Title: Ms. Marvel: Beyond the Limit
Creator: Samira Ahmed, Andrés Genolet (Artist)
Genres: Comics, superhero
Pages: 120
Publisher: Marvel
Review Copy: Library
Availability: Out now
Summary: The greatest hero of the new generation returns in an all-new solo adventure! After an explosion of interdimensional proportions at her cousin’s lab, Kamala Khan suddenly has a doppelgänger to deal with! As Ms. Marvel, it’s her duty to help out the newcomer, but something doesn’t feel quite right. Kamala’s powers are on the fritz, and she suspects that this new hero-in-training isn’t trustworthy. And why has everything around her…turned into a Bollywood set?! New York Times best-selling author Samira Ahmed (Love, Hate, & Other Filters; Internment; Mad, Bad, & Dangerous to Know) brings all the flair of her young adult fiction to the always-surprising world of Ms. Marvel!
Review: I’ve been a fan of the Ms. Marvel series for quite some time and I have a lot of fondness for it. It’s the first superhero comics run that I got into, and Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal ended up being the beginning of a wonderful dive into the world of comics and graphic novels. It’s hard to believe that I didn’t really read comics — superhero or otherwise — until Ms. Marvel.
I don’t think (please correct me if I’m wrong) that there are more Ms. Marvel comics on the horizon at the moment, but when I was browsing at the library and noticed that there were some comics from 2022 that I hadn’t read before, I was delighted to revisit one of my favorite superhero characters. So here we are. And better yet, Ms. Marvel: Beyond the Limit is written by one of my favorite YA authors! A perfect match.
The writing in Ms. Marvel is top-notch as usual, and a blast. There’s a good reason I love Ms. Marvel — she’s just a fun character! The art is action-packed, dynamic, and fresh. In this volume, Ms. Marvel is taking a break from superheroing to visit her cousin in Chicago — but superheroing isn’t something you can escape. Ms. Marvel gets pulled into an interdimensional adventure, her powers are failing her, and there is a more sinister force at play. And of course, there’s the romantic tension she has with her best friend. Everything you could want from a Ms. Marvel story.
The plot was fast-paced and kept my attention. I had some qualms about the direction of the plot and unanswered questions, which in fairness, are sure to be answered in the next volume. There were some events in the story that lacked the expected emotional impact, but I think that’s par for course in superhero comics, where the stakes are high and the story has to keep chugging along.
Overall, this was a delightful installment of Ms. Marvel and I will be looking out for the second volume to get caught up. Ms. Marvel doesn’t disappoint!
Recommendation: Get it soon!