had about Prez is that it would be more or less like the previous, decades-old version of this narrative, a precocious "kid president" (although as kid presidents go, you know about Kid President, right? he's awesome) that has no real creative value.  That couldn't be further from the case.  Another big post-Convergence winner right here.

Robin: Son of Batman #1 (DC)
Speaking of great art, here's Patrick Gleason in what's effectively a spin-off from Batman and Robin.  I think most of us fans feared that divorced from Pete Tomasi, Gleason couldn't really pull off the same magic on his own.  But as it turns out, he really, really can.  After the massive detour caused by Grant Morrison's murder of Damian in the pages of Batman, Inc. and various other crossover events, it's perhaps best of all to see Robin back in the mode that made for truly excellent comics in Batman and Robin's earliest days.  And for proof, there's even the return (of a sorts) of Nobody, a character the series thankfully picked up from one of Christopher Nolan's ideas in his Batman movies (even if his Henri Ducard ended up...not being Henri Ducard at all).

Given how DC likes to experiment with artists acting as their own writers, the results are always going to be interesting.  One of the last times was Scott McDaniel in the pages of Static Shock, which was one of the more notorious failures of the early New 52 (alas, McDaniel's career still has yet to show any signs of recovering).  As you can see earlier in this very column, one of the latest is Bryan Hitch.  But I think Gleason makes a better case, possibly because he did have that lead time with Tomasi, but perhaps also because he has proven such an excellent match for Damian.  There's no artist who has done the character better.

And now he's got a Man-Bat (don't call Goliath that, though!) as his new partner.  And that's a story we will get to see unfold in future issues, which should be interesting, just one of many Gleason gets to work with, which is a very good thing, because this is a series that has earned a certain amount of autonomy, and as I've suggested, if there was anything wrong with Batman and Robin, it was that it had to earn the same distinction the hard way.  But thank goodness.  Because it seems Damian's adventures just keep getting better and better as a result!

Reading Comics 160 "More from 5/13/15"

G.I. Joe: Snake Eyes, Agent of Cobra #5 (IDW)

The conclusion of Mike Costa's latest continuation of his sprawling Cobra saga features an epic confrontation between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow, plus more of Costa's trademark insights, not only into various characters but the general G.I. Joe landscape.  I keep heaping praise on the whole thing, but really at this point I'm just glad that IDW keeps letting Costa continue the whole thing, because the fans just aren't showing up, and every time Costa does something else, he doesn't seem to bring the same verve or perspective.  But I guess I'm okay with that...

Ms. Marvel #15 (Marvel)

G. Willow Wilson has me as a fan, but I've never quite connected with her again the way I did over Air.  I'm glad she's got a big hit in Ms. Marvel, but I've grown increasingly frustrated at the title spinning its wheels.  The conclusion to the "Crushed" arc makes it plain as an allegory for Muslims (or any other group) being unfairly represented by their worst representatives (which sadly, for Muslims, are not at all hard to find), a topic of considerable importance to Wilson, since she's a convert to Islam, and as such probably doesn't like her religion looking so bad.  That being said, the charm has begun to fade on this series.  The heavier the material has gotten, the more it's lost its buoyancy, which is a statement that only sounds obvious when voiced that way, and the buoyancy is exactly what made it so unique to begin with.  I will keep reading, but increasingly that's a statement that seems destined to end with "until I don't."

Rebels #2 (Dark Horse)

Be careful, writers.  That's a message I say not so much about Rebels itself but what writer Brian Wood writes about himself in the back of this issue.  He talks about his political views, and how he's writing Rebels in part to reclaim a part of himself he believes has been denied himself in the post-9/11 climate.  And yet in doing so, he seems to totally misinterpret the climate of Rebels itself.  The story in the issue seems to corroborate this view, as it takes a somewhat simplistic idea of who the people were who decided to fight...And I don't know how a writer who presents himself the way Wood does could possibly come to such a conclusion.  There's absolutely nothing simplistic about the American Revolution, or about the people who decided to take up arms against England for the sake of independence.  It's perhaps most frustrating because Wood, at least in this issue, has chosen for his main character a fictional base-level soldier in this war, someone whose motives perhaps could boil down to simplicity...but if you want to explore the complexities of this period, and reclaim a part of yourself, a writer probably should choose a different tack.  And that's at least two reasons why I once again will not be able to read a Brian Wood series.  This is four missed opportunities for me now.  I guess I'm just not a Brian Wood guy...

Saga #28 (Image)

In contrast, I've connected with Brian K. Vaughan with two out of his four major projects, so I'm much more comfortable calling myself a Brian K. Vaughan guy even though I don't always care about what he's doing.  Saga is at once a work of genius and also a series that at times seems like it desperately wants to repeat the Walking Dead model.  I can hear a million voices saying, What can possibly be wrong with that???  Well, for starters, Saga can easily turn away from looking like a work of genius and become something that spins its wheels for the sake of remaining in-print (which, ah, is basically my impression of Walking Dead, and also the TV series).  Which is not to say that a given issue of Saga doesn't feature everything I love about it, but that the story can drag quite a bit.  Each issue features as little of the overall story as possible (when people talk about Brian Michael Bendis, they like to use the term "decompression;" they should consider applying it to Vaughan, too), which can be frustrating.  And so when Vaughan reiterates at the prompting of a letter that he can easily see the series continue on for years, I scratch my head.  Because at this pace, we will have seen the story advanced to a considerable degree years from now.  Oh, now I get it...

Strange Sports Stories #3 (Vertigo)

There's only one reason why I bought this one, part of an anthology mini-series, and that's because it features CM Punk's second foray into comics.  Punk was a professional wrestler until about a year and a half ago, but his every movement is still followed with breathless anticipation by wrestling fans (who obviously expect him to wrestle again at any moment), so when news of his working in comics began to appear, I was eager to see what he would do with such an opportunity.  Recently it was announced that he'd be writing an ongoing Drax the Destroyer comic (appropriate, since Drax was portrayed by another ex-wrestler, Batista, in Guardians of the Galaxy), but before that Punk has been limited to much shorter material.  His first effort was in Thor Annual #1 earlier this year, in which he proved a deft hand at comedy.  Here he spins a yarn obviously dedicated to the Chicago Cubs, using a caption-heavy approach that contrasts nicely with his earlier work (he has versatility!).  Punk has long been heavily associated with his hometown of Chicago, so it's not at all surprising that he demonstrates an affinity for the Cubs (looking really good this season!).  He chooses to spotlight the idea of the team being cursed (several times over!).  As a member in good standing of Red Sox Nation (season looking horrible!), I can understand the intricacies of curses, and can appreciate the restraint necessary to talk about such things with the kind of relaxed mood Punk demonstrates, especially since he exited wrestling with a lot less patience in mind (is the whole story a code suggesting he isn't done after all???).  And yes, the rest of the issue is utter gibberish.  It's clobbering time!

Ms. Marvel #14 (Marvel)

writer: G. Willow Wilson

artist: Takeshi Miyazawa

In this second of three chapters of the "Crushed" arc...I find myself asking all over again, am I over my fascination with Ms. Marvel?

This is the second time now that G. Willow Wilson has come up with an unsatisyingly generic twist to an intriguing story.  The first was with the Collector, the villain who dominated the first year of the series.

The problem is the same: Wilson is apparently bold enough to challenge the status quo but too shy to have Kamala Khan openly rebel.  Maybe I'm asking too much.

"Crushed" started out promisingly.  Kamala unexpectedly meets a Muslim boy who is her perfect match.  But it turns out to be one of those "too good to be true" developments.  Which is exactly like Wilson's tepid conclusion to the Collector dilemma involving today's youth and their overall worth in society. Just as things were becoming interesting on an intellectual level, everyone just starts throwing punches.  I realize this is superhero comics.  I've read plenty of superhero comics.  I know how this goes.  But I've also read Wilson's Air.  I know she's capable of going deep.

Maybe she's compromising for the sake of keeping it mainstream?  Or maybe she truly believes she's pulling it off.  Maybe other readers are perfectly fine with all of this.  But I expect better.

And if it continues like this, I'm done with Ms. Marvel.

Quick Hits 3

 The Death-Defying Doctor Mirage #2 and 5 (Valiant)

I headed to my local comics shop with the hope to pick up the complete series, but ended up with just two issues, which is fine in a certain sense, given that one of them directly followed the first issue, which was what hooked me, and the other was the final issue of the mini-series.

In a lot of ways, this was more of a modern take on Vertigo than DC has been doing in the New 52, pulsing with an intrinsic grasp of arcane magic as a workable reality, sort of what Grant Morrison would be doing if he weren't so confrontational in most of his comics.  The writer, of course, is Jen Van Meter.  The covers are pretty great, too, including the one on the left from Travel Forman, while interior artist Roberto De La Torre is equally impressive.

The best news from the last issue is that the title is returning in Death-Defying Doctor Mirage: Second Life, to be eagerly anticipated whenever it appears on the publishing schedule.

And, this:

Mister X: Razed #1 (Dark Horse)

The best thing Dark Horse has been doing is keeping Dean Motter's Mister X alive, not only in reprints but in new comics as well.  This is the first time I catch first-run.  Apparently Motter always wanted to do holiday-themed comics with his famed insomniac architect.  This Christmas-themed issue is a little late (even though I'm a little late reading it myself, it was still late on original release), but still a lot of fun.

Ms. Marvel #13 (Marvel)

Honestly, my interest in the series had been waning.  But this issue has reminded me all over again what makes it great.  Kamala finds a soulmate, perhaps, in more ways than she could have dreamed.  Will the rest of the arc prove otherwise?  We wait with baited breath...

Quick Hits February 2015

Batman and Robin #39 (DC)

Still trying to adjust to the impending status change to Gleason's solo Robin, Son of Batman.  But this was a fun, and far less emotionally heavy issue from the waning days of the Tomasi era.  Damian and Billy Batson.  Need.  To.  Have.  Their own.  Series.

Django/Zorro #4 (Dynamite) 

Wagner has slowly brought Django into the narrative.  Now we're seeing how he fits in to Zorro's grand Arizona adventure.

G.I. Joe: Snake Eyes, Agent of Cobra #2 (IDW) 

Well, now Costa ain't even pretending this is not a direct continuation of his previous Cobra saga.  This is a good thing.

Justice League #39 (DC) 

A rather abrupt end to "The Amazo Virus."  Ever since Citizen Cold, I've been thinking Leonard Snart could easily use a bigger spotlight.  This issue continues that.

Ms. Marvel #12 (Marvel) 

The Loki issue.  Honestly, I've started cooling on this series.

The Multiversity: Mastermen (DC) 

Morrison and Lee keep the Multiversity in high gear.

Red Lanterns #39 (DC) 

Walker is slightly less impressive in his second issue, but is still on-point.

Thor Annual #1 (Marvel) 

CM Punk's story is hilarious, and hilariously aided by Chew artist Rob Guillory.  It's also surprising to see a Raphael Albuquerque cover on a Marvel comic.

And an older issue:

Justice League #23.4 (DC) 

Featuring a direct Forever Evil tie-in and another Flashpoint link-of-sorts.

Ms. Marvel #11 (Marvel)

writer: G. Willow Wilson

artist: Adrian Alphona

This is the conclusion of the Inventor arc.  Our villain gets to shout, "I am not a bird!" on the first page, and by the last page we see what he really looks like.  And he is in fact, not a bird.  So, truth in advertising.

It's a little disappointing insofar as the disenchanted youths who willingly played into the Inventor's hands previously are now just as willing to play along with Ms. Marvel.  This is kind of the opposite of the intended message, I suspect.

The other point the issue makes involves Kamala Khan's emerging need to protect her secret identity, what she calls "my new normal" and "a parallel life."

A certain amount of that may also be G. Willow Wilson speaking directly through Kamala.  With the massive success of Ms. Marvel, Wilson is having her first real moment of comic book popularity, which goes with expanded demand, which means she's also writing X-Men these days, which is quite a vote of confidence.

Ms. Marvel #10 (Marvel)

via Marvel

writer: G. Willow Wilson

artist: Adrian Alphona

Yay me!  I've been enjoying a series that's being recognized as one of the year's best!

Kamala Khan has been trying to get to the bottom of the threat the Inventor (who, remember, is basically a giant chicken person) has been posing basically the entire series.  This issue she comes...closer.

The kids her curious archnemesis has been kidnapping turn out to have willingly played along.  They think the world has basically pegged them correctly as a worthless generation.  But don't take it from me, here's the Inventor himself spelling it all out:

"The young are seen as a political burden, a public nuisance.  They are not considered worth educating or protecting.  They are called parasites, leeches, brats, spawn -- If you used these words to describe any other minority but children, it would quite understandably be considered hate speech.  We are simply taking this loathing to its logical conclusion."

The appeal of Wilson's approach is that it's been incredibly varied.  She's freely mixed in thoughts like that with typical teenage foibles and plenty of playfulness.  All that's in the issue, too.  

It's rightly being considered one of the most fresh takes on superheroes in years.

Ms. Marvel #9 (Marvel)

writer: G. Willow Wilson
artist: Adrian Alphona

via comiXology

Kamala Khan learns all about her Inhuman origins, meets more Inhumans than just the giant-dog-with-a-tuning-fork-on-its-head Lockjaw, and tells them, Thanks but no thanks I'll defeat my supervillain on my own.

And then hears her mother say this:

"We came here so our children would be safe -- safe from the chaos and corruption and bombings back home.  Only after we arrived did we discover school shootings, date rape drugs and gangs.  And now giant robots!"

Apart from giant robots, that's a pretty accurate assessment, I think, from G. Willow Wilson concerning what immigrants experience coming to America these days, and that's one of the signal insights from Ms. Marvel that has brought it so much deserved attention.  It's not just a superhero series, or even just "that Muslim series," but an integration of a lot of elements, and it's interesting watching as they all play out.

Also, lots of Star Wars references this issue.  That's good, too!

And a twist ending.  Twist endings are good, right?  Kamala learns a vital piece of the puzzle she's been missing about the Inventor saga that will surely make things very interesting next issue, and perhaps even shed additional light on the whole series.

This series remains infinitely intriguing.

Ms. Marvel #8 (Marvel)

writer: G. Willow Wilson
artist: Adrian Alphona

via Comic Vine

The first part of the "Generation Why" arc continues the Inventor arc, introduces the Inhumans dog Lockjaw as Kamala's new pet, and helps further explain what G. Willow Wilson hopes to accomplish with the series.  It also sees the return of regular artist Adrian Alphona.

The Inventor is the default villain at this point, the problem our hero is still trying to figure out.  At this point Ms. Marvel is learning everything he's been doing, starting to clean up the mess, and is working toward the inevitable final confrontation.  For this issue, it's probably the least interesting aspect.

Moving on, Lockjaw's debut puts yet another element into the ongoing narrative.  Usually a move like this is done because someone's getting anxious for people to discover the series and they've started looking for gimmicks.  In this case, it's a kind of subtle tie-in to Kamala's heroic origins (as figured out by Wolverine last issue, a by-product of the recent Inhumanity event) without advancing the series arc too quickly.  The friendly dog is a gentle reminder, is all, a placeholder.  It's also a chance for Kamala to interact with her family in matters other than faith.  That's important, too.  Every kid wants a pet.  Comics sometimes forget that.

By the time Kamala shows up for class late in the issue, she has to explain away a few things.  Her teacher tries to prove that she's a bad student, but Kamala quickly turns the tables on her with this insightful comment:

"Well...giving up on the next generation is like giving up on the future, right?  And...and sometimes the next generation has to deal with all the problems the last generation left for it to fix, and that means getting up really early in the morning --"

It amounts to a mission statement for the series.  Some of it's pretty obvious, standard talking points, but Wilson also puts Ms. Marvel's context firmly in the very argument you always see but never see played out.  Quite literally, she's going to be dealing with problems (the ongoing Inhumans saga) that her predecessors have never figured out, and forging her own future, and by extension a new generation of heroes.

These days, new characters never seem to last.  If they stick around at all, they end up in a group and therefore don't really amount to much, compared to the legacies of characters created decades ago.  The last time there was a significant expansion of the superhero landscape was in the '60s, the whole reason we still, well, marvel at the Marvel Age.  Image came close in the '90s, but it's fair to say that no character from that time has become a true icon (Spawn, Savage Dragon, and Witchblade come close, but they still have yet to prove they can exist in contexts other than how they were originally presented).

Sometimes someone comes along and makes a clear effort to do something new.  Often, that's done in relationship to some established character.  That's what Wilson has done, but she's also made an effort to distinguish her efforts.  She's trying to make the character relevant as a kid growing up, and as someone entering the greater superhero community.

So far so good.

Ms. Marvel #7 (Marvel)

writer: G. Willow Wilson
artist: Jacob Wyatt

via Things Matter

The two-part Wolverine guestie (a term I just made up) concludes, moving along the series as a whole with, y'know, the power of imagination.

That's the unexpected power of Ms. Marvel, which you might otherwise think of as "that Muslim comic."  The truth is, G. Willow Wilson is clever enough as a writer to have things like facets to her storytelling.

I guess I hadn't realized it at the time, but the first issue actually was a tie-in to the recent Inhumanity crossover event featuring, as you may or may not have guessed, the Inhumans (the X-Men if they were a lot like the New Gods).  That's the secret origin of the mist that gave Kamala Khan her powers.

That and developments in the Inventor arc, which lately has involved a lot more Inventor.

That and Wolverine, who has been in the midst of definitely-probably-permanently-dying, without the benefit of his nifty regenerative powers, imparting on Kamala the importance of not completely relying on her nifty new powers.

And it only seemed like a giant digression from what the first five issues had been doing, an excuse to feature Wolverine and storytelling that doesn't specifically relate to Kamala's Muslim faith issues, which after all is one of the big draws of the series.  Okay, the big draw.

Guest artist Jacob Wyatt unexpectedly brought a more cartoonish look to the series for the arc, and it really worked to keep the mood light.  I mean, it kept Wolverine in a good enough mood to humor Kamala, the way he used to other junior heroes like Kitty Pryde and Jubilee, so that he and/or the reader wasn't thinking definitely-probably-permanently-dying the whole time.

Again, that's to the considerable prowess of Wilson, and the facets she brings to her storytelling.

By the end of the issue, a new supporting character is introduced.  But more on that next issue.

Reading Comics #129 "Wilson's Marvel"

I've been reading Ms. Marvel since it launched earlier this year, not because of the rather gimmicky ethnic hook but because Marvel came up with the perfect writer to pull it off.  Quite shamelessly, I've been reading Ms. Marvel because of G. Willow Wilson.

Wilson became an instant favorite thanks to her remarkable run in the little-read Vertigo series Air, which twice topped my annual QB50 list (2009-2010).  Then she kind of went away.  Granted, Wilson is an accomplished writer outside of the comics medium.  Recently I read her novel Alif the Unseen, and that was pretty good, but it wasn't quite as satisfying as Air was.  I was surprised to see her resurface, but not surprised (okay, pleasantly surprised) to see Wilson tackling her relationship with Muslim culture directly, in a superhero comic of all things.  I approached Ms. Marvel with great faith but also some trepidation.

I think as of #6 I can strike "trepidation" completely from the record.

#5 was the conclusion of the opening arc (mistakenly printed in the issue as "Part Four of Five"), the origin story of Kamala Khan's debut in the role.  Being a superhero is great and all, but Wilson's genius in the series is that she recognizes and embraces that Kamala's journey kind of has nothing to do with that.  The best moment of this issue is a chat between father and daughter.  The issue also features the debut of Kamala's permanent costume.

via Things Matter.  This is her making it.

via Project Fandom. And then the finished product.

But as I said, the best issue so far is #6.  Surprisingly, it features none of the by-now trademark family scenes.  Substituted instead is Kamala having a conversation with her spiritual adviser, Sheikh Abdullah, which is probably a better moment than the one with her father in the previous issue.

The highlight, though, is the guest appearance from Wolverine.  I know, I know, Wolverine seems as gratuitous as you can probably get.  Putting aside that guest appearances from rather than in stories featuring better-known characters will never be as effective in finding new readers, this one's handled with considerable skill.  It addresses current Wolverine events but still manages to get across exactly what Wilson and Kamala need at this point, which is for Kamala to have an unabashedly good superhero moment, now that she's gotten over her introductory jitters.  

This comes about thanks to Kamala going off in search of her apparent nemesis, the Inventor.  The Inventor, unexpectedly, seems to come straight from the pages of Atomic Robo.  I didn't see that coming.  It fits perfectly with the tone of the series, too.

via Scans Daily

And then Wolverine shows up, and Kamala's endearing fangirl tendencies emerge for the first time since the first issue.  Who does that around Wolverine???  This girl, apparently!  It's fun.  It's so atypical, just like the whole series, but in a way that hasn't really been featured so far, it pushes the whole thing forward.

via Reddit

The artist for the issue is Jacob Wyatt rather than Adrian Alphona, and he does an excellent job on all accounts.  Alphona tends to get a lot of the credit for helping Ms. Marvel stand out, but it's nice to know someone else can step in and help knock it out of the park.

Loving it.

Ms. Marvel #4 (Marvel)

writer: G. Willow Wilson
artist: Adrian Alphona

via The Daily Crate

This is the big turning point issue.  Technically, it could easily have served as the first issue of the series, and a lot of other creators might have done exactly that.

By the way, G. Willow Wilson is not a lot of other creators.

Funny thing is, her Ms. Marvel in this issue looks a lot like Mark Millar's Kick-Ass (thanks to Adrian Alphona's art looking a little like John Romita Jr.'s in some respects), just an ordinary girl (our girl Kamala Khan) trying to be a superhero without any of the usual finesse.  Yes, this is an origin story.  Superheroes in origin stories don't usually have a lot of finesse (just look at multiple versions of Batman's).  But this is the start of a series, and that's not typical for an origin story at the start of a series.  So, Kick-Ass, or Brian Michael Bendis's Ultimate Spider-Man.  Stories that don't jump right into typical superhero material.

The thing is, last issue Ms. Marvel was shot.  So this issue she's got to figure out if that, y'know, fatal.  It isn't, just so you know, or this new series will have had some strange stories in the last two issues I've read.  The twist is that these powers Kamala is still trying to figure out have a lot to do with altering her body.  To this point she's been in superhero form in basically a different body.  The typical, blonde white girl body of Ms. Marvel.  This is the issue where that changes.  She changes back to Kamala, and learns that the bullet wound doesn't travel with her.  

So the panels above are a little of what follows.  This is also the issue where Kamala's good friend Bruno finds out her little secret.  When the cops show up at the crime scene (Bruno's brother has attempted to fake a robbery of the Circle Q where Bruno works and this was the result, Kamala being shot), and Ms. Marvel has once again become Kamala (to her benefit!), she and Bruno scramble to provide a cover for her.  It's not impressive, and not convincing when Kamala tries explaining that she is Ms. Marvel.  She doesn't look like her, right?

Another understated moment in the series.  The whole point so far has been that Kamala is definitely not the Ms. Marvel you know.  The draw was always the Muslim Ms. Marvel.  Except Wilson hasn't just written the Muslim Ms. Marvel.  To even conceive of the Muslim Ms. Marvel was always going to be risky.  Perhaps it helps that she lives in a fictional Jersey City.

So I love this series more and more.  This issue, this strange new Ms. Marvel begins to embrace herself, her own image, as a superhero.  Her unique costume begins to take shape.  If you're going for the hat trick of superheroes (bucking stereotypes, being a woman, and wearing a costume that doesn't exploit a woman's body) then you've finally arrived at the moment you've been waiting for.  (It goes without saying, but Alphona probably doesn't even know what "brokeback" is.)

It's a goofy series.  It's lighthearted.  But as with the best of Wilson, it's a constant revelation, and its appeal only grows.  I don't know how long it's going to last.  I don't know if this Ms. Marvel ultimately has a chance at being embraced by the larger Marvel landscape.  Outside of her own comic, she would probably be just another bumbling teenage hero.  (The whole Avengers Arena thing is the proof in the pudding about how far that goes.)  That's too bad.  But then again, she could also be like a new Spider-Man.  If she proved popular enough, that would not be too big of a stretch.  Who knows?

Ms. Marvel #3 (Marvel)

writer: G. Willow Wilson
artist: Adrian Alphona

via comiXology

That girl in the big panel at the bottom is Kamala Khan, who as of this issue still looks like the Carol Danvers blonde Ms. Marvel when she's actually being a superhero.  Her reaction to hearing about Ms. Marvel's exploits typifies the whole series to this point.

Yes, she is terrified.  

That's one of the refreshing things about G. Willow Wilson's Ms. Marvel.  A lot like Brian Michael Bendis's penchant for extended origin stories (typically featuring a version of Ultimate Spider-Man), expect a lot of the superhero in their civilian identity not having an easy time of transitioning into being a superhero.  This is where the series starts to get interesting, loses some of its early pesky quirks, like Kamala's inability to control her new powers (there are good comics to be made out of that sort of thing, but that wasn't necessarily a strength of the first two issues here).  In fact, there's a whole sequence of her successfully controlling her powers for the first time.  About time!

The most notable thing about this series, of course, is Kamala's Islamic faith, which to say the least is completely atypical in comics.  Half of her struggles in this series have to do with struggling with her faith, trying to be secular and faithful at the same time (a common theme in Wilson's fiction), which is not made easier by Kamala's relationship with Bruno, which has only become more complicated since her transformation.  In a perfect world, she would've been able to rely on him for support.  The thing is, Kamala does not live in a perfect world, and refreshingly, that doesn't mean there are costumed nutcases looking to destroy the world or whatnot every other minute.

In fact, by the end of the issue, the first villain she actively confronts is Bruno's own brother, who in a misguided attempt to use Bruno's position at Circle Q (a convenience store) in his favor, sticks on a ski mask and pretends to stick him up.  Kamala has no idea what's going on, and gets shot for her efforts.

You'll have to wait until I review the next issue to find out how that pans out, or perhaps start reading this comic for yourself.  It's storytelling that only gets better.

Ms. Marvel #2 (Marvel)

via Hannah Givens

writer: G. Willow Wilson

artist: Adrian Alphona

I went with that image culled from Google Images mostly because that's one of the dominant aspects of this series so far.  Yes, this is the Muslim Ms. Marvel.  But writer G. Willow Wilson (a favorite of mine) has tended to do as much exploring Kamala Khan's relatively unique perspective (which Wilson is uniquely situated to present) with a lot of embiggening.

This is a feature you normally expect from Reed Richards from the Fantastic Four, the dude who takes his amazing fantastic stretching powers mostly to embiggen things (as opposed to DC's approaches to Plastic Man, as a giant goof, or Elastic Man, as a detective).  That's the extent of Kamala's experimenting with her new powers, certainly as of this particular issue (it seems like an obsession, and is the only thing that's negatively distracting about the series so far).

Figured I'd get that out of the way.

The issue otherwise continues the new Ms. Marvel's origin story, as she tries to become comfortable as a slightly rebellious Muslim (certainly according to her parents) and new superhero, with friends and family who are not really making any of it easier.

The image comes from her first heroic act, by the way, coming to the rescue of a high school classmate who embodies a lot of Kamala's insecurities.

I've since read both additional issues so far published, so you know I'm enjoying this.  My thoughts on those will follow, as I continue figuring out what exactly this comic book is accomplishing.  So far, merely more good Wilson material.

Ms. Marvel #1 (Marvel)

via Comic Book DB

writer: G. Willow Wilson
artist: Adrian Alphona

The mantle, as it were, of Ms. Marvel has been passed around more often than any other comic book character.  Certainly among relatively minor ones.  So when this series was originally announced, my only reaction was, "Great!  Another Ms. Marvel!"  (*insert sarcasm sign*)

But the series was given a lot of hype, because this wouldn't be just another Ms. Marvel, but one of the many the-latest-incarnation-is-an-ethnic-variation! updates that are the safe version of diversity in comics.  This Ms. Marvel would actually be...Arab American.

Even that wasn't nearly enough to interest me.  It was a little surprising that it took comics so long to tackle the Middle East.  Over at DC, Black Adam was retrofitted to fit that type in the years after 9/11 thanks to Geoff Johns.  I'm not complaining about that one at all.  A total creative revival that has had limitless dividends. Grant Morrison touched on the topic in New X-Men.  Johns recently revisited the idea with the latest human Green Lantern, Simon Baz.

So all in all, Marvel's effort was a bit Johnny-DC-Come-Lately.  And in an incredibly safe capacity.  I mean, would anyone have cared at all about a new Ms. Marvel otherwise?

Except at some point I became aware of the writer attached to the project.  G. Willow Wilson.  There could not have been a better choice.  Wilson converted to Islam and has been relating her insights in her writing for years, to my mind still most successfully in the pages of Air, though her novel Alif the Unseen is a perhaps more visible effort.

Although I've been a big fan of Wilson since discovering her in Air, she otherwise maintains a fairly low profile.  After Air was cancelled, she disappeared for a while, resurfacing in the resurrected Mystic but otherwise appearing to be as completely unappreciated as the quiet reception of Air suggested.

So to see her with a project like this was both unexpected and gratifying.  Turned my perspective completely around.  Was my faith justified?

I've now read the first three issues of the series.  So yes, yes it has.  This debut issue introduces Kamala Khan, who like all of Wilson's lead characters is at a crossroads in her life, footing in separate worlds and finding them hard to reconcile, when a drastic change in her life forces her to confront ideas she's only been toying with.  In this instance, a mysterious transformation into the new Ms. Marvel.

Kamala has friends and family that push her in these disparate directions.  She also happens to like comic books and has her own opinions of superheroes (there's a fantastic sequence in the issue depicting them, which is one of the few instances of Wilson actively presenting her view of them, and is itself wildly refreshing even in an era that seems to want to present superheroes every way possible).

This is an origin issue.  It's the first of a five-part arc, and so if you want to experience what Kamala is actually like as Ms. Marvel, you have to wait until the next installment.  (Once you've read the first two issues, you'll really have a proper sense of what it'll be like.)

The cover is a pastiche on the cover of the 1996 debut issue for Peter David's Supergirl:

David's version of that other frequently rebooted character was also all about grounding a traditional superhero into a more recognizably human setting, but with strong identity issues and an unusual approach to the differences between being a person and a superhero at the same time.  Similar (and I read that series for a while, probably some of the best PAD material I've read), but Wilson's approach is more assured, more grounded in material we've seen from the writer before (although, yes, I suppose it could be said that Supergirl probably resembled the Incredible Hulk).

Having now read the new Ms. Marvel, I can confidently endorse it.  Not just because I'm already a fan of Wilson.  But because it's Wilson firing on all cylinders, and making a truly unique superhero comic in a landscape full of such attempts.