Written and Illustrated by Tim Seeley
Ant-Man & Wasp have no time to make nice as they’re tossed into the bizarre realm of the MINDSCAPE! A.I.M has the doorway to the afterlife, and it’s up to the Tiny Twosome to jump from the land of dreams, to the land of heavily armed A.I.M soldiers! But Bill Foster’s soul may not be the only thing Monica Rappacini wants as Scientist Supreme faces off with Supreme Scientist! Hop on for Hank Pym’s last adventure as Wasp (did you not see the solicit for AVENGERS ACADEMY #7?!) in this mini-series by acclaimed writer/artist Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash)!
The fact that I initially looked over this book when making my monthly pre-orders is proving to be a rather silly error, as it is shaping up to be a hell of a lot of fun. Then again though, any book that has prominently featured Eric O’Grady since Robert Kirkman and Phil Hester created him back in 2006 has been a laugh riot (or at the very least a chuckle factory.) However, if there’s one person in the Marvel Universe he’s pissed off, quantitatively, more than other it has GOT to be Hank Pym. Check out my thoughts on the latest chapter of their newest team-up after the jump!
I have to say, it takes a LOT of chutzpah to introduce a new take on such a classic super hero pairing, but as soon as O’Grady took his wholly heroic turn in Thunderbolts and Pym began calling himself “The Wasp”, this was pretty much inevitable. I have to say, though, that the concept they chose as a catalyst for this story has got to be one of the single most “Hank Pym is a Complete Scientific Badass” moments seen from him in a good long while (including when he was revealed as Scientist Supreme over in Mighty Avengers.) I mean, creating a cybernetic heaven for one of his nearest, dearest friends that died sort of because of him…or at least an alien masquerading as him…is pretty insane, even by Pym standards. It makes perfect sense that such technology would be pretty coveted amongst the shadey, super science elite…as indeed was proven as Bill Foster’s private heaven was stolen by those dastardly nerds in AIM (advanced idea mechanics, for you laymen) last issue, leaving the unlikely but still kinda likely dynamic duo of O’Grady and Pym to get it back.
Which leads us to this issue, which is nearly 70% sheer brawl and Anty and Waspy fight their way through the mindscape encased in their own subconscious and penetrate the secret AIM base that is both nowhere and no-when. Following that is, really, the first time Pym really shines this series, as last issue and most of this one were almost entirely devoted to O’Grady, calling on different power sets, abilities and ideas from all of his various incarnations (growth, bottomless pockets) to make his way to his property, even while said property is being auctioned off to the highest bidder. Once there, Anty is promptly taken out by a mystery toxin just as heaven is retrieved. In order to preserve his psyche and relieve his pain AND continue to help Bill Foster, Pym sends O’Grady into the heaven program as he sets off to find a cure. However, in relatively short order, Pym is captured by the head of AIM and, in the cliffhanger of the century (not really, but kinda), is offered membership.
Overall, this story has made for a cute, quick burst of super hero-y goodness that doesn’t take all that many chances stylistically and instead opts to focus on telling a good, concise and entertaining story. There are no preconceptions with this one, no vague attempts at symbolism or experimentation…it’s obvious Tim Seeley knows exactly the story he is telling (and it’s a good one) and has devoted himself to making it as entertaining as possible. My only complaint is that, while O’Grady is written perfectly, Pym comes off just a little too dry. Yes, I know, he’s an uber-nerd…but we’ve seen him express a little bit more personality than we see him exert here, which is just slightly off-putting. However, his art is absolutely spot on for the subject matter. The “Saturday morning cartoon” vibe of this book is represented seamlessly with his crisp, well designed panels. There’s no “hyper-realism” here, but straight forward, simple comic book art…and I can’t complain one bit.
Overall, will I continue with this one? Well, there’s one more issue, so it would be silly not to, but even that having been said I’m actually looking forward to seeing how this mini-romp ends up unfolding.
Final Verdict: 8.8 – Buy
