Ms. Marvel star Iman Vellani will team with artist Marianna Ignazzi and colorist Jordie Bellaire on Chachu, a five-issue miniseries inspired by Vellani’s experiences in Hollywood.
This isn’t the first comic that the young actress has written, as she’s collaborated with other writers on Ms. Marvel stories for Marvel, in addition to starring as the character on the Disney+ show. Now she goes solo as writer as she enters the creator-owned world of comics.
“I’ve always been deeply curious about comics as an art form because of their capacity to hold contradiction—arguably better than any other medium,” said Vellani. “That became especially meaningful to me while writing Chachu, which grew out of this tension between mourning my youth while I still have it, and an incessant urge to come-of-age already.”
Image shared more details on what to expect from the miniseries:
Set in 1979, Chachu follows Leila, a 19-year-old Pakistani-Canadian girl with a penchant for film and pulp novels, who travels to California hoping to connect with her estranged uncle—her “Chachu”—a middle-aged, semi-retired private eye once famous for marrying the starlet he was initially hired to find. But when his wife mysteriously vanishes once again, the two are forced on an impromptu road trip investigation that transforms her first taste of adulthood into a thrilling confrontation of family secrets, unresolved grief, and the fantasies both she and Chachu have built their lives around.
“From the very first reading of Iman’s script, I could already picture this ’70s world revealing itself through reflections in sunglasses and rearview mirrors, slowly emerging through cigarette smoke and neon lights,” said Ignazzi. “I tried to capture Leila and Chachu’s journey through strong blacks and a graphic style that could still feel emotional and deeply narrative. Seeing my pages come to life through Jordie’s colors has been wonderful—she brought an incredible atmosphere, warmth, and cinematic depth to every scene.”
Variant cover artists for the first issue include Matías Bergara, Jacob Phillips and Christian Ward:
The first issue arrives on Aug. 5.