On top of all the new releases this week in Marvel Unlimited, including the final issue of Secret Wars, I wanted to re-read a few issues of one of my favorite comics “Ms. Marvel”. Set in New Jersey, it details the rise of one Kamala Khan, bringing her from your average teenager dealing with all the pressures of being a young woman to, thanks to a cloud of Terrigan Mist, taking over the mantle of Ms. Marvel from Carol Danvers.

I fell in love with this comic from page one. Much like how Stan Lee presented Peter Parker in Amazing Fantasy #15 all those years ago, G. Willow Wilson and company present a character that anyone can relate to. She’s awkward, dealing with the feelings young kids get when they first realize others can be attractive. She has family that she feels is overbearing but she loves them nonetheless. She’s spiritual and struggles with trying to stay faithful to her Islamic faith while still doing what she feels she has to do.

And touching upon the religious aspect, I really appreciated how real it is presented in the book. Whether you agree with the Islamic faith or not is irrelevant to the story. The struggles Kamala goes through are something that anyone of faith, or even folks who don’t have any religious beliefs, can relate to. Everyone has a belief set they base their lives on and if something comes along that challenges those beliefs, you can be sure you’re going to struggle with what you should do. “Ms. Marvel” struggles from almost page one with this and man it makes for one hell of a read.

The art work from Adrian Alphona comes across as if it were drawn by a 16 year old girl and that adds a lot to the story. When the art and words come together, it comes across as if we are reading Kamala’s diary about her adventures. Adrian even has a way of making Kamala seem more confident the further she gets along. She doesn’t immediately become Superhero In Charge the moment she puts on her costume for the first time. It’s a work in progress and through her body language we can see the transformation over the first five issues of the story.

“Ms. Marvel” is one of thousands of comics available on Marvel Unlimited. For $9.99 a month of $69 a year, you have access to over 17,000 comics. Comics that are available for sale at stores today appear on the app within six months. This is a great tool to catch up on old favorites as well as giving a chance to some titles you may not otherwise have read. That’s how I discovered Ms. Marvel and man, my world is a better place for it.

“Ms. Marvel” Reading List

Ms. Marvel (2014) Issues 1-5

New on Marvel Unlimited

1.X-Men (2016) Worst X-Man Ever #2

2.Agents of SHIELD (2016) #1

3.All-New Hawkeye (2015) #3

4.All-New Wolverine (2015) #4

5.All-New X-Men (2015) #3

6.All-New, All-Different Avengers (2015) #3

7.The Amazing Spider-Man (2015) #1.2

8.Black Knight (2015) #3

9.Captain America: Sam Wilson (2015) #5

10.Darth Vader (2015) #15

11.Extraordinary X-Men (2015) #5

12.Figment 2 (2015) #5

13.Guardians of the Galaxy (2015) #4

14.Illuminati (2015) #3

15.Mighty Thor (2015) #3

16.Red Wolf (2015) #2

17.Scarlet Witch (2015) #2

18.Secret Wars (2015) #9

19.Vision (2015) #3

20.Weirdworld (2015) #2

21.Tigra (2002) #1-4