MS MARVEL STRETCHED THIN GN

Now this is interesting. Scholastic have licensed Marvel characters in order to produce novels and original graphic novels aimed at a younger audience. Fine, we’ve seen things like this before, often churned out by hacks for hire with little understanding of what makes the characters really tick, rudimentary art at best, and usually some kind of tie to a tv show or film. But these releases are different, utilising writers and artists who understand what makes for great superhero comics combined with a talent for fun, accessible, smart kids fiction. We’ve had Miles Morales, Spider-Ham and this one, which we narrowly decided was the pick of the bunch. Written by Nadia Shammas with beautiful, expressive art by Nabi H. Ali, Stretched Thin shows us the stresses of balancing the superhero life with school, family and friends. Kamala Khan is the titular Ms Marvel, and she’s feeling the strain, especially when babysitting her nephew is thrown into the mix. And when a robot tries to break into Avengers Tower, she (and our budding readers) will have to learn that sometimes even heroes need to ask for help. A really great younger reader intro to Marvel.