The Kosmos Kalls
It was hard to read the original version of the story so aptly told in Avengers: Origins Ant-Man and The Wasp, a comic I rate five stars. Returning to the sixties style of storytelling and writing was challenging, with the character of Janet Van Dyne suffered the most from this change. That said the original story was pretty well written and obviously laid down the beats that were followed by the retelling.
We hear for the very first time the origins of The Ant-Man and the terrible events that lead to his quest to fight injustice, crime and tyranny in all of their forms. We also bear witness to the deadly accident / cosmic murder that leads Janet Van Dyne down to the path to the Wasp. This comic is lighter on the romance than it’s modern counterpart with Pym seeming especially unwilling to tread the romantic road here. The ending was more drawn out than the modern retelling and The Wasp was far less involved than I hoped for, she very nearly becomes just another damsel in distress. I really am looking forward to getting some stronger written female characters, well only another six hundred comics or so, then I’m in the seventies! Aside from that this is a solid story, that packs in quite a lot of characterisation something often missing from comics of the time.
Jack Kirby’s art is on point, there’s some wonderful detail as usual when Ant-Man is shrunk down. The beast from the Kosmos is uh… interestingly designed. It’s kind of an enlarged Jabba the hut with more hands. Gross alien aside Kirby is in full force here, he does wonderful work with the facial expressions especially for the wasp. It’s quite an improvement over similar drawings of Susan Storm by Kirby, he manages to avoid the slightly uneven eyes that have crept in, in Fantastic Four comics. Great work, marred just a tad by some plainer wide shots of the city.
Overall this is a decent comic, certainly above average for it’s time, that’s very well drawn and establishes important character details for both Ant-Man and the Wasp. Yet there really is no reason not to just read Avengers: Origins, which tells the same story but in a more concise and emotionally resonant way. Judged on it’s own merits it is a very solid story with good artwork.
Yes! I Say Yes! Show Me How And I Will Stand Beside You Always...
Janet Van Dyne
