Relating to Ms. Marvel

By Taylor Simmons -
Before reading Ms. Marvel, I had never read any comic books or read or watched anything Marvel related for that matter; I just never had any interest for it. I was a bit skeptical about reading this at first and I didn’t think I would like it because this would not be my first choice of something to read. After I began reading and really got into it I noticed that it was definitely a different type of read, of course, but after I got over the confusion of how to properly read this, I enjoyed it. It was rather interesting, and I liked how it all came together. Although comics and marvel books and movies were not my forte, I have still heard about other marvel superheroes and I was really exited to see that Kamala is Muslim, female, and a struggling adolescent. If you take Muslim with African American, you have a description of me, and I love that Ms. Marvel is so relatable in such a diverse aspect and that any young girl can relate to Kamala.
               Kamala’s issues are the same issues that just about every teen struggles with: school, friends, trying to find who you are, and getting parents to understand you. At least for me, those are the exact things I still find myself struggling with. As for the diversity in this book, I loved it. I love that Kamala’s character is Muslim because in todays society especially, Muslims are associated with such bad stereotypes that it is sickening. Kamala being Muslim brings diversity to Marvel and to YA literature. Not only can Kamala relate to Muslims, but she relates to any other minority who struggles to see depictions of themselves in literature of find characters that look like them in literature.

               Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and I think even though Marvel and comic books aren’t of any interest to me, I would try to teach this in my own classroom or have copies of this and comics like it for students in my class. 

Comments

  1. UnknownDecember 10, 2017 at 4:37 PM

    I was in the same boat as you as far as not reading a graphic novel before Ms. Marvel. I had the same experience as you, which I find myself coming to like a lot of texts that I am reluctant about. This class has really cracked my shell as far as that goes! It is great that you can relate to Kamala through your identity. She is a great representation for anyone. It is funny how people like us share the same issues as superheroes, graphic novels have a way of relating us so closely to them. I agree that it is important that she is represented as a Muslim girl. Her heritage and identity have so much to do with her experience through the book. Great blog!

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