Category: Assignments

The sharp winds slapped her face as they whirled all around her. It was cold even for Jersey standards. The buildings looked grim and grey, making her current situation seem impossibly hopeless. Bruno had disappeared and Kamala spent every waking moment of the last few days searching for him. The usual hideout, the junk yard, she searched everywhere she could think of, and the frustration built as every single lead went nowhere. Kamal sighed and fell down on the floor feeling hopeless. Her red and blue suit didn’t make her feel as powerful as usual. As she racked her brains for where he could be, she began to feel disheartened and the world around her grew larger.

“Where could he be? There’s gotta be a clue somewhere,” Kamala said under her breathe.

“If he’s in danger I have to find him fast, think Kamala think!”

Just then, a thought ignited her brain and she immediately remembered what might be a key clue to finding Bruno. Two months ago she was stopping a bank robbery she remembered a certain man who was different than the other robbers. It didn’t seem as if he was getting captured, but more allowing her to take him in. His face was covered in a black mask and he wore a dark green trench coach. Kamala remembered gripping him tightly with her right hand and he spoke to her.

“You remind me of someone I know, You seem so interesting. So pure, like an empty canvas,” his voice was like gravel on the sidewalk. It sent a chill down her spine and a tingly sensation raced around her body. He was captured but Kamal felt like she wasn’t in control. Something felt different with this criminal.

“I assume your new to this crime fighting thing. I’m guessing you think you have it all figured out?” the mysterious stranger asked.

“It’s none of your business,” Kamal replied. Her voice quivered as she answered.

“Oh but it is. I’ve been so…  bored. All these heros are so uninteresting. They have no limits. They dont wrestle with themselves. Who are they to decide what they should and should not do?” the man talked in a confusing way, but strangely it drew Kamal’s attention.

He continued his monologue. “But you, you’re different. You fight with yourself every day. You believe you’re in control, but you’re not. When faced with an impossible decision, I wonder how you’ll react. It makes me feel alive thinking about it.”

“Yeah you can think about it jail,” Kamal said with a grin.

“Thats not going to happen,” The man replied.

“Oh yeah? well y..” Kamala was interrupted by an explosion.

The ceiling crumbled and fell on her making her lose the grip on the man. As he walked away she could hear him speak.

“You’ll be hearing from me soon, my pet project. You can call me the Butcher,” He walked away laughing.

“It cant be.. right?” Kamal whispered.

Kamala returned home, in a daze, thinking about if the Butcher was really behind this. What could she do? Should she call the police? As she walked into her room, she noticed something was off. She felt a certain chill in the room. The curtains on her windows danced with the wind.

“Thats odd, I dont remember leaving my windows open.”

Just then she noticed a note on her desk. She lunged for it and scanned it rapidly. In the note was a short message. “Come to the abandoned warehouse by the river, alone. Heed the instructions, or Bruno suffers.” On the bottom it was signed “The Butcher.”

Kamala’s knees turned to jelly as she was met with a surge of different emotions. She was happy to find Bruno, but she was scared on what the Butcher had in store for her. It didn’t matter what she was feeling however, she needed to save Bruno no matter what. Kamala rushed towards the abandoned warehouse. The building was broken down after years of being left all alone. Kamala’s stomach churned as she turned the knob on the entrance door slowly. Every fiber of her body told her to turn back, but she knew she couldn’t. As she entered, all she could see was darkness. Suddenly, lights flashed on, illuminating the entire warehouse. However the only thing that came into vision was one person. He was dressed in a green trench coach, and the same alluring black mask. It was him, it was the Butcher.

“I’m glad you could make it,” his voice was the same as always. But this time it was different. His voice calmed Kamala down, as if he wasn’t here to hurt her.

“Where’s Bruno??!” Kamal yelled.

“Dont worry, we’ll get to him soon enough. After all he’s the most important piece of today’s lesson,” the butcher was calm as he spoke. As if he was talking to a student.

“You see, my hobby is to show people  who believe that they can do good that nothing matters in the end. When faced with difficult choices, the people who are so sure of justice are the one’s who falter. When the actions one must take are grey, the people who live by a code of black and white are the one’s fail everyone around them,” as he talked, it seemed as though he was speaking of something familiar to himself.

“I have no time for this, show me Bruno right now, or I’ll crush you,” Kamala demanded. Her voice seemed angry, yet it had a hint of desperation. She just couldn’t see where the Butcher was going, and she was afraid to find out.

“Ah but you will make time, if you want to save Bruno that is,” the butcher replied.

“What do you want from me?” Why are you doing this?” Kamala asked.

“You see, I’ve been examining your work for awhile and I could see it in your eyes. Your sense of pure justice. You believe that the right thing is so easy. That all you need to do is make the right choice. You’re just like someone I know, someone I hate. But what if the decision you make isn’t the right choice? What if there is no right choice? Will you falter in front of an impossible decision?” the man explained, but as he spoke, Kamala only became more confused.

 

“You’re insane, just show me Bruno right now!.” Kamala yelled, getting more and more enraged.

“Relax, I’m going to explain everything.” As he talked, he moved over to a wall with different colored buttons and switches. He pressed the red button, and Kamala began to hear a mechanical buzzing all around her. The wall behind the Butcher began to rise and Kamala made out what seemed to be a chair and a transparent wall leading to a closed off room. She made out what looked to be a person behind the walls. The person seemed drained, unable to move.

“It’s Bruno!” Kamala thought.

“Let Bruno go right now!” Kamala demanded, as her fists grew to the size of a small car.

“Ah you see, whether he gets out or not, that will be up to you. Bruno only has enough air to live for about 5 more minutes, and the wall is reinforced with vibranium making it impossible to destroy,” the Butchers voice seemed to have a hint of excitement like a child describing the rules to his favorite game.

The Butcher walked across to the chair and sat down. He strapped himself in and looked towards Kamala.

“What do you want from me? Please just let him go,” Kamala begged. Brute force wasn’t going to save Bruno. All thoughts left Kamala’s brain, and she stood trembling uncontrollably.

“Let me tell you a little story. Once there was a little boy who lived with his mom and dad. He loved his mom very much. He was also the biggest fan of super heros. He loved, them and wanted to be just like them. He wanted to get rid of all the evil in the world,” the Butchers tone changed, his voice became hoarse.

“But his dad would yell at his mom and beat her, the little boy would always worry for his mom’s safety. One day his dad came home really drunk, and started beating his mom again. The little boy finally had enough and reached for a knife. All the little boy had to do was go after his dad and his mom and him would be safe forever.”

“But the little boy couldn’t go through with it, he was too afraid to make the decision,” the Butchers voice changed again, this time his voiced seemed more apathetic.

“The next day the boy returned from school to find police cars all over his house. His dad had killed his mom and was arrested,” Kamala could feel a little tremble in the voice of the Butcher. ”

“You see, the little boy could have saved his mom but he faltered in the face of an impossible decision. He chose not to take action and it would haunt him forever.” Now I’m going to see what you’ll do in with the same problem.” “No, I will show you that your sense of justice will not save you. It will make you falter. Just like me.”

“On your right you’ll find a lever, that lever will open the wall to Bruno freeing him. However that same lever will inject a poison from this chair and it will kill me,” the Butcher seemed to be almost laughing as he explained. “The choice when you think of it in terms of good and evil seems so easy.”

“But in reality, it’s an impossible decision, it is one that changes you, tests you in a way that takes you to the very peak of what kind of hero you want to be. What will you do?” the Butcher became silent, and he sat and waited.

“You’re INSANE!! Stop all of this!” Kamala roared at the top of her lungs.

The Butcher just sat in silence. Bruno didn’t have much time left, she had to act. Kamala ran over to the lever, and she put her hands on it. It was cold, lifeless, unlike her body which was burning, both with anger and a sense of desperation. Kamala could not bring herself to pull the lever, her body stopped in its tracks. Her mind raced inside of her, bringing of thoughts of her dad, her mom, and anyone else as she thought of advice for what she should do. However she could not focus on any of them, as the situation was making it impossible for her to focus on anything.

“What should I do?” Kamala thought. “What would Captain America do?”

With each passing second, Kamala felt her mind rushing, her heart felt as if she was moving at the speed of light. She turned to look at the Butcher. Even through his mask she could see a calmness on his face. Kamala knew she needed to act. Being a hero was important to her, but nothing was more important than the people she loved.

Kamala emerged from the warehouse with Bruno In her arms. He was sleeping, tired from the ordeal he went through. His body felt light, and that made Kamala’s heart sink. The sun was rising as a ray of light blinded her, and seemed to blanket the cold river. Kamala’s mind was still blank, not a single though was going through her head. She continued to walk in a daze, until one thought came to her. In the last few seconds she heard the Butcher whisper something to himself.

“I see.. I was wrong,” the Butcher said under his breathe, and as he said that, Kamala could almost feel as if he was smiling.

Artist Statement

1. My inspiration for this fanfiction was all of the last few classes. Our lessons focused on literary expression through more creative means and that made me want to challenge myself with this last project.
2. My audience for this project is anyone who enjoys a good superhero story. They should be aware that this is a fan made piece and that there are some creative liberties that were taken. The audience should also be aware who Kamala and her lore is as basic information to understand the story to the fullest.
3. I want them to learn that creating a piece of literature can come in many forms. It is also important for me to get across that anyone can do it. Expressing one’s ideas is challenging and fun.
4. I believe that they will learn that. Even if they do not enjoy the piece that I have written, they can still express their own ideas through the mediums that they enjoy.
5. My emotional impact was going for a dynamic between the two main characters. I wanted them to have a sort of a juxtoposition between them. The antagonist had to have a good motive, and similar traits to Kamala, making himself a bit more relateable to Kamala. My emotional impact that I was going for was both a villain and hero that people felt empathy for.
6. The specific panels that I focused on were the panels where Kamala wrestled with herself. Whether they be from self confidence, her parents or just dealing with her emotions. It was important to see how Kamala made her choices, and what kind of hero she was, not only when she put on the costume but when she’s just by herself.
7. I learned that a strength that I have in writing is coming up with ideas and characters. My weakness is implementing those ideas in satisfactory way. Those weaknesses are further impacted by my inexperience in writing. With less literary techniques under my belt, it was difficult to fully flesh my ideas out on paper.
8. The unique perspective that I bring is one where Kamala goes through an experience that she had not gone through yet. When tested in a way that she has never been before, how will she act? That was a question that I wanted to explore. Kamala is a unique superhero in that her background is very modern and very ordinary. There are no toxic serums, radioactive waste, dead parents any of that. I wanted to see how a superhero who’s just like us acts when tested. This is why I also created a villain who’s background is the complete opposite yet with similar ideals. The villain was created as a  parody of comic evil with qualities that make him relatable to Kamala. I believe this perspective is unique to my story and the value it brings is in the fact that it shows what kind of hero Kamala is.
9. I learned through this project how much I enjoy writing, fiction especially. I also learned about the difficult process on researching about the heros and lore so that you dont do a disservice to the original author. How Kamala talks, acts, the way she interacts with people, it was all crucial to get correct.
10. There wasn’t much I didn’t learn.
11. I would love to learn more about the lore of the world. Also about creating characters and the stories. There’s also just techniques of writing and basic grammar points.
12. The biggest discussion that impacted my choice to write this piece was when the comic artist came. Her way of explaining drawing, and keeping it simple and step by step definitely made literary art less daunting.
13. With another week for this project I would like to flesh out the interaction between the two characters more. Maybe make them meet each other multiple times, add different trials maybe henchmen. There would also be action scenes that I would add that due to time constraints I was not able to get correct. I would love to explore this story deeper with more time.
14. From this project I take a fresh new perspective on literature. Specifically on what I can create. It was an amazing experience to create something so different than what I have done before.
15. The last thing I want to tell the audience is that I hope they relax and enjoy this piece. It is my last project of a class I loved. I truly enjoyed every second of making this piece. It was a great year where I learn so much about myself as a writer and as a person.
16. I just wanted to thank Professor Polish for a great year and for everything I am taking with me from this class. Thank you

Expectation

http://archive.cunyhumanitiesalliance.org/breathingthroughwriting/wp-admin/post.php?post=1067&action=edit

Pre Draft

http://archive.cunyhumanitiesalliance.org/breathingthroughwriting/wp-admin/post.php?post=1120&action=edit

Rough Draft

http://archive.cunyhumanitiesalliance.org/breathingthroughwriting/wp-admin/post.php?post=1197&action=edit

Peer Review

Nawal and Diego

What inspired you to choose the format you did for this project?- What inspired me was the comic and doing something different to see what I can be good at. Doing essay all the time can get boring and at some point you start to realize your not putting enough effort into it. So doing an interview and actually reading what the author said and making up answers as if I was an interviewer was actually pretty interesting.

Who is your audience for this project? What should they know before diving into your work?- My audience is every and anyone, if your into action or superhero’s that’s even better. They should know that this comic is so interesting they will want to read the next edition, that I’m not a real interviewer and some of the answers from the author are true.

What do you want them to learn from your project?- I want them to learn that women can do anything a man can do. That we can rescue people in clothes that aren’t short and show skin. That we can be treated equal and not have to be separated or categorize.

Do you think they’ll be able to learn that? Why? Why not?- Yes I would like to think that they can learn that because of how the book tell’s it’s story. How a “brown girl” from Jersey City can turn into Ms. Marvel and save/ help lives.

What emotional impact were you going for?- I wasn’t going for more of an emotional impact but an outlook on life and how it can change starting with how we allow our minds to think.

What specific panels of Ms. Marvel inspired the type of project you created?- I always been into the marvel and hero background I guess so just reading the comic was different for me especially in a English class reading a comic book would’ve never crossed my mind. So all of it together kind’ve inspired me to try something different.

What did you learn about your own writing/creation process through doing this project?- I learned that I can open my mind to different types of writing and could try anything I wanted to. How interested I was when I was researching this comic and questions made me realize how interested I was and wanted to know more.

What unique perspective did you bring to your close reading of Ms. Marvel that someone else might not have? What is the value of this perspective?- I just allowed myself to be more opened and didn’t judge the book by it’s cover. You never know what to expect and what you might like even if it’s not what your use to.

What did you learn through this project?- I learned that I can get out of my comfort zone of writing essay’s and try something new.

What did you not learn?- I can say that I didn’t learn as more as I would’ve liked such as writing wise and more of a leading women in control.

What would you still like to learn?- I would still like to learn as far as the comic goes more about the emotion that went through all the characters and what they thinking about during the changes.

What, if any, role did class discussions and your peers play in your project?- I guess just everyone’s different outlook and what they had to say made a huge role in my project so I can get a feel of how and what people would think or say.

If you had another week to work on your project, what would you do with it? How would you change it?- Of course I would add so much more information and questions. Really to get to know the characters more and the transition Kamala went through.

What will you take with you from this project into future projects? – I would take that change and doing something different is always the way to go.

The last thing you want to tell your audience before they dive into your project is… -to keep an open mind and I hope you like it.

http://archive.cunyhumanitiesalliance.org/breathingthroughwriting/2017/05/31/rough-draft-assignment-3-2/

http://archive.cunyhumanitiesalliance.org/breathingthroughwriting/2017/05/31/rough-draft-assignment-3-2/ ‎

*I emailed my expectations for assignment 3

I peer reviewed Cassidy and Taisha rough draft.

Artist statement

Expectations: I send through email

Pre draft: http://archive.cunyhumanitiesalliance.org/breathingthroughwriting/2017/05/22/pre-draft-for-assignment-3/

Originally I was supposed to draw and make a comic of the continuation. I really can’t draw and I felt like I wouldn’t enjoy this third assignment as much so I decided to change it. I wanted to write, but I was not sure what to write. Then while I was rereading Ms. Marvel I pretend like I was her and made the story mine. That’s when I realized I would have so many feelings and emotions that I would like to write down. I know some people still write in a diary or like a notebook when they need to express their feelings (I do that) so why not Ms. Marvel?? My audience for this project are Ms. Marvel fans or any marvel fans or just nerds. My audience should know that I tried my best to make it seem like Kamala was writing it, and I am very sorry if I wrote something wrong. I want them to learn that when they read this comic they MUST put themselves in her position. This allows you to feel somewhat how she felt when she was going through this. This also helps you imagine the story better, imagination is a great key to understand comics and basically anything. I think my audience will be able to learn this because I tried my best to make it feel like it’s Kamala writing. I want you to feel the adrenaline that Kamala feels when she gets these powers. Imagine how awesome that is !! I also want you to feel the stress she felt not knowing what to do. I did a few pages I stopped where Kamala attempts to save Vick but fails. I wanted to stop there because I got an idea, after reading my diary of three entry’s maybe you can write the rest, finish it. Wouldn’t that be fun? I don’t know, maybe I’m silly. I learned that I really love to write, I like to express myself and my work through writing. It is easy and fun for me, I also get excited to see what the readers would think. I learned that I always change my mind about what I will do in the assignment. I tried to make Kamala alive, I tried sounding like her so the reader can feel like they are actually reading her diary. I think no one decided to write from her perspective in a diary, so I think that’s unique. I learned that I am very similar to Kamala, I had the same issues she had, the only difference is that I don’t have powers. I wish I had powers, I would love to teleport and have invisibility, I would be awesome. Wait, but I don’t need powers, I am awesome already, this is something I also learned from reading Ms. Marvel. I learned to appreciate ourselves, so I’m brown, and don’t have the perfect body, and my family can be crazy too. The important thing is for me to feel happy and comfortable with myself, and I am. I realized in class discussions that no one was paying attention to Kamala’s feelings specifically her feelings throughout every panel, so I decided to give it a shot. If I had another week I would most likely finish the entire comic and make the rest of the entry’s. I would also do one or two entry’s going ahead to Volume 2. I learned how to analyze deeply what the feelings are, and how to express them through writing, and I will definitely take this with me to future projects. I just hope you all enjoy Kamala’s diary, it was certainly a fun experience. I actually felt like I was the one talking in the diary at some points, but as I mentioned I am kind of like her. This is for my nerdy fans out there. Thank you.

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  Dear diary,                                                                                         Friday             

 School was just a regular day today, but something weird happened later at the Circle Q. I was with Nakia when both Zoe and Josh came into the store, Zoe was actually being nice to me, and Josh invited us to a party. I mean isn’t that great ?! Zoe and Josh are very popular in school, and the fact that they invited us means a lot so we must go to that party. Both Nakia and I are known as religious freaks, unpopular, and brown girls. Zoe is white, pretty and popular, maybe this is my chance to be just like her. I know it would be impossible to be EXACTLY like her (white and beautiful) I WISH I could do that, I would be able to have a normal life without the crazy holidays and traditions I have to deal with. One thing I have to go through because of my culture is asking my parents for permission to go to the party. I am really scared to ask my Father for permission, he is so scary and always so strict but I don’t care, I’m going to that party no matter what….

OMG my mom just in came into my room without even knocking! She almost caught me writing in my diary, she would’ve killed me if she read about me going to that party no matter what. I had to tell her I was looking at some epic stuff in the internet on freakingcool.com and of course she believed it. Well it’s dinner time, that’s why my mom appeared in my room, so this is the time for me to ask my father and I will come back to report his response……..

I HATE MY LIFE. I mean why can’t I go to ONE party, I’ve always done what they ask me to do. IT JUST ISN’T FAIR, MY BROTHER GETS EVERYTHING HE WANTS JUST BECAUSE HE IS A BOY. I MEAN ABU WANTS ME TO BE LIKE BRUNO?! HOW?! UGHH!!  WHAT HAPPENED TO EQUALITY ?! WOMEN CAN’T DO ANYTHING BUT MEN CAN DO EVERYTHING?! HOW DOES THAT MAKE ANY SENSE?! OR IS THIS ABOUT OUR CULTURE/RELIGION?! … Why can’t I just have a normal life ?….

You know what, I am going to have a normal life, from now on. I am going to that party. I am going to that party, I don’t care if Abu said no…….

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Dear diary,                                                                                         Friday

     OMG OMG OMGGGGGG!! I’M FREAKING OUT BUT I’M ALSO VERY EXCITED! I just got back home from the craziest night ever!! I was at the party and to be honest the party was not so great. When I got there stupid Josh and his friends tricked me into drinking juice with alcohol! That was pretty upsetting but it got worse. Bruno was at the party and when he saw me he just grabbed me and pulled me away from them. It was so annoying because who does he think he is ? He is not my father, he was just embarrassing me and making me look like a child!! I got really upset so I decided to leave the party. That is when the freaky stuff happened, I was just walking back home and thinking to myself how stupid I was to even think that I could fit in Zoe and Josh’s gang by going to a party. Then I started feeling lightheaded and dizzy, I FAINTED right on a street corner. But this isn’t all, I started seeing CAPTAIN AMERICA, IRON MAN, AND CAPTAIN MARVEL!!! I was so confused. Captain America made me feel like crap, but he was right. He made me realize that I was wrong, I thought that by disobeying my parents, my culture, and my religion I would be “accepted” by my classmates, but instead they laughed at me…  Then I explained to Captain America, Iron Man, and Captain Marvel that I wasn’t sure who I was supposed to be, that I want to be beautiful and awesome and butt kicking and less complicated. I was basically describing Captain Marvel, so then she said “All right, kid. As fate would have it, you’re about to get the kind of total reboot most people only dream about. But can I tell you something? It is not going to turn out the way you think. Good luck Kamala Khan”. I was so confused but I wasn’t able to ask for a clarification because that’s when they all left, and there I was, all alone in a corner. When all of a sudden I’m trapped in a COCCOON?! I brake out and I seem to be EXACTLY LIKE CAPTAIN MARVEL!! I HAD BLONDE HAIR, I WAS WHITE, AND HAD A GOOD BODY WITH HER OLD SUIT SUPER UNDERDRESSED!! I started freaking out and puking and then I went back to being Kamala. I thought maybe the guys put something weird in my drink or maybe it was the fog that there was. But it all did happen, it was all real. So I decided to see if I can transform myself into Captain Marvel again except this time on purpose. I failed.. but that’s when I heard Zoe and Josh talking. You can tell Josh was drunk by the way he was talking to Zoe. When I heard their voice, for some reason I got scared and nervous and felt little, well guess what ? yup, I turned TINY. It was a neat trick but it wouldn’t have helped me when Zoe fell into the water. Oh yea I saved a life today. I’m pretty cool huh. Well the details are kind of hard to explain through writing, but it was definitely very interesting and awesome! Josh was really drunk he let go of Zoe while they were dancing, and she ended up falling into water. I EMBIGGENED myself back to normal size and got to help, when I was there I automatically made my hand huge to scoop her out of the water. It sucked that I wasn’t able to make it normal size right after I saved Zoe, so I didn’t look as cool when I ran away. I ran back home to sneak in, but it was a lot harder than I remembered. My brother Aamir was the first one to catch me sneaking back into my room but both Abu and Aami caught me before because BRUNO IS A SNITCH. So I got the speech and got in trouble. My punishment is that from now on I just go to school and back home, no mall, no parties, no movies. But it is not like I was able to do any of that stuff before, so It doesn’t really affect me. Anyway I don’t know what this means now. I saved a life, is it time for me to keep saving more people? I am not sure, but whatever my plans are I should get some sleep. Lets see how tomorrow goes for me. Good night diary.

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Dear diary,                                                                                                     Monday

   Today was just crazier than yesterday. This morning Zoe was all over the news talking about Ms. Marvel saving her, it was me who saved her !! It’s crazy that everyone already knew about my secret but I still didn’t know what, why and how this was happening. So I did some research and I found nothing at all, it’s as if this has never happened to anyone ! Then I had to go with my brother and Nakia to Sheikh Abdullah’s saturday youth lecture. It was IMPOSSIBLE to stay focused on the lecture! I wanted to tell Nakia about what was happening to me but It was pretty hard, I am afraid she won’t believe me, she might think I’m crazy or like she said, “taking drugs” ! I was so stressed with everything that has been going on that I just decided to leave that boring lecture, I mean we aren’t even allowed to see Sheikh Abdullah! There is a wall that separates us women with him and the men, and he says that it’s for our “modesty and dignity”. I even confronted him because it was hypocritical for him to teach us about the Prophet’s mosque in Medina, and about men and women going through the same door and sat in the same room. But here he is teaching us otherwise, having us women sit separately from men because their times were “blessed” and today there can be scandal and temptation?! What are they teaching us !? Whatever, the point is we left and that’s when Nakia was asking me about what happened last night. I was thinking, and what happened to me could mean I’m in huge trouble OR I might have the the most AMAZING life from now on. I mean I get to be beautiful, strong, brave, skinny, and just straight up AWESOME. That is honestly what I have always wanted, I am tired of being me. I am always in religious things, and I never get to have fun or be normal. I am not pretty, I am brown, with dark hair, not a good body, I just.. I’m not happy with myself. So this can actually be a great thing for me now that I think about it. Sorry, ANYWAY what else happened today….  OH YEA, how can I forget. I was in my free period doing some more research about my situation and Bruno was also there but he is a nerd, he was doing a science project and talking with his brother Vick. Well as I was on the computer, I started to feel a little weird tension in my skin, it’s like a full body migraine sensation. MY STUPID HAND SHRUNK! I was in class when it started shrinking, I had to run away so no one could see me. Bruno asked if I was okay, but I couldn’t tell him so I just told him I was fine. I ran to the gym and into the girl’s locker room. I knew I had to learn how to control my powers, and I was able to control it on Friday. I knew I could shrink, so I knew I could also become a GIANT! I did !! I became HUGE and I accidentally broke the ceiling a bit. I also knew that if I was bigger that meant I was also stronger, so I grabbed both benches in my hands and CRUSHED them in a SECOND! Then I was curious if I could turn and look like anyone else, since I have turned to Carol Danvers. Turns out I could look like someone else, AMMI! I was not going for that I honestly wanted to look like Taylor Swift, Tall, skinny, blond, beautiful, and talented! That’s what I wanted to look like… not just me in an older version. Anyway that was when the coach and the girls from the team came in the locker room, I was able to change back to Kamala so I didn’t get caught as Ammi. But I did get in trouble, I got detention, what got me upset is when the coach said she was surprised that I did that because I’m usually “responsible”. You see, that’s what I am tired of, I am tired of being the “responsible” one, why can’t I get in trouble? Why can’t I be cool? Is it because of the color of my skin? I’m not white, pretty, skinny, and popular I am just the responsible, brown, religious and UNpopular Kamala… It sucks, but then my mom called me during class and starts yelling at me and mad at me, she even said I’m becoming a “Degenerate”. She is calling me CRAZY! I hate that my parents are always on top of me, just because I’m a girl. They want me to be perfect, but the truth is.. i’m not.  Then Bruno text me, I was mad at him for telling my parents about the party…but I was kind of glad deep down inside that he text me. So we planned to meet after school at the Circle Q. While I was walking to the meet Bruno I was thinking, now that I have powers I’m not Kamala anymore right? I’m a different person, so having powers means being able to look like someone you’re not? Will I choose to embrace the powers and change Kamala or will I embrace Kamala through these powers?.. I wished I could talk to someone about this, and I know Bruno would understand so I had planned to say sorry. But as I walked in I saw a guy in a mask who looked like he was trying to stick up the Circle Q! I started panicking and wanted to call 911 but my phone was dead! That’s when I realized that I am 911, I have superpowers and saved Zoe so I knew I could save Bruno too. I was unsure if I should do it, I thought..  everyone expects Ms. Marvel from the news with the hair and the spandex and the avengers swag, I am just a SIXTEEN year old BROWN girl with a  9pm curfew. I was thinking about this but that’s when I realized I had no time, I had to save Bruno before anything bad happened. I broke the door and told the guy to put the gun down and to step away from the cashier. (Oh yea I did turn blonde) The guy didn’t respond so I made my hand HUGE to scare him and grab him. That’s when he gave in and promised he will leave and never go back to Circle Q. So I let go of him and right when I was thinking I was cool I got shot, in my stomach. Bruno grabbed the phone and called the ambulance, he said “Ms. Marvel just got shot in my store”. I realized I couldn’t be seen like that, I was not Ms. Marvel. So I had to tell him who I really was, as I was telling him that I was Kamala, I turned back to myself. Perfect timing. Bruno was so shocked, he couldn’t believe it. He was super confused, I explained to him why I couldn’t be seen by the police. Bruno felt a little offended because I didn’t tell him everything that was happening to me especially since he is my second best friend. He was right and he wanted to take me to the hospital because of the bullet, but I didn’t feel it anymore. Turns out that when I turn back I get healed. Then Bruno had all these questions, until he finally asked why did I hide myself and saved zoe. Why do I do it all behind someone else’s face, Ms. Marvel’s face. I told him that at first I couldn’t control it but then I knew I had no other choice, that’s how it’s supposed to be. That the people expect Ms. Marvel a REAL superhero, with PERFECT hair and BIG boots, not Kamala Khan from Jersey City. That’s when Bruno started acting and saying weird things. He said I was the “coolest” girl he has ever met, that I am smart, funny, and he just kept complimenting me. Honestly, I wanted him to keep on going, I told him he can keep on going but he stopped. When he does that it makes me wonder if he has any feelings towards me, he confuses me A LOT. But I have a bigger problem than crushes. ANYWAY when the police was outside of Circle Q about to go in I automatically turned to Ms. Marvel, but that didn’t work out because I was still injured in her body. Bruno grabbed a sleeping mask and told me to make holes in it and wear it, I did. They came in asking for Ms. Marvel and I told them I was Ms. Marvel, of course they didn’t believe me. One of the cops told me I look nothing like Ms. Marvel, so I asked him what is she supposed to look like. He said “Tall, blonde, with big powers..” and that’s when I used that chance and showed him I have powers too. I got BIG, he didn’t seem surprised or made a big deal about it. I explained to him what happened and when I mentioned about the guy shooting me Bruno kind of defended him. That’s when I realized he knew who the guy in the mask was, his brother Vick. Bruno told me that he knows Vick is in trouble, so I told him I could help him since I have powers and all, he didn’t want me to at first but then he gave in. Now I am home looking for my Burkini because I need a costume…  I couldn’t find it so I had to ask my mom. She knew something was up so she reminded me that i’m grounded because she thought I was planning to go to a party. She even told me that she will put an alarm at 1am to see if I was still in bed. The thing is, Ammi and Abu taught me to always think about the “greater good”, and to defend people who can’t defend themselves, even if it means putting yourself at risk…….. I just called Bruno, I am going to help save Vick.

Could not upload. Will bring it to class.

As soon as we started reading Ms. Marvel, I thought about about how I can analyze the comic, or its specific part. To be honest, I had no idea what I was going to. It all changed when we had the option to draw. I always draw, and it is not artistic. It’s usually some random figures, creatures, and other things like that. It started when we did the drawing exercise in class, and I drew some rats. There was no reason for me to draw them, but I felt the need to draw them. Anyways, that is how much project started.

The following class, I attempted to draw Kamala, and to my surprise, it actually came out half-way decent. At this point, I had the rats, Kamala, and that weird porcupine thing that is fun to draw ( I drew 4 of them in a row). Drawing was challenging, especially close-ups and faces, but overall not as difficult as I thought. The hard part was putting it all together. It took me a long time to come up with a dialogue, and the placement of images. Gluing them together was easy, but I had to replace the drawings a couple of times.

My target audience are the people who have read the comic. The reason behind it is that people need to understand what is going on in the comic, things like reoccurring themes such as identity crisis specifically. My project is an extension of the scene where she hides from Zoe, and sees the roach. In my scene, Kamala meets a rat, that is cute at first, but then turns into a dragon/alien rat. I’d like to call it a Dralian (trademark pending). She sees that the Dralien is about to eat her, so she will use her powers to defend herself. At first, she turns into the white Ms. Marvel, which she never wanted to be at first. Then, she turns into herself, and the Dralien morphs back into a rat.

What I am trying to illustrate is how Kamala’s powers are by controlled by her emotions, and that she can only turn into her version of Ms. Marvel only when she feels comfortable in her skin. At first, the rat was not scared. Maybe because it was not the first time encountering Ms. Marvel, but it was the first time that he saw Kamala as Ms. Marvel, and he was scared. He was scared because Kamala brought a new look, and attitude to the superhero gang. Throughout the comic, Kamala wants to be like other kids, so she is trying to fit in by doing things that her parents do not approve of. She does not realize that she should be proud of who she is,her culture, and that she is powerful when she feels confident. 

If I had another week, I would work more on the drawings. I am not that skilled, so it takes me longer to come up with something good. It is easy to draw characters, but it is hard to draw everything else. I would take my time and focused on the backgrounds. I would also extend the scene, add more dialogue and more panels. I was going for humorous/serious emotional impact. Kamala is very sarcastic, so I tried keeping it that way, but I also wanted the audience to learn from this. The message here is simple- be yourself. If you try ti imitate others while forgetting where you came from, you will lose the uniqueness. We are who we are, and we need to embrace it. We need to live it, and be proud. Nobody wants to see bunch of Zoes and her friends everywhere.

Peer Pressure
By: Nathalie Bonilla

As I enter the party
jocks hand me a drink
I ask what is in this big red cup
He answers just some juice
Thinking to myself
if I don’t take a sip
I won’t be a big hit
Spitting out this nasty
tasting drink out of my mouth
Looking around thinking
how can people enjoy this booze
The guy who’s supposed to be my best friend
But who is very in love with me
Takes away the fun cup
He knows I’m not that type of girl
After trying this awful drink
Trying to blend into the party
Hanging out with people
who I think are my friends
I get penalized from the scent
that is in nature normal to me
I get embarrassed
I have a shadow named Bruno following me
I know his intentions mean well
Asking what I am doing in such a place
Your right why would a nerdy calm girl
be doing here
Late night at a party
trying alcohol for the first time
Having his shadow follow me around
Trying to protect me from this party
He asks me what I’m doing here
Like any other teenage girl
I am trying to party on a Friday night
Which may change my life forever
My strict parents don’t know
that im out this late at night
I’m sure if Bruno was Pakistani
my parents would be setting our by wedding now
I want to live my life
and have no one control me
I just want to be a normal teenager
I know sneaking out wasn’t the answer
But Abu and Abu-Jann don’t understand
What I would do
to live a normal young adult life
My grades are perfect
I do everything they ask me to do
What about me
And What I want to do
I know this night changed my life
But for the better
I’m not just kamala any more
I’m Mz marvel.

Nathalie Bonilla
Eng 1025
5.15.2017
Expectations for assignment # 3
What grade are you aiming for?
• I am aiming for an A of course so far reading ms marvel it’s been really interesting I cant wait to finish the comic and see how this story ends.

What specific things according to the grading contract?
• I know I need to of course hand in everything on time and on point. I’m trying to do my best with this assignment so I can end this class with an A.

How will you earn that grade?
• I will earn this A by putting in the time and effort. To handing in my assignments on time. Making sure I use peer review to my advantage. Taking all the advice and criticism to make my project the best that it can be.
How much time you are expecting to put in?
• I expect to put as much time as I can into this project so I can earn the highest grade I can get so I can earn a good grade overall for the semester.

What kind of effort you expect to put into your peer reviews?
• I expect to put a lot of effort into my reviews, making sure I take the advice and the corrections they give into consideration.
What kind of help do you expect from me?
• The help I expect from my professor is when I email her questions or show her in class material she can guide me in the right direction or help me along with my project.
What format are you thinking about creating your assignment in?
• I’m still thinking on what kind of format I will be using with my assignment I kind of wanted to talk more about the assignment in class to get a stronger understanding of how I will be executing this assignment.
What questions and insights reading Ms.Marvel has inspired you so far?
• Overall I have never read a comic reading this so far has been so interesting, I will defiantly will be picking up comic books in the future. I don’t have any questions so far I just need to keep in mind when I read the text I need to pay attention to the illustration also. To understand even more what I am reading.