Friday 27 November 2015

Ms Marvel Vol 4: Last Days by G Willow Wilson

Ms Marvel Vol 4: Last Days written by G Willow Wilson and illustrated by Adrian Alphona is the last volume of the first Kamala Khan run of Ms Marvel. After Secret Wars, as with all Marvel Universe series, the numbering will reset. This volume contains the last four issues of the run, #16–19, and two issues from Amazing Spider-Man (2014): #7 & 8.

When the world is about to end, do you still keep fighting? From the moment, Kamala put on her costume, she's been challenged, but nothing has prepared her for this: the Last Days of the Marvel Universe. Fists up, let's do this, Jersey City. Plus a VERY special guest appearance fans have been clamoring for!

This is a really great volume. The four main issues in Ms Marvel: Last Days tell one continuous story, which was really great to read. I mean, I really enjoying reading longer comic story arcs and find them much more satisfying than one- or two-comic arcs like, for example, were in Volume 3 of Ms Marvel. The story is about the beginning of the apocalypse which, as is often the case with Marvel, is taking place in Manhattan. Kamala and the other residents of Jersey City see something dire happening across the river (I learnt more about NY/USA geography looking this up than I expected) and Kamala tries to help as panic breaks out.

This storyline had some really awesome moments, one of which was Captain Marvel showing up for the middle two issues, and the other of which I don't want to spoil. I enjoyed seeing Kamala fangirl over Carol Danvers and their brief team-up was great. (Although I thought it was a bit odd that Carol's outfit was a greayscale version of her usual suit.) Both Kamala and Carol have little heart-touching moments while saving a minor part of the day (the apocalypse itself is not for Kamala to fix).

I also really loved Kamala's interactions with the regular characters, which were the perfect combination of funny and thoughtful, with Kamala tying up some "what if the world really is ending" loose ends. I would still like to have seen more of Nakia, as I have said of every volume of Ms Marvel, but at least she's acknowledged here. And maybe she'll be more prominent in the next run. One can hope. Also, I continue to love the cute and amusing details in the background of this comic. Much lol. Also, also, "hipster viking".

As for the Spider-Man issues, these were much better than I expected. They fall much earlier in continuity than the Last Days storyline, and like the SHIELD issue in the previous volume, they involve a bit of "an exciting day in the life" of Kamala while in someone else's book. I love how adorable Kamala is when she's in fangirl mode. And, bonus, we get to see Silk choosing her new costume. Also, there's a nice side plot for one of the henchmen, which was both unexpected and amusing. One of the better "other issue" inclusions in a trade that I've come across.

I really loved this volume and the entire series. I highly recommend it to all fans of superheroes, particularly if the YA aspect appeals. If the YA aspect doesn't appeal, it's still a great series for readers of all comics. As always, I am looking forward to more Ms Marvel in the future, even though it will be a bit of a wait for the next trade. If you haven't read any Ms Marvel yet, now is a pretty good time to go back to the start and read the entire first run (or "season" as I saw someone on goodreads refer to it) in one go.

5 / 5 stars

First published: December 2015, Marvel
Series: Ms Marvel (Kamala Khan) Vol 4 of 4, the last volume of the current run with, after this one, the numbers resetting. But with the same creators.
Format read: Trade paperback
Source: Real life physical book shop *gasp*

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