Ms. Marvel # 36 - The Death of Ms. Marvel Part 2 of 3

Prior to Secret Invasion, my feelings for Ms. Marvel have been mixed. She was an interesting character, but for some reason or another, I had little care about what was going on in her life, or what was happening in her story. Sure, there were some interesting parts, but the whole thing seemed rather dry, and I found better fun in seeing her in Mighty Avengers. Since the Invasion began and after its completion, however, Ms. Marvel's title has become a very enjoyable read, with Brian Reed putting out great script after great script.

Issue 36 puts us at part two of the Death of Ms. Marvel story arc.  Chronologically, this arc has been somewhat difficult to follow, with each installment jumping back and forth between events. This issue seems to tie it all together, however, making the whole story make sense. One thing that pleased me was the explanation as to why Carol couldn't use her powers. There were several references to her inability to fly, and I kept wondering if there was anything that I missed. But this issue explains that after the conclusion of the Invasion, Carol finds herself under agonizing pain whenever she uses her power, forcing her to fight hand-to-hand and using her military training as her sole weapon. The reason behind this is still a little cloudy, so hopefully that will be explored later on.

This issue, I believe, was a very crucial linch-pin to the post-SI Ms. Marvel story. It hashes out the connection between Norman Osborn and Rashid, and reveals the motivation for Osborn to hand Ascension over to Rashid: to eliminate Ms. Marvel because frankly, Osborn doesn't have enough time to do it himself. I am loving this entire story right now. Carol hasn't had any of her powers for the entirety of it, and I could not care less. Brian Reed is on top of his game with characterizing Danvers, and makes her seem more real altogether. The switching between time periods, the side story with Noh-Varr and the Church of Hala, and all of plot twists are making for a very exciting story. I'm really hesitant to see how the switch is made from Carol being Ms. Marvel to Moonstone masquerading as her. It is really unfortunate that just as Reed is telling the most compelling Ms. Marvel story yet, he takes out the main character.

The main drawback of this issue, in my opinion, is the art. At some points, it is really something to look at. At most times however, the faces are inconsistent, and the characters are almost...ugly. One of the issues I had was with the way Carol was drawn towards the end, when she was in that dress. Her whole body was misproportioned, and not in the good way! And her face was just unattractive, hardly resembling Danvers at all.

I don't believe the whole problem was the pencils, the colors contributed as well. They were very drab, and I think could have used a little more life with colors with more substance to them. I couldn't help but compare to a couple of issues ago, in #32. I believe this was one of the most beautifully illustrated Ms. Marvel books I've seen. The colors were appropriate, the facial expressions were top notch, and the anatomy of the characters were excellent. I hope to see more of Siqueira in the future.

Overall, I think the issue was well-done. The story was very relevant to what's going on right now in the mythos of Ms. Marvel, and definitely left me waiting for next month. The art however, was fairly unappealing, bringing down the whole package a little bit.