"Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal" by Willow Wilson, Illustrated by Adrian Alphona

Celadon James

Module 8: Quick Reads Book Review: Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal

1.     BIBLIOGRAPHY

Wilson, Willow. Illus. Adrian Alphona. Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal. United States: Marvel, 2014. Print.

2.     PLOT SUMMARY

Kamala Khan, a Pakistani-American teenage girl (a Muslim one at that) leads a fairly normal life in New Jersey until one day she becomes the Marvel superhero Ms. Marvel, complete with blonde hair and blue eyes. But is that who she wants to be? Kamala struggles with self-identity as well as superhero-esque exploits in this first volume of the new Ms. Marvel series.

3.     CRITICAL ANALYSIS characters, plot, setting, theme, style, authenticity

This graphic novel has been lauded by critics as a great step into the land of diversity by critics. Kamala is not only a believable teen, she is a believable Muslim girl. In a time where the only talk of Muslims seems to be in reference to terrorists, this comic reminds us that most Muslims in America lead very normal lives and deal with normal problems. Her struggles with her parents and her desire for independence will be something that most teenagers can empathize with, as will her desire to be something that feels more “normal.” There is nothing in it that would make it inappropriate for tweens, but even older teens (and adults) will enjoy this graphic novel with its dynamic characters, forward-thinking plot, and crisp art. Even readers who usually don’t read graphic novels will appreciate this one for its nontraditional characters that are handled with such authenticity.

Speaking of art, the art of Ms Marvel is very high quality. The colors are not overly rendered or saturated, and Alphona’s art is both clean, non-dated, and aesthetically pleasing. Unlike many comics that have beautiful covers but low-quality art on the inside, this has excellent art throughout the entire graphic novel, and hopefully they will continue this trend throughout other Ms. Marvel graphic novels.

4.     CREATIVE ACTIVITY

Although I feel it’s obvious, “create a comic” is the perfect activity for this graphic novel. This differs from writing activities because there is an art element involved, and teenagers seem to really get interested in writing/drawing comics. Depending on how much access to technology you have, there are several resources that can be used for this.

Resources:

Crilley, Mark. “How to Make Rough Layouts for Comics/Manga” Youtube. September 2, 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Csbgkb1vhp0

·        Mark Crilley is a professional comic book artist who has several Youtube videos about art and comics. This is how to make rough layouts for comics. It’s only 15 minutes, but it gives a basic “this is how comics get made,” or…at least how the rough draft goes.

Dutch Renaissance Press. “Comic Book Paper Templates.” Comic Book Templates. 2013. http://comicbookpaper.com/

·        This website (and dozens others like it with a Google search of “Comic Book Template”) give a great base to create comics for kids so that they don’t have to waste time just drawing the boxes.

Other resources:

Local art schools/universities often have students who are willing to volunteer a few hours to come teach a class about character design/comics. These can vary wildly in quality, but kids interested in comics are often happy just to learn the basics regardless of quality of teaching.

In my experience, comic-teaching is a very popular subject, to the point where you can tentatively run more than one class on it (character design, dialogue, putting it together)

Other Creative Activities

·        Create a comic book hero/heroine: Kamala Khan is a unique superhero because she chooses her outfit based on her heritage. Based on a teen’s own history and personality, what would they wear as a superhero? What powers would they want?

·        ComicsPro. “24-Hour Comics Day.” 24 Hour Comics Day. http://www.24hourcomicsday.com/

o   This is a “dare” that many comic stores undertake: they invite comic writer/artist hopefuls to come and create a 32 page comic in under 24 hours. Many comic book stores offer food, drinks, and a place for the comic artists/writers to work for that 24 hours, and their submissions are then sent as part of a contest. Libraries could do something similar, but for the hours that they are open.

5.     RELATED RESOURCES

Marvel. “Create Your Own Comic.” Marvel. 2015. http://marvel.com/games/play/34/create_your_own_comic

·        This webpage is Marvel’s official “create your own comic” page. It lets kids take pictures of Marvel characters, plop them into storyboards, add sound effects and dialogue. This is a great resource if you’re looking for something for tweens or younger, or for non-artsy teens.

6.     PUBLISHED REVIEW 

Yehl, Joshua. Kamala Khan is a Marvelous New Hero. IGN. 5 February 2014. http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/02/05/ms-marvel-1-review-2