Inhuman 2, Ms. Marvel 4

Inhuman 2
Soule (w) and Madureira (a) and Gracia (c) and Cowles (l)

With new Inhuman, or Nuhuman, Dante and sister Gabby successfully in the fold (though they're certainly hesitant about this new life), Medusa moves on to other business, such as securing more of fallen Attilan and staking a claim in the new world. With the help of Captain America, she defends a piece of Atillan from AIM attackers and then broadcasts and announcement to the world, saying that over the Hudson is their place now and that Nuhumans are welcome to join. As her day winds down, one more person comes to meet with her, a possible Inhuman named Lineage, who claims he knows why Black Bolt did what he did and that she's messing things up.

This is something of a tough book to write, and not just because of the production problems it suffered early on. Soule is tasked with getting readers up to speed on the Inhumans as a whole and all these new threats and new challenges. Still, he has to try to develop characters like Medusa, Gorgon, the doctor Vinatos, Dante, and Gabby, not to mention Lash (from last issue) and now Lineage. There are a lot of balls in the air right now and Soule is doing what he can to keep them there or catch them. There are certainly some bumps in this book but by and large it's a worthwhile read. Joe Mad's art is pretty spectacular and his fight art is stunning. Hopefully the book will be a little more engaging when all our players are in place.

Total Score: 4/5


Ms. Marvel 4
G.W. Wilson (w) and Alphona (a) and Herring (c) and Caramagna (l)

Bruno's younger brother Vick fled after accidentally shooting Kamala, still shifted to look like Captain Marvel. Bruno calls an ambulance but Kamala reverts to her regular self which, on top of showing Bruno who she is, heals her. It's not a perfect heal, as if she switches back to Captain Marvel she's still wounded, but she's able to safely stay Kamala. She and Bruno talk about the trouble Vick is in and Kamala vows to help him. She goes home and assembles a costume then she and Bruno meet at the shady house that Vick has been going to, home of, perhaps, new villain the Inventor. A newly outfitted Kamala busts in calling herself Ms. Marvel and takes out, with some difficulty, the robots guarding the place before finding Vick and finding herself face-to-face with the Inventor.

One of the things that has made this book so compelling from the start (and it's something that I think NOVA has hit on a few time in its run) is that it's fresh. You can feel the youth in this book, regardless if the book is actually created by younger people or not. What I mean to say is that this book (and at times in NOVA, mostly during Wells' and Duggan's runs) does a pretty good job putting a realistic kid in these situations. Kamala is fresh and fun and, though she's clearly smart and good, she's undoubtedly still a teenager. It doesn't feel like "this person is writing a teenager!" for the majority of the book. Instead, it feels like simply a compelling young woman. Adrian Alphona's art can't be left out of this. Though G. Willow Wilson is writing a solid Kamala, Alphona's art grounds this series in a way, to such a degree, that very few artists can do. Overall just a really fun and interesting book that feels like it has places to go.

Total Score: 5/5

Daredevil 1, Ms. Marvel 2

Daredevil 1
Waid (w) and Samnee (a) and J. Rodriguez (c)

Matt Murdock has officially set up shop out west and he's already taken on his first client. The deputy mayor's daughter has been kidnapped with a ransom note left demanding that she arrange amnesty for a criminal in exchange for the daughter's release. Using the note and a rag doll left behind, Matt determines the likely location of the little girl and manages to take her back from her kidnappers. As he travels the unfamiliar San Francisco terrain with the help of Kirsten McDuffie via earpiece and Google Maps, he realizes there's more to this kidnapping case than meets the eye. The armed men following him by glider (more goblin glider than hang glider) seem to be driving him away from their base rather than trying to catch him and Daredevil comes to realize that the ticking he thought to be a watch the little girl had is actually coming from inside the girl. Determining that the bomb planted inside the girl isn't a time bomb but likely a radio-detonated bomb, he rushes her into an elevator in a hospital to block the radio signal. With the girl out of harm's way, he stops his pursuers and sets things right. Three days later, the deputy mayor stops by to tell him that the girl's okay and to thank him and Kirsten in their brand new law office. However, it's not all perfect here; when asked about his former law partner, Matt says "his name was Foggy Nelson," to the bemusement of someone secretly watching.

We've had enough scares with Foggy Nelson of late that I'm not going to get all nervous about this one, as it seems to me like Matt is simply spreading rumors to protect Foggy, unable to defend himself if anyone were to come calling now that they know Matt's identity. With that out of the way, it's a great first entry, fun and fresh with the same sort of revitalized air that Waid brought to the last volume of DAREDEVIL and that readers responded to so favorably. San Francisco is an interesting new place for him as it poses questions of learning the landscape and recognizing the scents as well as a completely different structure to the buildings he's leaping on. The differences in Matt's role now that his secret is out are front and center here as the deputy mayor comes right to him for assistance and he's able to show off a little bit, telling people what hints he's picking up from his sense of smell and touch, not just having to bottle it up and investigate it himself later. Obviously the secret has come with some strings too as the deputy mayor had to step in when a landlord attempted to deny Matt office space and with the whole Foggy business. It's a really good start for this new volume and one that has a very clear shift in direction. It's nice to have a book out there that can shift from an old direction that was pretty great into a new direction that will be pretty great.

Ms. Marvel 2
G.W. Wilson (w) and Alphona (a) and Herring (c)

Kamala is a bit freaked out to find that she looks like Ms. Marvel and can't seem to understand how it happened. She's therefore happy but still a bit freaked out when she quickly changes back to regular Kamala. These changes keep happening as she rushes deeper into the mist that has settled on the city. She stumbles on Josh and Zoe leaving the party and shrinks down to hide herself, still unsure how it's happening. However, when a drunk Josh accidentally lets Zoe slip into the bay beside the docks, Kamala grows in size, now as Ms. Marvel again, and reaches a giant-sized hand and arm into the water to fish Zoe out. With Zoe saved, she rushes off again, heading home to try to figure it out. She sneaks back into the house (somewhat unsuccessfully) and is immediately set upon by her brother and her parents, who knew she snuck out and who are very disappointed in her. She decides not to tell them what's been happening, at least until she can sort things out for herself.

It's weird to think, given the way the Marvel Universe was born and grew, that this form of storytelling feels little weird in the modern Marvel age. Typically speaking, the way things happen now is that an established character will get a solo series based on their popularity or on a particularly good pitch for that character. New characters are introduced, then, in team books or even in the solo series of a different character and they're established there before potentially branching out to their own book. Even NOVA, a recent series that is a rather new character getting a new solo series, spins out from the Nova history and mythos of the Nova Corps, although it's clearly a different character and even a different part of the mythos. Here, Kamala is a brand new character with seemingly brand new powers so it requires reading a somewhat different way. It's like when you start reading comics and you're not quite sure who everyone is; you have to hope that the creative team has done enough to explain these people to you. As such, we're still in that explaining phase with Kamala as her powers start to blossom and as things start to get a little weird. That said, it's not a bad issue and it has its clear defining moments for the character, particularly as she chooses to reveal herself, unsure of her new powers as she is, to Zoe and Josh because there's some heroing that needs doing. Looking forward to seeing a little more from this series as we start to get the origin out of the way.