Ms. Marvel 1 & 2

Ms. Marvel, vol. 1: No Normal and Ms. Marvel, vol. 2: Generation Why by G. Willow Wilson, art by Adrian Alphona and Jacob Wyatt, 256 pages total

As much a fan of graphic novels as I am, I tend to shy away from superhero stories. But when presented with the origin story of a kickass heroine whose alter-ego is a Pakistani-American Muslim teenager from New Jersey, I was intrigued enough to bite. And I'm glad I did. Kamala Khan is a geeky teenage girl struggling with her identity and being perceived as that weird outsider for her religion, the color of her skin, and her odd clothes. When she develops superpowers after a weird mist envelopes her hometown, her identity struggle multiplies exponentially. These first two volumes find Kamala trying to find a balance between her two identities, with plenty of crime-fighting thrown in for good measure. Yes, some parts of these volumes are typical of superhero comics, but I see this as being a lot closer to Buffy than Batman. I'm intrigued to see what's up next for Kamala.