G. Willow Wilson, most notable for her creation of the Kamala Khan Ms. Marvel; but she’s not just about who creates the best lasting characters. For Wilson it’s about the journey between several different mediums in order to fill in niches. Whether it’s the need for an everyman or just trying to find where she fits in certain mediums; it’s a journey worth following.
The Early Days of G Willow Wilson
Gwendolyn Willow Wilson starts her comic days in an unlikely place; her first exposure to superheroes is an X-Men anti-smoking PSA. This in turn leads Wilson to the X-Men 90s cartoon. The show and characters are all about people who can’t help being different survive against bigotry. Yet despite the odds, they try all they can to thrive and not fall into the temptations of fitting in. Wilson spends her childhood with comics and D&D after finding a part of herself through the Children of the Atom.
After some adrenal problems in college that likely make Wilson reflect on life, she decided to find religion. Unfortunately the only two that stuck with her (Judaism and Islam) felt exclusive from her; especially after 9/11. But after becoming a teacher in Cairo, Egypt she converts to Islam free of scorn. It’s also there that Wilson starts her writing career as a journalist. This in turn helps Wilson develop a prose writing style focusing on authentic speech.
The Authentic Every-Millennial
Wilson’s early work in novels and comics involve dramas about getting through life. For Wilson, this is a means of expressing her own life and respecting the people around her. In Cairo for example there is so much going on but the general message is this: life can pass you by so it’s important to live in the moment. You never know when the next source of excitement comes up. Something Wilson tries to accomplish through series like Air or Mystic; series that involve two taboo subjects in Islam, terrorism and magic.
Unfortunately despite the bold personal steps, they’re still not enough to reach audiences. Her time with Superman for example is when J. Michael Straczynki’s leaves the title as it becomes controversial. Detailing Lois Lane and Perry White in reaction to Superman’s journey of self-reflection; they find themselves questioning their choices. This appears to be more of a reflection on Wilson’s concerns in journalism. As well as a reflection on her own life leading up to this. But Wilson encounters her own superhero who inspires empathy for others and themselves.
Kamala Korp. Kommander
Ms. Marvel‘s recontextualization is certainly a different one. Kamala Khan’s beginning isn’t a traditional superhero narrative like Wilson’s work with Vixen; a run that is fine but not memorable. Instead Ms. Marvel is a mutual transition of how people’s personal dramas lead them into becoming who they want to be. For Wilson it’s everything from her journalist days, her teen dramas, and her faith that allow her to truly find an authentic hero.
Kamala’s entire character is about taking a leap of faith when everything seems pointless before it begins. Her creation by Wilson and Sana Amanat was one of defiance against the perceptions of Muslims. The reader is given a reminder every now and then that Kamala is Islamic despite the fact she doesn’t wear a hijab. Ironically the people who they expected the biggest backlash to come from are traditionalist Muslims. But this instead shows a relatable person living in a world of superheroes before becoming one.
It is for this reason that by focusing on the humanity behind Kamala that she is comparable to Spider-Man. Besides filling the niche of an everyman teenager unlike the genius Peter Parker, Kamala’s journey is personal. Her struggles focus more on the emotional realism of adolescence which is hard to portray without alienation. Kamala experiences some very real social traumas that affect her drastically in the run’s last quarter. Some of Kamala’s near breakdowns are similar to the ones in Steven Universe Future. That’s some fantastic authenticity.
G Willow Wilson on Authenticity
Before her five-year run with Ms. Marvel ends, Wilson makes a point about representation and authenticity. With many of Marvel’s attempts to recreate Ms. Marvel’s success failing expectations; Wilson brings up how stories like Luke Cage and Gail Simone’s Batgirl succeed because they’re more than just token minorities. Reflection can be a powerful thing because they bring real experience to an unreal world.
Unfortunately this can be a problem for some of the bigger names in comics. When Wilson succeeds Steve Orlando for a while in Wonder Woman, she finds that she and Diana don’t match. Unlike the down-to-earth Kamala Khan, Wonder Woman’s life is just too complex for Wilson. With a character who’s entire story is a revising epic, it can compromise authenticity.
The Authentic G Willow Wilson
Wilson’s authenticity comes from breaking down the barriers and seeing how people interact. Invisible Kingdom is how this concept happens between people of two different worlds finding their beliefs shaken. Institutions like organized religion and corporate retailers have a history of controlling people’s lives. But putting them together is practically admitting that their status as overlords. Yet the two main characters Vess and Grix show that while the institutions are corrupt, there are benefits found in both fields. For Grix, the transport of goods are a chance to survive hard times; Vess meanwhile finds solace by staying true to the ideals of her faith. But in order to remain true, some things have to be separate or they lose their authenticity. Even if it means losing what people love.
On Wilson’s end comes the realization that although you have trouble fitting in with other worlds, that doesn’t mean you can’t join them. Taking another chance at DC with the surreal Sandman universe, Wilson tries her hand at honoring Neil Gaiman’s legacy with her own character. Ruin is a living nightmare who wants to change for love. But how do you change what you intrinsically are? That’s probably Wilson’s beliefs from the X-Men coming full circle.
G Willow Wilson and her stories aren’t just about respecting what comes before; they’re about forging an identity with what you have. That’s what makes something authentic, prose is like a conversation. While some people can become more relatable with how everything interacts; sometimes you have to find where you fit in that prose. Because authenticity occurs through self-reflection.
Thanks for coming to the end and as always, remember to look between the panels.