What I Bought 7/2/2016 - Part 2

The other two comics I was able to collect during the holiday weekend. One of them is an actual Civil War II tie-in, so brace yourselves for that barrel of laughs.

Ms. Marvel #8, G. Willow Wilson (writer), Adrian Alphona and Takeshi Miyazawa (artists), Ian Herring and Irma Kniivila (colorists), Joe Caramagna (letterer) - I know I should recognize the poster Stewart is referencing with that cover, but I can't place. It honestly reminds me of some of the Soviet propaganda posters, but I'm not sure that's what he's going for.

Kamala is called up to Alpha Flight base, and Captain Marvel tells her about Ulysses, the kid who sees probably futures or whatever. They want to try using his abilities to see if they can lower crime in Jersey City with a concerted effort. Kamala is all for leading this group of plucky teens, despite the concerns of her new sister-in-law about arresting people for things they might have been getting ready to do. Good point, although not sure a guy driving a stolen experimental tank through a populated area is the best example. Guy had probably already broken some laws by that point. Anyway, Kamala is soon confronted with the problem when told a student is going to blow up her school and it turns out to be Josh.

There's also an prologue, drawn by Alphona, which I think is detailing the story of how Kamala's family eventually came to the U.S. At this stage, it's 1947 and they're having to leave Bombay and head for the newly created country of Pakistan because things were getting a little heated between Hindus and Muslims in the wake of India's independence from the UK.

So we'll see how this goes. My guess is Josh was going to blow up the school, but on accident. Science experiment gone wrong, that sort of thing, but Ulysses' power doesn't distinguish intent. Kamala will learn some valuable lessons about the limitations of this proactive, punish people for thinking, crap, which will put her at odds with her plucky gang of Crossfitting twit helpers.

I chuckled at Kamala's determination pose when she swears to do what Danvers asks with honor, commitment, courage, and all the other stuff. At least Carol has the decency to look unsure about all this, to the point she wasn't even amused by that. Although I guess she's more worried about untrained volunteers than the fact blindly trusting Ulysses power is dumb as hell. And the design on the tank is great. The scowly eyes, and even a nose drawn on it, the missile with "Oh Canada", and the fact it was hijacked by a Canadian ninja, who runs around in Jersey for some reason. Dude, start with claiming the Dakotas for Canada, then work east.

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #9, by Ryan North (writer), Erica Henderson (artist), Tom Fowler (inker), David Malki (Mole Man's deal artist), Braden Lamb (trading card artist), Rico Renzi (colorist), Travis Lanham (letterer) - Credit to the Moloids for being so well-behaved on the subway, even if I suspect they probably got on without paying. Probably tunneled right under the turnstiles.

Mole Man is angry because Kraven is terrorizing his monsters. Squirrel Girl apologizes for accidentally causing Moley grief by making Kraven reconsider his life choices. Mole Man blows this one act of decency out of proportion and proposes on the spot. Doreen tries to let him down gently, explaining there are no squirrels underground. So Mole Man drops Central Park into a hole, and tries again, but Nancy's having none of it, and Doreen seems to get through to Mole Man again. So he drops landmarks around the world into holes, and vows to keep doing that until she goes on a date with him, and oh dear, Squirrel Girl is actually, officially angry. She beats Thanos with a smile on her face (I don't care what crap Starlin says, Thanos lost). Mole Man might die, folks. She's gonna punch him once in his 105 year old head and it's going to disintegrate.

OK probably not.

That full-page splash of Mole Man proposing is great. From the large diamond, to the monsters sitting there watching with interest, to Doreen's walrus stuffed animal, to her pose and expression. You see people, when they're proposed to, with that "hands over their mouth" look, because they're trying not to cry, because they're so happy or whatever. But she is just horribly embarrassed and trying to figure out how to get out of here. I'd kind of expect her tail to be drooping, just from being sad, but it might be up from being horrified (I haven't really checked to see how much the position of her tail corresponds to her emotional state in this book).

It's a strange issue, but a good one. The shift from Koi Boi's terrible fish puns, to that intense scene when Nancy smacks the taste out of Mole Man's mouth for touching Doreen, and then we're on to a fight scene and jokes about Doreen tossing in Nancy in the air to keep her safe until it's over. It feels like it shouldn't work, that really serious bit about respecting boundaries in the middle there, but it does, somehow. I guess because Nancy being extremely blunt and protective of her friend is normal for her. This is the lady who tried to help fight Doombots by throwing rocks at them (until Tippy came up with a better plan). You mess with her friend, she will fight you.