Love is a Battlefield: Ms. Marvel Vol. 3, Crushed

(3 of 5 stars)

I read this third collected volume of Ms. Marvel back-to-back with the second. I liked this one well enough, but it definitely suffered by comparison with Generation Why. Still, in any ongoing storyline, you've got to have highs and lows, peaks and valleys, and quieter moments. I appreciate it when the writer makes those quieter moments an opportunity for reflection and greater characterization, which G. Willow Wilson did with this volume.

Not that there aren't some exciting elements to this. The first installment springs the trickster Loki from Asgardia on Kamala's school (specifically the Valentine's Day dance) to look for agents of the Inventor, the foe Kamala defeated in the previous volume; and the final installment throws in Jemma Simmons and Paul Coulson from S.H.I.E.L.D (about which I know nothing). In between, though, is the meat of this volume: a story about Kamala's family, Pakistani culture, her best friend Bruno who is in love with her, and her own infatuation with a boy she last saw at the age of five who "picked his nose" and who turns out to be Inhuman, just like her.

(He also--spoiler!--turns out to be a lying, manipulating bastard.)

This sort of teenage love storyline may feel like a step back, but it's not all that unrealistic, given that our main character is all of sixteen years old and still in high school. What's important is that Kamala learns and grows from the experience, which she does. I appreciated her characterization here, and I think this sets her up well for succeeding volumes.

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You Have Been the Last Dream of My Soul: Review, The Sandman Overture

(5 of 5 stars)

I'm still on my graphic-novel kick, but this is definitely the best one I've read since Scott McCloud's The Sculptor. In fact, it's damn near perfect.

Now, I must admit that I have not read any of the Sandman series proper, so this was a bit confusing at times. However, the story sucked me right in: the Dream King and his quest to save a mad star he mistakenly let live once upon a time, which will now bring about the end of the universe. This is a story that spans all of space and all of time, from the vastness of the multiverse to the interior of a black hole.

The artwork accompanying this story is absolutely gorgeous. I would not recommend trying to read this on any device. I checked the deluxe edition out from the library, and waiting for the dead tree copy is well worth it. There are two foldout pages (I imagine Vertigo had a fun time with that when it went to press) and on several occasions the art and word bubbles rotate across the entire length and breadth of the page. There are certainly no "panels" as such, not in this comic. The colors are bright and lush, and one could sit and study J.H. Williams' images for hours.

Morpheus is a lonely fellow in this story, and he ends up weakened and alone in the end, a state of affairs which is supposed to lead directly to the first volume of the series. That will be my next project, I think. Still, whether or not you have read the original Sandman, do not miss this.

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