Runaways, Ms Marvel

Ms Marvel 4-5

I borrowed the first Ms Marvel trade from the library since the first three issues were pretty good, but I wasn’t sure if it was re-read material that was worth buying.  It’s not. It’s more Nice than Pretty Good, and it’s not worth a second go, in any case. Which is a little odd, since it’s got all the right pieces - A strong protagonist, good humor, non-annoying sidekick, and a realistically loving but difficult to live with family.  Kamala’s going through the learning phase portion of her powers, and while it’s not all smooth sailing, she’s exploring them relatively intelligently. So what’s not working? Maybe it’s the boring villain. I’ve got another trade, maybe that picks up a bit.

Coincidentally, since I’m reading Runaways right now, Adrian Alphona does the art for Ms. Marvel as well.  He inks his own pencils here, and it makes for a completely different look. I would never have realized it was the same guy.  

Scratchy Alphona inks.

Gotta say I like the clean Craig Yeung lines a lot more.

Runaways 7-12

Karolina going off with Xavin, her Skrull fiance, raises a bunch of intriguing questions.  Karolina’s likes girls, and isn’t interested in Xavin at all because he presents as male. But once he shapeshifts into a female body and reveals that “changing gender is no different than changing hair color,” Karolina’s reservations fade away.  My mind hasn’t begun to parse what Brian K Vaughan is saying about gender identity or sexual attraction here, but it’s got me thinking.

In other news, Molly Hayes continues to be awesome and Vaughan puts her in the best setups.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? Yes

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Pretty good