Ms. Marvel #1 – Review

By: G. Willow Wilson (writer), Adrian Alphona (artist), Ian Herring (color artist)

The Story: Comic fans have known all manner of evil over the years, but this week we’re introduced to perhaps the most vile form of villainy: concerned entitled high-schoolers.

The Review: In 1963 Stan Lee introduced another revolution into comic books: Spider-Man, the first true teenaged superhero. Before Spider-Man superheroes were square-jawed, spit curled supermen, but dorky Peter Parker changed comics forever. Robin was the first time that young readers could see themselves as a hero, but Peter showed them that they could be the hero.

Fifty years later the world we live in has changed a lot. The people who don’t see themselves in comics are different and the way we write comics is different. For all its abundant charms, Amazing Fantasy #15 wouldn’t sell today. Simple characterization, excessive and omniscient narration, and plentiful melodrama were the words of the day and they did a lot to keep the story as short as it was. Indeed, when Brian Michael Bendis reinvented Spider-Man it took three issues to get him into the red and blue and five before he learned his lesson about power and responsibility.

Such matters were in the forefront of my mind as I read Ms. Marvel #1. Indeed, this issue is clearly labeled part 1 of 5 and reads like it too. There’s no climactic battle scene for those looking for high-flying super action, but what the issue lacks in explosions it makes up in heart and character development. You’ll get to know the new Ms. Marvel, her friends, her family, and her frenemies before this book is over. It’s actually a remarkable complete introduction to the character.