Review by Ian Keogh

Amazing Ash & Superhero Ah Ma began with eleven year old Ash bonding further with her grandmother on discovering, frankly rather randomly, that every second generation of their family manifests a whole array of superpowers. Book One ended with pretty well the entire neighbourhood aware of who the local superheroes are, and the establishing of Team Ash to protect the area. How that works in practice is seen in Arif Rafhan’s sample art of those without super powers scanning the town via drone and directing those with super powers to the necessary locations.

During the first book it seemed Ah Ma’s switching between forgetfulness and competence was trivialising the condition of dementia, but Melanie Lee here confirms the condition is to be taken seriously, and it’s used as a constant sad counterpoint to everything else that’s going on. Ash is annoyed when her friends have concerns. Amid that Lee expands on the idea of superheroes guided by a back-up team, which is a relatively novel process, and she also gives a larger role to Ash’s mother. Strict through wanting the best for Ash, her authoritarian tendencies are amplified here.

This is a considerable improvement over the so-so introductory volume. The distracting irritation of the way Arif Rafhan draws noses is about the only negative hangover. That apart, he conveys the emotional rollercoaster Coming of Age provides, hitting all the necessary emotional beats, and manages to avoid the idea of a grandmother in a superhero costume looking ludicrous. For her part Lee supplies more convincing background, a more imaginative threat, and a surprisingly sinister undertone at times. That’s alongside creative use of superpowers in a stressful situation.

Coming of Age successfully pulls together the random elements of the opening book for an enjoyable adventure, and there’s considerable change before the end. The series concludes with End of an Era.