Written and Illustrated by Tim Seeley
The first team up of Marvel’s most unlikely duo may be their last! While his body lay dying, it’s up to Ant-Man to save Bill Foster from a burning heaven! And The Wasp is on his own against Monica Rappacini, her elite AIM troops, and the half-sleepwalker villainess ANESTHESIA! See how the smallest Avengers get out of their over-sized jam in the conclusion to this miniseries by writer/artist Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash)!
Seeley’s Ant-Man/Wasp mini has been universally loved across the board here at Multiversity (#1 and #2), but how does the series wrap-up? Does it close with a high note, or just fade away?
Find out after the cut.
The pairing of the Ant-Man with the Wasp is a rather famous duo through Marvel, but given the changes in names at Marvel, we were instead left with two men with rather strikingly different personalities as opposed to an on-again off-again couple. Considering one element of this duo is Eric O’Grady, one of the funniest characters in the Marvel U, this mini basically promised in it’s title that there would be comedy mixed in with science fiction to create a rather action packed team-up feature. Although it unfortunately has closed it’s story out on just three issues, it is definitely a great mini to show off the capability of the House of Ideas as the New Year begins.
Tim Seeley proves his expert handling of comedic action fan to Marvel fans with the single best rendition of O’Grady since Kirkman’s original comic. There’s even a little nod in there to the original series that made O’Grady such a fun character for fans to admit to liking. What makes Seeley’s rendition of O’Grady work so well is that not only does he boil the character down to the very basics of the character, but he also really gives us a look at why O’Grady of all people deserves as much positive attention as he is getting now. When O’Grady was a member of the Thunderbolts, it sort of made sense, but the Secret Avengers inclusion was a tad odd for a character once known as “irredeemable” (especially when he’s standing besides Steve Rogers of all people). Seeley really brings out the hero in O’Grady, though, and when putting him up next to Hank Pym, the two create a dynamic that comics have very much been missing since both characters took on very active roles in the Marvel U. While his Hank Pym is certainly not the same as Gage’s current take in Avengers Academy, his nods to both current continuity as well as Slott’s Mighty Avengers run are both appreciated and noticeable. It’s rather clear how much work Seeley put into this comic.
One might also fear that a creator who is taking on both the duties of writing and art might slack off a bit on one aspect, or perhaps try harder on another, but Seeley’s art here is very crisp and slick. Since Seeley is doing it all here, it’s easy for him to visually match the tone here in a sense that is both a blend of the work he is known for as well as a touch of Cory Walker’s stylings that originally introduced the character. Seeley has a great handle on the Wasp/Hank Pym in particular, and the last time Hank looked this good was back when Khoi Pham was handling him in Mighty (no offense to Mike McKone or Tom Raney). It’s this kind of art that makes you kind of sad that Seeley won’t be doing any regular Marvel stints on art, because I’d love to see his take on other Marvel characters (besides just the Avengers).
While on one hand it’s disappointing to see the mini come in at 3 issues, on the other hand it’s rather fortunate. Condensing this story to it’s 3 issues have allowed Seeley to tell a fast paced story that doesn’t play around with the plot. It gives us everything we need from it, and even adds a nice and touching ending to cap off all the zany antics the two men get up to in their battle against AIM. While some might feel to hold a line at a price point, the comic is definitely one of the more enjoyable books of the week, even for that extra dollar. It’s a short series, but it is a very sweet series, and for anyone that is a fan of these characters, it’s definitely a recommend read. Even if you’ve never really looked into O’Grady before, now would definitely be the time to do so.
Final Verdict: 8.9 – Buy
