Incredible Hulks #616; Ant-Man & the Wasp #1

[stolisomancer]

I have absolutely no idea what's going on with Tim Seeley's Hack/Slash anymore. First it went off on this really long, weird story about Golden Age superhero sidekicks which lasted for approximately fifty years without stopping, then the ongoing stopped coming out, then there were a bunch of limited series and one-shots, and now it's relaunching at Image. I don't get it. (This kind of thing is why I never got into Grendel.)

That aside, Seeley is apparently doing a bunch of work for Marvel now, some of which came out this week. He wrote a short in the back of this week's Incredible Hulks, and wrote and penciled the first issue of the Hank Pym & Eric O'Grady buddy comedy Ant-Man & The Wasp.


The first couple of pages from Ant-Man & Wasp entertain me on a sort of meta-level. Hank is filming a public service announcement.





"Hi, I'm Hank Pym. One time about thirty years ago, I was going insane and I slapped my wife. Since then, I've been through eighteen different superheroic identities, led two different teams of Avengers, saved the world six or eight times, died twice, came back to life twice, resurrected my wife, banged a robot, and prevented the alien takeover of Earth.

"Please, if you would be so kind, shut the fuck up about me hitting Jan."

---

Meanwhile, over in Incredible Hulks, Bruce and Jen have spotted a disturbance out in the middle of the desert. The Armadillo's in a fight with a bunch of dorks on ATVs, who're apparently some kind of thrill-seeking vigilantes. While Bruce fights the Armadillo, Jen goes off to figure out what's going on.

The pencils are by noted girlie pin-up artist Al Rio, who's really expanded his portfolio. He started off as sort of a J. Scott Campbell clone, but he's gotten some Bryan Hitch influences and the storytelling here is much cleaner than some of his other work I've seen. It's nice to see he's improving.

Comments

[bluefall]

I love Jen. SO MUCH.

That is all.

[bluefall]

Oh, wait, that's not all, I have to second your wtf with Hack/Slash. Dude lost me somewhere in with the Samhain thing, like, is this supposed to be a Buffy/Angel parody or what are you even going for with this? and then it all just stopped making sense entirely. It's nice to see Seeley being coherent again, particularly with another character I care about.

[thebigapricot]

I like Jen here better than in She-Hulks. Or maybe I just like one versus multiple She-Hulks.

[stolisomancer]

It actually got to a point that I am completely unable to critically evaluate it, because I cannot actually figure out what in the fuck is going on. The art got weird after Emily Stone left, it turns into some kind of half-assed superhero parody, and then all the supporting characters are stabbed to death.

The My First Maniac LS isn't bad, though, and I've actually been meaning to post some pages from the Murder Messiah annual, if only the pages concerning Cassie/Georgia.

[stolisomancer]

Jen as an authority figure isn't a great fit and never will be, but to Wilcox's credit, he seems to recognize that and works within it. She does work better in a role like this one, as part of a team.

[bluefall]

Before I remembered what a lazy slacker I am, I was actually planning on doing a whole series on Cassie/Georgia and how bafflingly respectful and intelligent Seeley's portrayal of that was. Of course then it got weird too.

I'm surprised we didn't see more Pooch around here. He seems like the kind of character S_D would like.

[stolisomancer]

I think what gets me more than anything about Cassie/Georgia is that Georgia has somehow managed to survive the series.

I find myself imagining Seeley writing the book in one window with a tabbed browser open to every single sex-related page on TV Tropes like he's ticking off a list. "Okay, she's gonna have to live. Cool. They aren't gonna bang like rabbits, at least not right away... let's make her black just for the hell of it, and okay, she's bisexual rather than gay..."

[lonewolf23k]

"Hi, I'm Hank Pym. One time about thirty years ago, I was going insane and I slapped my wife. Since then, I've been through eighteen different superheroic identities, led two different teams of Avengers, saved the world six or eight times, died twice, came back to life twice, resurrected my wife, banged a robot, and prevented the alien takeover of Earth.

"Please, if you would be so kind, shut the fuck up about me hitting Jan."

Yeah, I'm pretty much reading that into the subtext now.

[dorksidefiker]

I have absolutely no idea what's going on with Tim Seeley's Hack/Slash anymore. First it went off on this really long, weird story about Golden Age superhero sidekicks which lasted for approximately fifty years without stopping, then the ongoing stopped coming out, then there were a bunch of limited series and one-shots, and now it's relaunching at Image. I don't get it. (This kind of thing is why I never got into Grendel.)

Oh good, I'm not the only one who's been COMPLETELY lost the last few issues.

[philippos42]

I'm glad to see Al Rio getting some mainstream work in his "clean" superhero style. It's pretty much his own (though a bit like Gary Frank) & seems suited to superheroes. I wish his panel layouts framed as well as his pinups.

Really, you could have Al do a cover in photo-realist, a main feature in this style, & a backup in J. Scott Campbell knock-off, & it would be almost like three different artists.

[stig]

"Hi, I'm Hank Pym. Some of you may associate me with certain 'Issues' I'm reputed for having with my wife; some others may see me as mentally unstable; others still will associate me with the frontman for the shadowy, shapeshifting aliens who stole the identities of many whom we loved and trusted.

"This is why I have decided to dispel these doubts by dressing up as Jan, stealing her name and identity, and maintaining a secret Avengers team built inside her gigantic half-dead body."

Additionally: Hank, you weren't actually there, but I'm pretty sure Jan regretted that she accepted that 'Giant-Girl' addition from your Skrull double? Yeah, I'd have presumed she'd be regretting that when they started turning her into a giant living bomb. Or maybe when Uatu turned up to go 'Whoah, finally something interesting on this channell...whoops never mind."

Additionally additionally: as with the Spidey editors, these people love to tease their readership. Why else name it 'Ant-Man and Wasp', so that anyone who's been out of the loop, or knows only some basic Marvel information, or is perhaps looking for a bit of nostalgia, will pick it up on the impression that it's about Hank and Jan, and get the superheroic version of The Other Guys. Not saying it's a bad title...just a dirty trick on the editor's parts.

[stolisomancer]

In this hypothetical scenario, did people pick it up without looking at the cover?

[stolisomancer]

Yeah, he did an issue of the old Heroes for Hire book in his pin-up style. It was okay; clean lines, decent framing, okay storytelling, oddly static. This is a huge improvement.

[avantre]

A lot of people I've seen at the comic store actually do that thanks to pull-lists - they order x amount of comics on their pull list, and maybe look at the one on the top of the pile while the cashier's ringing up the order.

[avantre]

I genuinely didn't like Hank long before I found out about the hitting incident - the first time I encountered him was in West Coast Avengers (and I didn't read the old Avengers stories until later on). So not everyone thinks he's a douche due to the one incident.

Having said that, the version they've got on the new Avengers cartoon is a version I'm finding very likeable, and I know I'll miss him when he inevitably leaves the lineup soon (since they're mirroring the original comic's lineup order).

[psychopathicus_rex]

Am I the only one who thinks the Armadillo looks like he's got a beak?

[stolisomancer]

Well, that's Marvel. Their crew are largely stereotyped according to old storylines, whether or not the traits from those storylines still apply.

The running gag about Tony is that he's an alcoholic when he hasn't touched the sauce since 1986. The running gag about Hank is that he's a wife-beater, when he hit Jan exactly once in 1980 and has been living it down ever since.

[neev]

"I'm Ant-man and I have a severe jaw disorder that prevents me from fully closing my mouth at any point."

[stolisomancer]

That's really strange. I can't imagine doing that, but I suppose that's the value of discussion.

[proteus_lives]

Well Hank, this is a healthier way of dealing with Jan's death then that whole Mighty Avenger/Jocasta mess.

[fifthie]

Oh yeah Hank Pym, that guy who's hit his wife exactly as many times as Peter Parker has.

[fifthie]

"bluh bluh OMBND" okay, as many times as Peter Parker hit his pregnant girlfriend.

[tsunamiwombat]

When Hank Pym dies, right after he cures cancer and invents the orgasm pill, the epitath on his gravestone will read "He hit his wife once."

[jjgalahad]

!!!

You're back! Good to see you again! :D

(And yes, Jen is always awesome.)

[stubbleupdate]

Being an alcoholic is not something that just goes away.