I spotted this in my local library one day and, after a morning of creative writing class, I just sat down and read it. I may not generally be into comic books - Marvel and DC - despite loving superheroes, but how often do I come across one with a female lead and which has received great praise for being progressive and a real game changer in reaching a much wider audience than the typical straight white male demographic? None. So I just grabbed at the chance to be in the know.
I devoured 'Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal' in one hour. Its hype is founded. It is really, surprisingly enjoyable, so much so that I find I’m wishing to read and give more superheroine comics a chance.
Kamala Khan, the new Ms. Marvel, is a Muslim teenager living in New Jersey. What makes her so remarkable or "new age" is not necessarily her nationality or religion; it is how human and relatable she is, something perhaps not seen since Peter Parker as Spider Man. Comic book readers of any ethnicity and background can identify with Kamala's fascination with superheroes; her wish to be accepted and included in the privileged masses; her wish to understand the world plus her unconscious want to understand her restrictive parents better; and maybe her love of fan fiction (in her case it’s ‘Avengers’ fan fiction she writes). She is a geek, not conventionally attractive, not always on top of things, and her powers are given to her, not born within her.
Kamala is a normal teenage girl, searching for an identity (or two or three) she is most comfortable with, and for her right place in life, making mistakes along the way. A true coming-of-age chronicle.
Among all the teenage angsting and superhero action, Kamala's religion and culture is presented in a truthful and respectable light. It is neither undermined nor treated as merely something that's in the protagonist's way; something that's preventing her from her "normal" goals and ambitions. Sure there are a few white people around Kamala who can be ignorant, patronising and who mean "no offense" (where there's always a "but" afterwards, rendering it moot), but it's not a main thing in Kamala’s journey, and given the setting it adds a modern realism to a world where superheroes are the norm. Kamala isn't reduced to just being an unhappy Muslim girl with high expectations placed upon her, even when she tries to rebel and make compromises. While she does clearly feel the pressures (intensified once she gets superpowers), she respects her religion and loves her family and friends dearly.
In the beginning, Kamala’s wish is to be special and accepted among her high school peers. This is put to reality when, after experiencing a bizarre dream sequence befitting comic books, she receives Ms. Marvel's powers. At first she glamours herself as having blonde hair, white skin, and big breasts – the traditional Ms. Marvel. With super-stretching, sizing and shapeshifting abilities, she can look however others expect her to. But what about her true self? Trying to be someone else is exhausting, draining, not fun, as she very quickly realises. Even as a superhero with a secret identity to maintain, and with a responsibility to save and protect people, Kamala Khan does not want to project herself as the old campy Ms. Marvel. In the end, she discovers more uses of her powers and fights crime as her own lovable self in her own original costume. The world can now accept a Middle Eastern Ms. Marvel.
The artwork is easy on the eyes and only cartoony when it cuts corners – especially on background characters – but overall it is colourful and expressive, highlighted in the more emotional scenes such as when Kamala is talking with her parents. The action and rescue scenes are fun and satisfactory. And haters of fanservice in regards to female characters can relax as there is none on display here, at least not overtly.
Despite being a "revolutionary" superhero story, there is still the cliché of the heroine having a male partner who helps her in her crime fighting endeavours. But at least he doesn't get involved in the actual fighting and Kamala is left to kick butt all by herself. (And she has a friend, Nakia, in her civilian life who is also a Muslim girl). It is also best to read the volume as a whole rather than in the individual issues, some of which are slower than others in terms of plot and character development.
'Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal' is funny, witty, touching, identifiable, and a pleasure, even for a comics newbie such as myself. Story and art, about a modern female non-white superhero, are extremely well executed, in my opinion.
Kamala Khan - Superhero, Teenager, Muslim: she is all of these things and more. Each aspect of her reflects her needs and wants as a person; as someone with no one identity, but who is a complexity. Talk about three-dimensional.
I may look at future volumes, if my library will commission them soon.
Final Score: 4/5
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