Kamala Khan’s Creator Is Stepping Away From Ms. Marvel

A new Ms. Marvel ongoing is on the way from Marvel Comics—but it heralds the end of an era. For the first time, writer G. Willow Wilson, who helped bring Kamala to life four years ago, will not be penning her creation’s adventures.

Revealed exclusively through Entertainment Weekly recently, Marvel confirmed that Kamala’s ongoing series will end next year.

Wilson – who is preparing to write Wonder Woman for DC Comics—will leave Kamala’s story on her own terms with the series’ conclusion, before it’s replaced by a new ongoing titled The Magnificent Ms. Marvel, written by Saladin Ahmed (who also just took over writing duties on the Miles Morales Spider-Man series) and with art from Minkyu Jung.

Magnificent will see Kamala earn her new superlative by becoming a more prominent hero in the Marvel Universe, tackling a grander scope of adventure while also still maintaining some of the intimate, personal storytelling that catapulted Wilson’s run on Ms. Marvel to the highest echelons of Marvel comics.

But still, it’s an end of an era. Wilson, who co-created Kamala with Adrian Alphona, has been writing Kamala’s main series since the character relaunched Ms. Marvel in 2014.

Although many other Marvel writers have gotten their hands on Kamala since – even Ahmed, who included a post-apocalyptic older version of Kamala in his dimension-hopping Exiles series—Wilson has shaped Kamala’s personal journey over the years herself.

Now, as her creation embiggens to bigger adventures and higher levels in the Marvel Universe, she’s moving on. Here’s a comment from her open letter to fans from the news, shared on the official Marvel website:

Being part of the genesis of Kamala Khan has been one of the greatest honours of my life. From my puzzlement during that first telephone conversation with Sana [Amanat, Marvel Ediot] in 2012—I was pregnant, frazzled from a long book tour, and in disbelief (You want to launch a new character? In this market?)—to my stunned amazement when the first issue went into its seventh printing, to my glee when Sana handed the first trade paperback to the President of the United States, this journey has been pure joy.

Sana and I initially had very modest expectations for this book. Our goal was to get to ten issues. It was going to be a fun side project—a young adult Muslim Super Hero! At Marvel!—that would have the lifespan of fun side projects. I budgeted a year for it. But by the time the first trade paperback hit the New York Times Graphic Books bestseller list, I realised Kamala was quickly becoming the center of my life.

And that is in no small part thanks to you, the readers. Your enthusiasm has propelled this character to greater and greater heights. Never in my life did I imagine I would walk into my local drugstore and see something I created staring back at me from t-shirts and action figures. Yet it’s the experiences I’ve had meeting readers that have changed me on an elemental level.

At signings, at conventions, at classroom visits, we’ve laughed and cried together. I’ve met your kids, seen pictures of your dogs, held your hands while you talked about your most difficult experiences. Kamala is not just what you read on the page or watch on TV—she is this community. And she has made all of us better human beings.

The Magnificent Ms. Marvel is set to hit shelves in March 2019.