Graphic Novel Roundup: Ms. Marvel and Wonder Woman go Ballistic

Ms. Marvel Volume 2: Generation Why, by G. Willow Wilson, Jacob Wyatt, Adrian Alphona
This all-new Ms. Marvel has been groundbreaking not just for featuring a young, Pakistani-American teenager behind the mask, but for bringing a sense of real joy and adventure to a world where the heroes are all-too-often dark and intense. Kamala Khan is the closest that comics have come to recreating the magic mix of teen angst and the fun of exploration of Stan and Steve’s original Peter Parker/Spider-Man adventures in the ’60s. Kamala is a fully realized teenager in a great comic; there’s no sense that she’s there to tick off any boxes. In this second volume, Kamala gets an arch-nemesis, a guy called the Inventor, even as she’s drawn into the greater Marvel U via a team-up with Wolverine. She also continues to deal with her family, friends, schoolwork, and the mysterious origin of her powers (with some help from the Inhumans’ loyal dog, Lockjaw).

Wonder Woman Vol. 5: Flesh (The New 52), by Brian Azzarello, Cliff Chiang, Goran Sudzuka
The two concluding chapters of Brian Azzarello, Cliff Chiang, and Goran Sudžuka’s brilliant, controversial run with the Amazon warrior are both out this week. In Flesh (out in paperback) Diana, the ambassador to man’s world, gets a new job when her mentor Ares is killed. Against her own wishes, Wonder Woman becomes the new god of war, and she’s tasked with gathering her family in defense of Olympus from her vengeful half-brother, the First Born of Zeus and Hera. In Bones (a new hardcover), Wonder Woman leads the Amazons in the final battle for Olympus, but from the beginning, the story has been as much about the human Zola and her baby Zeke, and that’s where the real stakes lie. Diana is fighting as much to protect her friends from the machinations of the gods as she is for the fate of Olympus. I’m not sure how long some of Azzarello’s tweaks to WW’s mythology will last, or even how long they should, but this has been a compelling story, and a high-point of the New 52.

DC Comics: Zero Year (The New 52), by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo
Beginning with Court of Owls, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo have been on one of the all-time great runs on Batman, leading up to and beyond Zero Year, which takes about six years before the big guy’s present-day adventures. This volume collects Zero Year stories of Nightwing, Green Arrow, Batgirl, Superman, the Birds of Prey, and Catwoman, among others, fleshing out the central Batman story and filling in the slightly murky early history of the New 52.

Wolverine: Origin II, by Kieron Gillen and Adam Kubert
The sequel to Paul Jenkins’ 2001 arc, this collection carries the story of James “Logan” Howlett forward a few years. He might be dead in the present Marvel U, but there are still stories to tell about Wolverine’s mysterious past. Logan’s attempts to re-enter civilization go south unsurprisingly quickly, and lead him into conflict with Mister Sinister (a character who could, given his connections to Apocalypse in the comics, wind up in Bryan Singer’s next X-Men movie sequel). Additionally, this volume fleshes out the backstory of Logan’s true arch-nemesis Sabretooth.

Ballistic, Volume 1, by Darick Robertson and Adam Egypt Mortimer|
Black Mask Studios is describing Ballistic as a mix of Robertson’s own Transmetropolitan and The Boys, along with a dash of Grant Morrison’s Happy. If you’ve missed those books, think hard sci-fi mixed with super-ultra-mega violence and dark humor—in other words, this one definitely ain’t for the kids. There’s a punk vibe to the adventures of a guy named Butch who travels through a surreal future world with his best pal Gun, who just happens to be a literal firearm—a genetically modified and foul-mouthed handgun. Butch is an air conditioner repairman looking to become the top criminal on an island of sentient trash. I’m pretty sure that there’s nothing else quite like it coming out this week.
What’s on your pull list?