Ms. Marvel Vol. 1: No Normal (Ms. Marvel Series)

Amazing to see a Muslim minority superhero, but more than that it’s actually really well done as a Marvel comic in general. Also the challenges she faces as a minority are well depicted, it’s not stereotyping and just felt so right. Can’t wait to read more!

Meet Kamala: a. Pakistan Muslim teenager in Jersey city who likes superheroes.
In a weird bomb she has a vision or something where Captain Marvel comes to her and gives her opportunity to be someone else.
It was a good introduction, or re-introduction to a well-known character.
It was fun and updated, with flare. I liked it a lot.

I loved the way I am introduced to a character that I feel slightly more identified with, even though I'm not Pakistani or Muslim but from Latin America. I like how approachable is the character ( who didn't go through the complicated teenage years? ) and how inspiring is at the same time. Good job Marvel!

Extremely relatable characters, quality artwork, engaging storyline. Set in middle class area of New Jersey this comic book is a glimpse into the dreams and fears of everyday Americans even if it's made fantastical with superheroes.

Interesting take on the story and a intriguing means to share the story of an ordinary girl, facing teenage problems, in a Muslim family. The same issues faced in any family. Put the twist of new found powers, makes an interesting read and backstory for Me Marvel.

This book is so engaging i read it four times! It is focused on a very relatable character, however it is a little over kill on the trash monster level. I really have a finite number of edits for this book and books to come

I very much enjoy comic books but at a superhero hero and who's from a different country has a different background totally different than most then struggles to keep both her religion Family Matters and personal matters alongside superhero business is it A+ in my book

I can relate to the desire to want to be normal, while still being proud of an outsider's perspective and religion. Unfortunately, it seemed that Wilson was really trying to push those buttons but couldn't quite manage to do it. I found the family scenes both boring and shallow. I also had trouble connecting with the character's struggle to adapt to her new powers. It seemed far too brief. Maybe this is because I rarely read graphic novels, so there are elements and conventions of the genre that escape me.

I'm not into the Marvel franchise, but I enjoyed this book. I'd be open to reading more of the series, but chose it mostly out of curiosity based on a podcast I heard (Pop Culture Happy Hour) where it was discussed.

Everyone loves a good coming of age story in the bizarro marvel comic universe, right? Like the juice in this volume, a lot of the personal drama is little more than low-hanging fruit, but you can't help falling in love with the characters.

As someone not too familiar with superhero comics, I found Ms. Marvel to be a delightful and very interesting experience. It was both action-packed and educational. Kamala Khan is a fantastic addition to the Marvel Universe. I definitely recommend this comic and plan to read more of the series.

Liked that it was different. Artwork has a unique style and for the most part liked it. I didn't like when the faces were so simplistic from far away. Overall good story and would read more - not your typical super hero issues.

Obsessed. This fills the void left by Runaways - it's funny, but it also has a great story and emotional moments. I love Kamala and Bruno, and I like that Kamala's parents are realistically protective but aren't made to be unlikable.

I loved this first volume of the Ms. Marvel Series. It is great in so many ways for giving a look into the experience of transition and change that happens in adolescence and for children of immigrants.

This was a fun read. Kamala is a likeable character, but there isn't much to the story; she gets powers and deals with it. Hopefully the relationship with the inventor becomes more interesting in the next volume.

Ms. Marvel is an extremely fun book. It's also very refreshing and cool to see a Muslim girl superhero. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who likes comics and wants to read a fun origin story to an awesome hero.

I love Kamala! She’s a fan of superheroes like we who realizes her dream of becoming a superhero. She is mature enough to realize that there is a lot of added baggage with the mantle of a heroine. I like how the characters are developed so far and look forward to further installments.

There is more charm and intelligence in this book than in so many "literary" titles I've read this year. What a great great start to this run. I will most certainly be reading the rest and can't wait to see where Kamala goes.

Loved the art from page one but the story kept me coming back. I'm not a big super hero fan but this artfully and thoughtfully modern Pakistani girl shines a light on tensions that many contend with, between tradition, family, society, our own identities, and the future.

I liked that it didn’t just focus on someone that has a typical life but it shows that anybody can be a hero no matter what you are and that you don’t have to be someone you are not in order to help someone

This book is suitable for teenage girls. The story is very exciting and attractive. Because,every time I wanted to flip the page before reading the words! This book is suitable for teenage girls. The story is very exciting and attractive!

I honestly can't understand how the reviews are so high on this comic. The characters feel like ten year olds playing at being teenagers. Even in situations which would normally be considered highly dangerous, the characters seemed like they were too laid back. I could probably get over the obvious attempt at diversity if it was better written. Instead it feels like it was meant for readers who are big on protesting against the status quo.

Ms. Marvel is the first book I have ever read about this character and I am very impressed. This is a very fun and relatable story that I hope to continue soon and can’t wait to see her be mixed into the MCU one day.

I enjoyed the origin story this volume tells and found the layering of cultural and religious issues into the teenage coming of age story added a unique and interesting dimension. I also enjoyed the art style.

This book is suitable for teenage girls. The story is very exciting and attractive. Because,every time I wanted to flip the page before reading the words! This book is suitable for teenage girls. The story is very exciting and attractive!

I honestly can't understand how the reviews are so high on this comic. The characters feel like ten year olds playing at being teenagers. Even in situations which would normally be considered highly dangerous, the characters seemed like they were too laid back. I could probably get over the obvious attempt at diversity if it was better written. Instead it feels like it was meant for readers who are big on protesting against the status quo.

Ms. Marvel is the first book I have ever read about this character and I am very impressed. This is a very fun and relatable story that I hope to continue soon and can’t wait to see her be mixed into the MCU one day.

Not your usual superhero! I feel like I identify with her because her parents are always questioning her every step. Growing up my parents always wanted to know the five Ws as well who, what, when, where, why.

I enjoyed the origin story this volume tells and found the layering of cultural and religious issues into the teenage coming of age story added a unique and interesting dimension. I also enjoyed the art style.

I love how this entertains AND teaches about cultures that most don't get the opportunity to learn about. It's beautifully written and beautifully illustrated. Thank you Marvel for allowing this story to be told.

I absolutely LOVE this. First actual comic book I've ever read, and I'm glad I started with one so fantastic. Love the story, and I'm blown away and ecstatic to see this well written Pakistani-American hero!

Kamala Khan is the Peter Parker of this generation. I don't say this to upset Peter Parker fans or say he's no longer relevant, but think about the Peter Parker of the 1960s & Kamala Khan now. A teenage superhero (that lead their own book) was completely unheard of back then; A superhero with relateble problems & feeling seemed like a stupid idea to comic book editors at the time. Nowadays, heroes without personalities or real world problems are seen as boring & forgettable. Ms Marvel today pushes that concept even further than Spider-Man or most heroes from the 60s ever did. A teenage woman of color superhero who she & her family are Muslim, how many times has that been shown in the media? (answer: almost never) & the fact that this character's book is selling well & has already has gained a large, loyal following shows what this new generation of readers need. (Ps. this book is also very fun, cute, & addictive.)

Beautiful graphics! Wonderful story of a girl's path to discover her value as an ethnic person in America.

Anyone woman with brown skin will see their own feelings reflected in the protagonist.

I suppose that 16 year old Muslim girls would dig this a lot. Me, I'm left cold. I could deal with the subtile indoctrination better if the writing was worthwhile, but it's not. Stan Lee at his most turgid wrote better dialogue and action. The art is irritating as well. Every third page it degrades to that of a talented third-grader. If this is an artistic decision, it's an awfully poor one. It feels like the concept for the character and her powers wasn't really thought through, like the creators were trying more to make a point than tell an interesting or exciting story.

I absolutely LOVE this. First actual comic book I've ever read, and I'm glad I started with one so fantastic. Love the story, and I'm blown away and ecstatic to see this well written Pakistani-American hero!

Kamala Khan is the Peter Parker of this generation. I don't say this to upset Peter Parker fans or say he's no longer relevant, but think about the Peter Parker of the 1960s & Kamala Khan now. A teenage superhero (that lead their own book) was completely unheard of back then; A superhero with relateble problems & feeling seemed like a stupid idea to comic book editors at the time. Nowadays, heroes without personalities or real world problems are seen as boring & forgettable. Ms Marvel today pushes that concept even further than Spider-Man or most heroes from the 60s ever did. A teenage woman of color superhero who she & her family are Muslim, how many times has that been shown in the media? (answer: almost never) & the fact that this character's book is selling well & has already has gained a large, loyal following shows what this new generation of readers need. (Ps. this book is also very fun, cute, & addictive.)

Beautiful graphics! Wonderful story of a girl's path to discover her value as an ethnic person in America.

Anyone woman with brown skin will see their own feelings reflected in the protagonist.

I suppose that 16 year old Muslim girls would dig this a lot. Me, I'm left cold. I could deal with the subtile indoctrination better if the writing was worthwhile, but it's not. Stan Lee at his most turgid wrote better dialogue and action. The art is irritating as well. Every third page it degrades to that of a talented third-grader. If this is an artistic decision, it's an awfully poor one. It feels like the concept for the character and her powers wasn't really thought through, like the creators were trying more to make a point than tell an interesting or exciting story.

This is a great book. I usually only read Spiderman but when I saw the review written on the front I decided to bring this book home from the library. I was not disappointed. The art and the story line are exciting and engaging. I can't wait to read books 2 and 3.

Another garbage reboot by Marvel. I made it about 5 pages in before deleting this cr@p.
So glad I got to collect comics from the 70’s-‘00’s. Comics were great escapism then. Now? They’re all about forcing social issues on the masses.

Title: Ms. Marvel Vol. 1: No Normal
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: G. Willow Wilson
Artists: Adrian Alphona (pencils, inks), Ian Herring (colors), Sara Pichelli & Justin Ponsor, Jaime McKelvie & Matt Wilson (covers)
Collects: Ms. Marvel #1-5
Price: $15.99

Why is this book titled Ms. Marvel? It doesn't have anything to do with the well-known character Carol Danvers and her alter ego. It must simply be that Marvel is trying to introduce this new character with a familiar name. This book is an example of Marvel - as a corporation -trying to be more ethnically-diverse in their comic character line-up. It's the trendy thing to do, these days, though I can't recall overhearing anyone I know requesting this. I don't mind it, as long as the new characters are interesting and not needlessly taking the place of well-loved characters that I'm familiar with. This book also follows the trend of Marvel introducing younger hero characters to their universe. The main character in this book appears to be 16 or 17, for instance. This, also, doesn't bother me, as long as the characters don't act overly-mature for their age. I don't happen to know many high-school kids (at least outside of my church) that are very mature.

A printed quote from a Comics Alliance review of this book appears on the cover. It reads: "This may be the most important comic published in 2014." Really? I would very much like to know the standard by which he/she makes this claim. I can't imagine a scenario in which this would be a true statement. The book is OK, but nothing it contains should garner such a compliment. Again, I would really like to know the rationale for making such a claim.

The title character of this book is a teen girl from New Jersey named Kamala Khan. She is also notably Muslim, as is her family. I'm guessing that the author is either Muslim, herself, or has close Muslim friends or family members. She seems to do a decent job of portraying an American Muslim household in a believable and respectable way. (Wouldn't that REALLY be something if a writer could do this with a Christian household? Yes. That would be something truly unique.) The author has a strong focus on displaying teen angst and does a nice job of giving the title character and her friends a credible voice. Kudos to her for that.

As you would expect with a new character in a new series, these first few issues are the origin story on a new Ms. Marvel character. As I already mentioned, this character has nothing in common with the well-known character Ms. Marvel/Captain Marvel/Warbird - a.k.a. Carol Danvers. Kamala is enveloped by a weird cloud of fog (along with the rest of the city) which puts her to sleep. In her dreams she imagines The Avengers talking to her and granting her powers. When she awakens, she finds that she DOES, indeed, have powers, though the source of these powers isn't explained. Her power set isn't fully explained, though she seems to be able to alter her body's size and mass, or portions of her body's size and mass. For example, if she wants to grow to twice her size, she can do that. If she wants to shrink, she can do that. If she wants to give herself massive hands, she can do that. If she wants to give herself really long legs, she can do that. If she wants to give herself a giant head and a tiny butt, she can do that. It's a really weird power that leads to some strange-looking visuals. It isn't really what I would call a "cool" power. Her powers do have one benefit, though: like the comic hero of the `90's, Darkhawk - she finds that she can heal from wounds as she switches to and from other body forms. Who knows what else she can do? It's still early on in the series so this power set will probably be more clearly defined and improved upon in subsequent issues.

Art on the book is not really like the art in any other Marvel book. It's a bit "cartoony" and exaggerated - like something you would see in a MAD Magazine comic. It's OK, I guess, though nothing I would favor, and not as good as Alphona's work on Runaways.

Overall, I didn't see anything here that really grabbed me or anything that would make me want to pick up a second collected edition. I can honestly say, though, that I am clearly not the target audience for this book, so I'm not surprised at my reaction to it. This is a book that seems to be aimed at females and/or Muslims - two things I am clearly not. If you happen to fall into one of those categories, though, you may have a more positive reaction to this book.

Writing: 7/10
Artwork: 6/10
Cool Factor: 2/10
Value: 7/10

Overall: 5.5/10

The Kindle App for comic books is terrible. The zoom function is useless. The pages all have huge margins of wasted white space, and the natural zoom of my tablet is disabled by Kindle. Very bad App.

Buy from Comixology instead, it has proper zoom.

This book is white hot with hype, but reading it was a dramatic let-down. The over-riding word to describe this book, and this series, would be "weird". Everything about it is weird, and not in a good way. The mission statement for the book seems to be creating a "normal" girl character for the 21st century, but Khamala, the heroine, is isn't normal, she's incredibly odd. She's written to be so. She's "a normal" girl if "normal" is the weirdest kid in your 7th grade class. Her personality is weird, and she puts people off within the book. The way she gets her powers is weird. Her powers are weird. Her disinterest in how she got her powers and what this means for her life is weird.

Peter Parker was written to be an outcast, but Stan Lee's writing was what grounded the stories. The book wasn't weird, Peter was. Brian Bendis manages to write Spiderman the same way in 616. Khamala seems like a weird character in a weird book written by a weird person. It's like Next Wave. X-Statix or Secret Avengers, but without the winking self-awareness of being weird.

Ultimately If found myself incredibly detached from what was going on in the book. It felt VERY much like an Indie Book, but inside the Marvel Universe. That would be a good thing, if it didn't force the Marvel Universe to step out of it's own reality to behave the way the book wants it to.

Not a fan.

A story like hasn't been seen since the old Archie and the Gang comic. The heroin is a Pakistani Muslim...but that part isn't used much in the plot. We are supposed to like that because PC or whatever. Oh well.

I got this from the library and typically that causes me to be more generous with something. It's hard to be generous at all in the case of this book. I read it cause of the many good reviews up. I can safely say now it was group think because despite this thing having the subtitle no normal it's about as normal as it gets for a superhero book in the early 2010s complete with faux progressiveness.

The book stars exactly the kind of boring teenager that's been given powers/great responsibility now for over 40 years since teenagers started getting super powers. They're nerdy. They think they're not cool. They feel persecuted. Nothing new here other than they have 2 semi-functioning parents who unsurprisingly per books, movies, and tv don't keep an eye on their kid who is running around acting a maniac all the time. Basically, there's one difference in the whole book and it's never capitalized on because the author despite being a Muslim doesn't want to actually interact with Islam as a story, theme, political/social commentary, etc. They just want you to like them because you know they're part of the 2nd biggest religion on the planet that's growing rapidly thanks to an unchecked religious crusade around the globe. In fact, they also want you to know all white people from Jersey are uncool and don't get how cool Islam is and don't want to learn about it. It's funny cause the Islam practiced in this book looks a lot like typical rich kid western ideas about growing up in church but with a nice ethnic look, which is unsurprising since the author is nothing more than a rich white girl from the east coast.

I don't know how this book got made outside of Marvel making money off the piety of children mad at their parents who remember say 9-11 because this character isn't really Muslim and it's not really different. It's a rich whining faux liberals dream of what a comic about Muslims should be without having to deal with any of the actual issues within that community or facing it. The good reviews are little more than group think or people who want to only have the veneer of something new when it's a Spiderman knock off.

Final note, the author and her family pretty much supported the overthrow of Murbarak in Egypt by the Muslim Brotherhood. Murderous dictator though he was the Muslim Brotherhood after him actively engaged in all the same behavior but with a theocratic twist. They turned out to be terrible people who were determined to get rid of the pyramids by not maintaining them, rolling back women's rights, and funding terrorism. People forget it wasn't the Murbarak guys that attacked Lara Logan in celebration thinking she was a Jew but the Muslim Brotherhood. Again, a sad example of the fake progressive thought of the author and the glowing reviews. Great people live all over the world and come with all kinds of views. The people here are not examples of it but are easier to latch onto for the white children playing ethnic like Wilson than to engage with someone with a truly different point of view. Marvel gets that and is making money off it and unfortunately through unsavory people.

this was and is stupid politically correct B.S. Never, in the commonly known, comic universe has a comic book hero EVER been associated with a religion. Why now do we have to have a muslim? not worth the read.

Marvel is rewriting half their universe lately, and I like it. A 16 year old Jersey city girl is enveloped by a mist (the one sent out to discover in humans, I'm guessing) sand turns into Ms. Marvel. Needless to say, this was a bit disconcerting, to her, her best friend who learns her secret, and to her parents, who don't know if this is the machinations of a 16 year old girl or something worse. She learns to use her powers, mostly shape shifting, while balancing her new obligations with her personal ones.

The characters are nicely drawn, believable, and relatable. Marvel has always done a God job there, well most of the time, anyway. I find the situations real (as real as a comic book gets) and Kamala's problems those of many of us, especially young people.

Oh yes, the character is Muslim, btw, which adds some nice cultural backspin to the tale, but it does not become the story. I love the fact that the emphasis is on her humanity, not her religion. I mean, is Spider-Man Baptist? "He's a great super hero but he can dance on Sundays". Kamala's Pakistani culture is interesting but not the focus of the story.

I enjoyed the somewhat quirky artwork and the plot, so see what you think. Think I'll buy the next issue.....

Set in Jersey City, Kamala Khan and her best friend Nakia are good Muslim girls most of the time in that they eat halal and go to the local Mosque, even though Kamala drives the Sheikh Abdullah nuts with her questions and they sneak out of the meetings to go and get a snack at the Circle Q where their friend Bruno works. Kamala desperately wants to fit in with the popular crowd and when Zoe and her boyfriend Josh invite Bruno, Nakia, and Kamala to a party one weekend night, Kamala sneaks out of the house to go to it.

What happens there is she is given alcohol, which she spits out and is spotted by Bruno who is trying to get her to leave when she runs off. A dense fog settles in the area and everyone goes down, including Kamala who dreams of meeting the Avengers with Captain Marvel speaking for them. She asks her what she wants most in life and Kamala tells her she wants to be more like Captain Marvel. She becomes encased in a shell that she must break open and when she does, she looks exactly like Captain Marvel with the blonde hair and blue eyes. Her costume is different, as she had requested a more kickass costume. After a little while, she turns back to Kamala, then back to Ms. Marvel.

When she stumbles upon Zoe and Josh goofing off on the docks, she shrinks down to a small size so as not to be noticed. Zoe and Josh struggle on the dock and Zoe goes overboard. They're both drunk and won't be able to handle helping Zoe so Kamala changes into her Ms. Marvel shape and rescues Zoe by extending her arms and making her hands large and scooping her in. What she doesn't know is that someone taped footage of the event and it went to the news stations. As she sneaks into the house her very religious brother catches her and lets her know that her parents know she snuck out because Bruno told them when he couldn't find her. She gets grounded until they can trust her again, which doesn't go with her plans to help people in her new role as Ms. Marvel.

At school, she gets into trouble for messing up the gym changing room because she felt herself going out of control and going big. She imagined someone to become and missed the mark and changed into someone else--someone smaller. Then changed back into Kamala. She must learn to control her new powers. When she goes alone to the Circe Q and notices a masked a masked man sticking up the place. The guy is Vick, Bruno's brother, and he and Kamala in her transformed state fight until Vick's gun goes off and shoots Kamala forcing her to change back to her Kamala form. Now Bruno knows her secret. When Bruno goes missing, Kamala agrees to help Bruno go and find him and with his help, she figures out a new superhero costume for Kamala to wear, not the Captain Marvel clone and he helps her to learn to control her powers.

It's not surprising to find that Haver's is quite racists and wants them all to die, it is strange to see some of that behavior from others. But then fear makes us all do strange things. The colors are mostly browns and yellows, indicative of the sands of Karachi where her family is from. The drawings are quite clever and are quite interesting when they depict Kamala's ability to stretch. Also, she is willing to take her baby brother to mosques as she is quite attached to him. This was a great comic. Kamala took the Captain Marvel like costume and made it her own, with her own skin shining through. Ther is no one like Ms. Marvel. She is a breath of fresh air and a woman worth rooting for. I can't wait to read the next one.