Over a year has gone by since Ms. Marvel first started and in the time Kamala Khan has gained superpowers, met the X-Men and Inhumans, gained Lockjaw as a pet, and defeated an evil bird inventor. However, she has a new challenge facing her this time… Loki and also L-O-V-E! Is it good?
Ms. Marvel #12 (Marvel Comics)
The God of Mischief, Loki, has just been given a new assignment. The All Mother wants Loki to check out Coles Academic High School, the place the Inventor was abducting kids from. Sure, he got caught, but he did come close to possibly creating a device that could in theory open a gateway from Earth to Asgard. Loki needs to infiltrate the school and see if there are any more followers for the Inventor in hiding. Meanwhile, Bruno is trying to think of a way to invite Kamala to the local Valentine’s Day Dance.
He looks like a perfectly trustworthy individual, so let’s point him in the direction of some young kids.
After a year long storyline, it’s nice to have a simple done in one story. Sure, it’s sort of an epilogue to the Inventor story given that’s the reason Loki’s in town, but it’s only a minor point in the grand scheme of the issue. Ms. Marvel #12 is all about providing a fun little romp; one of the side characters trying to ask Kamala out on a date while she also has to face down Loki. There’s nothing too big here, but that’s perfectly fine with what the comic is trying to do this time around. It provides some good laughs and decent character development, all under the theme of Valentine’s Day (which actually played an important part in the story, instead of barely being a factor in that recent Harley Quinn special).
G. Willow Wilson’s writing was pretty good overall this time around. The pacing, story structure, and all that jazz were fine. The characterization was pretty strong overall, but I am a bit confused by Loki: having read a bit of his recent solo series, he usually disguises his form so he looks like someone else or at least doesn’t stand out that much. This issue had him walking around his in Asgardian garb completely out in the open without a care in the world, even though I’m not sure why. The dialogue was enjoyable and provided plenty of good laughs and jokes throughout, especially with Bruno working on trying to find out the best way to ask out Kamala. Overall, there’s not much to say on this issue, but the writing was fine regardless.
Well that or help her earn some extra credit. It’s hard to tell honestly.
The artwork is handled by Elmo Bondoc, who does a pretty decent job overall. He does a great job drawing characters and making them just as expressive as the regular artist (Adrian Alphona) does. He’s capable of really selling quite a bit of humor in the book, while also putting together some great layouts. There’s not much in the way of superhero action outside of some brief bits at the end, but the art was solid (though I wonder how the art would hold up with more action). Combined with Ian Herring’s coloring, the issue looked fine overall and I wouldn’t mind seeing Bondoc doing more fill-ins for this series if necessary.
Is It Good?
Ms. Marvel #12 was a small break in the action, giving us a quick, but highly enjoyable one-shot with Loki and Valentine’s Day thrown into the mix. The characters were great, the story was a lot of fun, the humor was amusing, and the artwork looked well-done in the end. While not as intense as the previous issues, there’s plenty to like and I look forward to whatever the next big story is for the series.
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