And so marks the end of G. Willow Wilson’s tenure on Ms. Marvel, something she thought wouldn’t last beyond a handful of issues, but has now gone on for seven years, and Kamala herself is flourishing at large in the Marvel Comics universe—or so I’ve heard, because I just can’t with superhero comics for the most part. They are too interconnected and I can’t read them all, it’s impossible, so I will read almost none of them instead. I have been making an exception for Ms. Marvel for several reasons: Firstly because Kamala Khan is a damn delight, and second because Wilson has shepherded her over a lovely coming of age journey with heart and silliness both in equal measure, and third because these comics mostly stand on their own. You can read them without feeling the need to seek out anything else being published at the moment, and that comforts me.
This was a good ending for Wilson’s last hurrah. One of the issues has a bunch of guest writers (including Rainbow Rowell and Hasan Minhaj, and original series artist Adrian Alphona returns for a bit), and it also featured Kamala having a slumber party with her girls, while constantly popping out to Ms. Marvel some stuff. But finally what I’ve been waiting for has happened, and that’s Kamala’s friends acknowledging that they all already know she’s Ms. Marvel. I feel like this could have happened a lot earlier, but I can understand wanting to save it for the end.
As it’s been more than two months since I finished this, my memory if it is actually pretty spotty, but I remember feeling very satisfied by it. What I really need to do is finally break down and buy my own copies of Vols. 1-10 (or maybe they will come out with a hardcover bind-up??) and do a re-read, all back to back.
In the end, I appreciate this series. I appreciate it for its heart and its intelligence and its compassion. I appreciate it for its goofy jokes and comical adventures, and I appreciate it for Kamala’s very real emotional struggles, and for understanding that sometimes things are just *cool* (giant alien teleporting dog! Skyshark! Thomas Edison evil bird clone! Kamala writes fanfiction!).
I’m not sure if I will continue with whoever is taking over Ms. Marvel. I guess never say never. I will be sure to keep an eye out for all your reviews, thanks ever so much.