Here we are, 9 issues in following the adventures of Kamala as she continues to combat against the power of the inventor and his crazy machinery and monsters. Surprisingly enough, we’ve gone this far without Kamala getting bogged down in some form of crossover or event tie-in. Even Inhumanity, the event you would think this title would have been attached to. And subtracting the issues with Wolverine, this title has also remained free of constantly rotating guest stars to boast (though I’m still waiting for the inevitable crossover/guest-star-appearance-issues with Captain Marvel). So is this ninth issue just as good as the rest?
Picking up where last issue left off with Kamala’s school being attacked by one of The Inventor’s giant robots. While at the same time her powers appear to be acting up on her as she can’t seem to change her appearance, but she can still enlarge body-parts. Not being deterred by this (or at least she doesn’t come close to hesitating about whether or not she should stop this robot) she charges strait in to combat, making sure to not reveal herself to everyone viewing the battle. Once she is victorious, Kamala passes out and is rescued by Medusa who takes her to New Attilan. This is where Kamala not only learns about the trouble she’s having with her powers, but also that she is an Inhuman (or at least descended from one).
G. Willow Wilson’s writing continues to impress here, as she moves Kamala along her journey to discover her true potential and protect her home town. It remains humorous, and full of great character moments between Kamala and her supporting cast, namely Bruno here. She also gets to play around with more of the Inhumans this issue, and she doesn’t miss a beat (although I’m not the most familiar with them so I don’t know if they’re out of character or not).
Adrian Alphona’s style is still top notch here. He adds a crazy level of detail to each panel, and truly makes this world feel alive. You could spend several minutes observing each panel to pick out all the Easter eggs and background jokes (my favorite being the stuffed hedgehog with Hulk gloves). Unfortunately, as much as I like the detail of the art, it also makes some of the panels hard to read (or at the very least difficult to determine what is going on). This is overall a minor quibble, as Alphona’s artwork is a treat to look at.
This issue continues the series upward climb in quality. Fun writing and art make this a great book to read, and the light connection with the Marvel Universe makes it a good series for new comic readers as it doesn’t feel to dense, but it slowly introduces them to some of the more obscure sides of the Marvel U. Hopefully this book continues its success, and remains with us for a long time.
CBH Score: 4.5 out of 5
Hi, thanks for your review of Ms. Marvel #9. I’m glad to see Adrian Alphona back for the last few books, and I agree it’s really fun to examine all of the details in each panels. I think they really nail all the characters’ facial expressions too. My favorite “Easter Egg” is the odd stuffed animal in Kamala’s room on the back of her desk chair–it looks like a cross between a sloth and a flying pig.
The winged sloth thing has been a great recurring joke throughout this series. I’m glad you enjoyed this issue, and as I said in the review I hope this series gets enough support to continue for a long time. While I’m glad Adrian Alphona is staying on this title, Jake Wyatt can take over next issue I would not have to much of a problem with it.