Wednesday, Marvel premiered a new Ms. Marvel series, featuring a new character taking up that heroine's mantle,
a 16-year-old Muslim girl named Kamala Khan who lives in Jersey City, NJ, marking the first time that a Musliim character will headline a solo Marvel Comics title.

When I heard this, I was pleased, not only at the move toward diversity (one no doubt influenced by DC making Simon Baz the newest human Green Lantern two years ago), but also because the character was from Jersey City, which is right next door to my home of Union City.

However, on the very first page of issue #1, an expository caption establishes the setting as "Jersey City: 12 Miles from Manhattan."

Excuse me?

Jersey City is right across the Hudson River from Manhattan. The city is no more than 4 miles or so at its widest, and including the width of the river, it's just a bit over 5 miles from Manhattan. Where do they get 12 from?