“Ms. Marvel” #13 proves why this series is the most delightful and fun book that Marvel puts out on a monthly basis. Keep reading for our spoiler free review.
Written by G. Willow Wilson
Illustrated Takeshi Miyazawa
• A mysterious stranger arrives in Jersey City!
• Is it possible Kamala Khan is about to develop… a CRUSH?! Yes. It is.
• DRAMA! INTRIGUE! ROMANCE! SUSPENSE! PUNCHING THINGS!
I can’t get enough of “Ms. Marvel.” I’m not one to enjoy things you’d categorize as “cute”, but “Ms. Marvel” is the exception. “Ms. Marvel” is something I can connect with, since I see a lot of my own teenage years within Kamala’s story, and her journey to becoming a true superhero is so much like the early days of Spider-Man in both tone and authenticity. “Ms. Marvel” #13 marks the beginning of the next story arc and while it’s a bit lighter on the superhero action compared to what happened with The Inventor, it’s an issue that shows off exactly why so many people have fallen in love with the book.
“Ms. Marvel” #13 opens up a few weeks after Kamala defeated The Inventor and in the quiet that’s come since then, she’s begun training with the Inhumans. She’s hiding this from her family as regular jogging trips but they don’t care because they have their own news for Kamala. Old friends that have moved away are coming to visit and they have a very charming and intelligent son named Kamran. Kamala goes from making fun of him from being the little 5 year old who picked his nose to crushing on him super hard not for just his good looks but his love of “World of Battlecraft”. The two of them hit it off, and that’s what carries this issue.
What can I say that hasn’t already been said about “Ms. Marvel”? It’s hilarious, heartfelt and, in my opinion, the highest quality book Marvel puts out each month. Big claim, yes, but this is everything I want from a teenage superhero series. G. Willow Wilson taps into what it’s like being a teenager today, but the way she does it appeals to people of any age. She hones in on those moments that we all go through; in this issue, it’s the moment you realize you’re having your first real crush, and the embarrassment that comes with it thanks to an overprotective parent or, in this case, big brother.
Wilson handles this situation in such a believable way without stereotyping Kamala’s family. It’s a situation that comes off very lighthearted and funny. I rarely find myself actually laughing out loud at comics but “Ms. Marvel” consistently does that for me. From Kamala’s brother keeping a 3 ft distance between her and Kamran to the bad guy who wants to be the new boss of the “201” (area code used in Jersey City), I never stop having a good time. That’s really all I want from comics.
This story arc is going to prove to be important because of two major developments that I won’t spoil in this review. G. Willow Wilson is going to start pushing Kamala in new ways that are going to test what kind of hero she wants to be. Underneath all the funny jokes about New Jersey (which are like 75% true by the way), there’s an actual journey happening here. Kamala looks to be heading to a crossroads and it’s going to be exciting to see what she does.
“Ms. Marvel” #13, more importantly, gets Kamala more involved with the Inhumans. There’s a lot of room for improvement here, and it is the only place that this series really falters. I respect the want to keep this self contained but the Inhumans are such a complex group of characters that it’s a shame not to have that culture clash happen more often. This issue, thankfully, is an indicator that the Inhumans are going to be more involved as this series progresses. Unfortunately, with “Secret Wars” coming, I don’t know what the future holds and I can’t even begin to predict it. This series has very good momentum behind it and I’d hate to see that lost.
Continued belowRegular artist Adrian Alphona sits out this issue and Takeshi Miyazawa steps in. Miyazawa, like many of the fill in artists we’ve seen on “Ms. Marvel,” has a very similar style to Alphona, so these issues don’t look drastically different. However, you can still see the differences because, of course, Miyazawa is a very good artist and brings something new to the table. Miyazawa has more of a manga influence than Alphona; the character expressions are much more detailed and exaggerated, which works because it never goes to that place of being too much. It’s all very cartoon like, which works for this book. There’s a moment in particular where Kamala first sees Kamran and her eyes light up; emotion lines pop up, like you’d see in an anime. Even in crowded panels, there’s attention paid to the smaller expressions.
Miyazawa excels at the action. There’s an excellent panel where Kamala pulls down her regular t-shirt to reveal her Ms. Marvel emblem in a very Superman like scene. If anything, I wish that had been a full page because of how epic it felt. There’s real movement to Kamala’s short training montage but, again, Miyazawa is very good at enforcing the more comedic tone of the script. It’s never serious, but stylistically it’s handled very seriously by the great job he does.
The coloring team Ian Herring and Irma Knivila do an amazing job. Herring is the regular colorist on this book and he never disappoints. He uses a great mix of bright colors with neutrals but it never feels off. The one off villain in this issue has a power set that could prove to be a challenge to color but it’s dynamic and almost pops off the page. They do a great job and while the focus tends to always be on the very fun script, the art team deserves a lot more credit.
Final Verdict: 8.5 – “Ms. Marvel” is wonderful. You can’t afford to miss out on this series monthly.
