Okay, what is Wilson doing?
She knows where the story beats are for this issue but she doesn’t hit them. Kamala gets her first broken heart. Wilson gives it the last page and less emphasis than a string of Star Trek and Star Wars references. After a big gamer reference.
Did Marvel’s market research come back on Ms. Marvel or something? Because it’s darned frustrating considering the rest of the issue is pretty good stuff. There’s an amusing “real world” products in the comic book context with Bruno using Siri and Kamala’s phone being better than anything James Bond had in the sixties and maybe seventies. Wilson’s got the chops to do something amazing and, every time something significant comes up, she goes for the cheap shot.
And the overall plotting is getting stretched.
Ms. Marvel’s still an exceptionally likable comic, Wilson’s just making it more likable than exceptional lately.
CREDITS
Crushed, Part Three; writer, G. Willow Wilson; artist, Takeshi Miyazawa; colorist, Ian Herring; letterer, Joe Caramagna; editors, Charles Beacham and Sana Amanat; publisher, Marvel Comics.
When I started reading this issue of Ms. Marvel, all I could think was, “I hope Wilson doesn’t make Kamala’s ‘too good to be true’ love interest too good to be true.” Because lumping Kamala in with all the other teen superheroes who’ve fallen for someone they shouldn’t have? I hoped, pointlessly as it turns out, Wilson wouldn’t go down that path.
Takeshi Miyazawa’s art changes Ms. Marvel. Along with the family emphasis this issue–Kamala spending time with them instead of her friends at school–it nearly feels like a different comic. Miyazawa is action-oriented and less detailed than the comic’s usual artists; the experience is different.
It’s an extremely impressive issue of Ms. Marvel from Wilson. Loki–the good version of Loki–guest-stars and gets involved with the life of Bruno and, through Bruno, Kamala, and through Kamala and Bruno, Ms. Marvel. It’s a classic Spider-Man coincidence but Wilson adorns it just right and homages with a great creativity.
Wilson wraps up this Ms. Marvel arc rather nicely. In fact, she finally does what I said Ms. Marvel should’ve done issues ago–she calls the cops. Not sure why she couldn’t call Wolverine, who’d be guest star value (oh, wait, I heard he’s dead), but still… calling for help’s a good move.
In some ways, the more rushed Alphona gets on the art, the better the art gets. The energy in the rushing moves the comic along. Wilson goes for inspirational superhero talk quite a few times this issue, which drags it out. And it’s good she drags it out, because the story consists of a fight scene and the aftermath. Not a long time.
It’s secret origin of Kamala Khan time. Does she particularly need a secret origin? Maybe. But the way Wilson brings in the Inhumans–they’re not quite deus ex machina, but they’re a very convienient way to tie Ms. Marvel into big Marvel publishing events–doesn’t take advantage of anything.
Alphona is back on the art, which explains the awkwardness of the action scenes. Alphona goes crazy with the settings–this time an abandoned factory setting–and that detail distracts from the action. It's hard to discern foreground from background.
Events take a somewhat predictable turn in the finish, where Wilson reveals not just how Kamala got her powers–which perhaps more up to date Marvel Comics readers also figured out–but also how she’s part of the bigger world. Wilson goes from having a Wolverine cameo to dragging Kamala into the greater Marvel Universe.
New artist Jacob Wyatt comes in just in time for Wilson to find–or find again–Ms. Marvel’s awesome.