Saturday 11 July 2015

Ms Marvel Vol 3: Crushed by G Willow Wilson

Ms Marvel Vol 3: Crushed written by G Willow Wilson and illustrated by Elmo Bondoc and Takeshi Miyazawa is, obviously, the third Ms Marvel volume of the Kamala Khan Ms Marvel. Containing issues #12–15 of Ms Marvel and SHIELD #2 this is a bit of an unusual trade because the story that starts in #16 is tied to the Secret Wars event (it's a Last Days storyline, which means we will see the world ending from Kamala's point of view) and, I assume, could not be split up. So instead of giving us a trade with only 4 issues in it, the powers that be at Marvel threw in the SHIELD issue, which is very Ms Marvel-centric.

Love is in the air in Jersey City as Valentine’s Day arrives! Kamala Khan may not be allowed to go to the school dance, but Ms. Marvel is! Well sort of — by crashing it in an attempt to capture Asgard’s most annoying trickster! Yup, it’s a special Valentine’s Day story featuring Marvel’s favorite charlatan, Loki! And when a mysterious stranger arrives in Jersey City, Ms. Marvel must deal with…a crush! Because this new kid is really, really cute. What are these feelings, Kamala Khan? Prepare for drama! Intrigue! Romance! Suspense! Punching things! All this and more! The fan-favorite, critically acclaimed, amazing new series continues as Kamala Khan proves why she’s the best (and most adorable) new super hero there is! Plus, see what happens when SHIELD agent Jemma Simmons goes undercover at Kamala’s school!

This volume starts with a one-shot Valentine's Day issue, in which Teen Loki wreaks some havoc at the school dance. It was amusing but with all the set up — for the Loki side of things in Asgard, as well as for the Ms Marvel and friends side — it was over too quickly. We did get to see more of Nakia, which I liked because I don't think she's in nearly enough of her. Since Bruno is the only one who knows about Kamala's secret identity, there's a lot more of him around and not enough of Kamala with her female friend. So more Nakia for the win. She didn't make much of an appearance in the remaining issues, however.

The second storyline was a three issue arc mainly about the first boy Kamala has a crush on and basically everything that can go wrong when you're a superhero with a crush. And I do mean everything that can possibly go wrong in that scenario. But it was another amusing storyline that made me laugh several times, especially when things were going well. I was a little disappointed that everything had to fall apart, but it would not have been a sustainable storyline, so I suppose that makes sense. There was also a very interesting parallel drawn between supervillains and terrorists, which I'll leave for you to read in full.

And finally there was the SHIELD issue. I was concerned at first that it would be yet another comic story for which I didn't have the full background to understand but it actually turned out to be quite accessible. So long as you have a passing acquaintance with the SHIELD TV show (or I suppose the earlier comics, though this is the second issue of a new run that, I think, is more closely tied to the TV show than the earlier run, I could be wrong on that last point) this comic is completely comprehensible. Simmons goes undercover at Kamala's school, the shady business she and Coulson are there to stop explodes (figuratively) and Kamala saves the day and fangirls over SHIELD. It was another fun read.

I am continuing to enjoy this Ms Marvel series. I am looking forward to the next volume, although not without some trepidation given that everything is going to be turned on it's head. (I've seen some of the art though and it looks awesome. Ms Marvel meeting Captain Marvel? YES PLEASE!) If you've been enjoying Ms Marvel so far, definitely pick up this latest volume. If you haven't read any of it yet, I recommend starting with Issue #1 / Volume 1 (No Normal) since that will also give you the origin story.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: June 2015, Marvel
Series: Ms Marvel, Vol 3 of ongoing series containing issues #12–15 of Ms Marvel and SHIELD issue #2
Format read: Trade paperback
Source: Non-Amazon online book shop

2 comments:

  1. I'm actually really loving the SHIELD comic - every issue is a standablone 1 or 2 parter which brings in an iconic Marvel Universe character (or a small group) to do a mission with some of the regular SHIELD cast. It's a good intro comic for people who like Agents of SHIELD because the regular cast are characters from the show but it also means issues like the Ms Marvel one can be read from the other direction - come for your favourite character and you don't have to stay! I'm a sucker for intense continuity but we really need more comics like this, too, which don't need a whole bunch of backstory.

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    1. From what I saw, I think I'd be totally up for reading the SHIELD comic. From my point of view it was definitely accessible. I'm glad it was included in Ms Marvel because (aside from being a good story) I probably wouldn't've noticed it otherwise. I watch the TV show but I'm not into it enough to get the comic just for that reason. But I really liked the extra backstory we got on Jemma! That said, I probably won't be grabbing the trade too soon because I have bought rather a lot of comics lately. I'll keep it in mind for next time I'm physically in a comic-selling shop though.

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