Ms. Marvel (2015) #2

Previously in Ms. Marvel #1

Ms. Marvel just keeps getting better. Before I talk about the story, I want to say a little about the art. Usually when I start off a review this way, it’s because I had a problem with the art. Not so here. The facial expressions in this issue (and the series) are some of the best I’ve ever seen. Miyazawa does an excellent job making everyone look like real people, especially Kamala. Her pouting while grumbling face has always been one of my favorites, followed closely by how Kamala looks when she’s determined. It even feels like Kamala’s appearance has changed just a touch. She looks a bit older at times and it really works since we see the character has gone through plenty of emotional growth since Ms. Marvel debuted. There were two instances where you could see what Kamala would look like as an adult, and it reminded me of when that happens with my teenager. I’m not ready for either of these young ladies to grow up! But, seriously, check this out. It’s one of my favorite splash pages ever. I typically never share a full page in a review (only the cover), but this is too gorgeous:

Beautiful.

Okay. On to the story. Kamala’s been poking around the Hope Yards Development Center offices, trying to dig up info on the group that’s gentrifying the hell out of her neighborhood and using Ms. Marvel’s image (without permission) to entice people into becoming residents.

As if Kamala didn’t have enough reasons for wanting them out of her neighborhood, she is shaken when she sees Nakia on the news condemning Ms. Marvel for her involvement in what’s happening to her community. All the negative press also concerns Kamala’s mother, who wants her to lay low as Ms. Marvel until everything blows over. Of course, this doesn’t sit well with Kamala.

Kamala’s snooping leads to a mystery purple liquid, which Bruno agrees to test. He learns it’s filled with mind-controlling nanotech just as Kamala has a scary run-in with new Hope Yard residents with purple glowing eyes. And unfortunately for Bruno, the Yard Hope people send goons to snatch him up as they’ve somehow figured out what he’s done.

The best issues have a nice balance of Kamala as superhero, as a sister and daughter, and as a friend. On top of the awesome Mama Khan read, we spend a little with Aamir as he convinces Kamala to be his *mahram while he walks to school with a girl he likes. Aamir has been a surprise. It would have been easy to write him as the uptight religious brother, a stick-in-the-mud compared to the adventurous Kamala, but Aamir’s faith and desire to do the right thing makes him very likable character.

The stakes are pretty high by issue’s end as Kamala realizes who she’s actually up against.