From Little Bugs, Big Things Come

Ant-Man: World Hive was a 5-issue mini-series that came out in 2020, focused on Scott Lang and his daughter Cassie, formerly the Young Avenger Stature, now going by her MC2 Universe codename of Stinger.

Dylan Burnett (artist) and Mike Spicer (colorist), stick close to the MC2 version of the outfit, although Spicer varies the colors a bit. Yellow for the eyes and the bio-electric stingers, darker purple on the chest and arms, more black than lavender everywhere else. She gets an upgrade to her helmet halfway through that enhances the strength of the communication with insects, conveyed by making the words fill the panel, and by having her helmet sprout also sorts of Jack Kirby Hat-style accessories.

Zeb Wells' version of Lang follows Nick Spencer's version from his two Ant-Man ongoings (and probably the movie to an extent). Scott lives in Florida (in an ant hill) to be close to his daughter, he has had a security company, and all the other heroes treat him as a joke or embarrassment. He doesn't keep his cool at basically any point, and is constantly sporting stubble and bags under his eyes. Not quite "Demon in a Bottle" Tony Stark, but halfway there.

Scott is asked to locate a lot of missing bees by the Florida Beekeepers Association, which disappoints Cassie, but depopulation of bees is a big deal! That leads him to The Swarm, who is himself running from more creatures made entirely of types of arthropods, who are controlled by a creature called Macrothrax, who is tired of these damn apes running things. It's a bug's world!

Recognizing this may be a big deal (and wanting to impress Cassie so she doesn't move to Cali to join Kate Bishop's shitty West Coast Avengers squad) Scott takes her to New York, where the Avengers basically treat him like a waste of their time.

I mean, I expect Blade to be a dick, not to mention Stark, and Lang did put his foot in his mouth saying everyone liked Tony better before he stopped drinking. But T'Challa literally laughs at the notion Scott could help improve his helmet in front of Cassie. No wonder you aren't king of your stupid, cancer-cure hoarding country any longer, if that's your level of diplomatic skill. At least when Spider-Man spends most of issue 3 bagging on Lang and Florida - justified on the grounds Florida's a shithole, says the guy visiting his friend in Florida as this post goes up - it's because he's jealous the Black Cat seems to like Ant-Man.

Wells justifies what feels like an otherwise gratuitous guest appearance by tying this story into some of his plots from Volume 2 of Heroes for Hire. The one where Black Cat was on the team. Had that one hentai cover with the ladies being menaced by dripping tentacles? Anyway, someone had to explain what happened to Humbug and I guess Paladin and Colleen Wing are too busy. Yeah, I don't buy that either.

That said, one thing Wells does with Lang that I like is use the idea Lang actually cares about the insects he works with. When the Swarm orders bees to attack Scott, most of the bees shield him and he points out he didn't even have to ask that hard. The use of the word "ask" feels important. Scott mourns the deaths of the ants whose colony he was living in, even if Wells frames most of Scott's interactions with the queen ant, "Pam", as being like an old married couple where she's always on his case about something. But when he's looking for bees, one of the bees is happy to help lead him to the others, or help him escape. And that compassion plays in the climax, helping Scott save the world.

I like Burnett's designs for the various bug monsters. They're mostly humanoid shapes made up of a lot of a particular type of insect, but there are enough different types of insects your can go different ways with that. Thread is made of silkworms and has a loose, almost decaying look, while Vespa is hornets and so more sharply defined. Sharp projections, angular body, sleek.

A Failure To Communicate Is A Big Problem For Ant-Man

Looking back over the two Ant-Man movies, it seems like there are a lot of problems that emerge because Hank Pym is bad at emotions. Not saying it's his fault, that he did it deliberately. Most of it seems to have happened after he believed he'd lost Janet, in which case Hank had a lot of grief and regret and closed himself off. Still, it's notable that he seems to have left a trail of angry, hurt people in his wake, and it keeps causing problems.

In Ant-Man, Hope is reluctant to turn to her dad for help stopping Cross because there are a lot of unresolved issues between them. She felt abandoned by him after her mother's seeming death, because Hank was struggling to process his own grief and survivor's guilt, and couldn't help her. His tendency to keep things to himself, and their lack of communication, means when Hope sees him bringing Scott Lang in for the heist. She sees it as a sign he doesn't trust her, or won't acknowledge her skills in using the suit and directing the ants. Really, it's that he can't stand the thought of losing her too, but since he won't just, you know, say that, she doesn't realize it until Scott points out that Hank sees him as expendable.

Which is kind of shitty, since Cassie would certainly miss her dad if he got killed trying to break into a super-science facility in a suit he can barely control*, but I can't fault Hank for prioritizing his own daughter's safety over someone else's daughter's happiness. Actually, should we count Hank baiting Scott into breaking into his house as a test, so he can show up later to "rescue" him from the cops, and then basically extort Scott into doing this job for him? I doubt Scott would have agreed if Hank simply contacted him and asked, but maybe try that first.

Cross has been trying to unlock the Pym Particle formula for years in some measure because he resents Hank for what he sees as a lack of trust. Hank's always denying the existence of Ant-Man, never letting Cross in on the secrets. As it turns out, Cross is going to sell the stuff to friggin' HYDRA, so Hank was right to keep it hidden. But maybe there was a way to help Cross feel appreciated and trusted without unlocking that particular door.

Eh, probably not, he was a pretty entitled guy. But I get the impression Hank didn't really try, and that's how you end up with a guy trying to sell an incredibly dangerous weapon to a bunch of would-be world conquerors at least in part to thumb his nose at Hank. All that gloating. "Oh you didn't think I could be trusted Hank, well look at me now!" Yes, you're selling your suit to HYDRA, I don't know how I could have misjudged you.

At this point, I'm moving on to Ant-Man and the Wasp, so there are probably SPOILERS.

The example that got me thinking about this was the hostility between Hank and Bill Foster, who apparently worked together for SHIELD back in the day, Bill acting as Goliath. Neither of them has any use or patience for the other. Hank is insulted Bill would even suggest they were partners, and contends Bill never had an original idea in his life and was just riding his coattails.

You can imagine if Hank hadn't been quite that big ass that Bill might have contacted him to consult on Ghost's condition. If Hank's willing to help, maybe he and Bill can keep her out of SHIELD's grasp, and she doesn't spend her formative years being turned into a thief, spy, and assassin. Then she's not trying to steal Hank's lab constantly at the worst possible time for him.

As for Ava's father, I don't know. She believes he was a scientist that Pym got booted, but Han contends her dad was a traitor. He has the same name as Pym's old comic arch-foe Egghead, so I'm guessing we're supposed to believe Hank about this one. In which case, I'm not going to fault Hank for not managing to make an inspirational speech that makes Starr's heart grow three sizes that day.

I don't know what lesson to take from this. Don't wall yourself off emotionally from others? Don't be an arrogant dick who treats coworkers and proteges poorly? Scott seems much more willing to ask for help, or admit his shortcomings. He hasn't always been there for Cassie, because of his own choices, but is trying hard to make up for it. For as much as he's treated as an idiot by Hank and Hope, he seems more mature emotionally than either of them, at least in some ways. I feel like the people close to Scott know how he feels about them.

* And if Scott did get killed during the heist, it would probably happen while he's tiny, so his body might never be found. Cassie and her mom might never know what happened to him. Just figure he decided to vanish somewhere.

Ant-Man and the Wasp

I found this by accident on Netflix last week. I figured it would make it there eventually, but I didn't know when. Scott (Paul Rudd) is nearing the end of his house arrest for helping Captain America in violation of the Sokovia Accords in Captain America: Civil War. He and his friends from the last movie are trying to keep their security business afloat. Then Scott has a dream that involves Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) and reaches out to Hank and Hope (Michael Douglas and Evangeline Lilly), who are on the run as accomplices to Scott's crime (since they gave him the suit).

Let's call it what it is. Whoever is trying to enforce the Sokovia Accord stuff just wants Pym's stuff. They're probably a remnant of HYDRA, or AIM. Have we seen AIM in the Marvel movies? We need science guys with weird weapons and beekeeper suits.

Anyway, those two are trying to put together a machine to go search the quantum realms for Janet, but get double-crossed by the black marketeer (Walton Goggins) they've been buying stuff from, and then a mysterious ghost lady (Hannah John-Kamen) shows up. Scott gets roped in, while trying to avoid the feds learning he broke house arrest.

The film makes a mention of storing quantum energy early, which once you've heard that, and you see the problems Ghost is having, the solution is readily apparent. It's just a matter of waiting until the film gets around to that point.

It's still weird for me to see Walton Goggins with a fairly large role in these big budget movies, or Tarantino's stuff, because I still think of him as that dipshit Shane Vendrell he played on The Shield. I would never have expected that guy to have this big of a career. Go figure. I did feel like, somewhere during the chase sequence near the end, he should have accepted he was simply out of his league and called it a day. I guess he figured he could just keep close and then swoop in once everyone else took each other out.

It depresses me the agent responsible for keeping tabs on Scott is a pitiful schlub, and is supposed to be Jimmy Woo. Man, Agents of Atlas was so cool, and Jimmy Woo was very cool in it, and this version of him is very much not. It's not Randall Park's fault; they clearly decided Woo needs to be a probably very lonely dumbass, and Park did his best. Still, when that dawned on me, it bummed me out.

Then again, Comic Hank Pym is a neurotic mess, while Movie Hank Pym is trying to give Odin and Tony Stark a run for his money in being a dick, so some things are off-model. I like that Pym was entirely OK with risking Scott being sent back to prison or killed for his own ends in the first movie, but now he's pissed that Scott made a decision which has (greatly) inconvenienced him. Oh, boohoo, shoe's not so comfy on the other foot, is it Hank? You had Hope right there, ready and willing to take care of Cross, and decided to extort Scott into helping you, regardless of the fact it would have made is little girl sad if he gets killed cleaning up your mess.

Granted, "conceited dick" is much more in Michael Douglas' wheelhouse than "guy constantly on the verge of a breakdown", but it makes it hard to want him to succeed in whatever is otherwise a perfectly good mission to rescue his wife. Because Pym has clearly been and continues to be an arrogant ass towards everyone.

The shtick with Luis (Michael Pena) did not irritate me as much as it did in the first movie. Maybe because they didn't lean as heavily on him telling long-winded and meandering stories this time. So he was a lot funnier to me this time. I don't know if the movie overall was funnier; I didn't really laugh out loud at this one or the first one. The gags where Scott's stuck with a suit that only partially works weren't great. I guess they needed something to compensate for him knowing what he was doing compared to the first movie, so he'd still look like kind of a putz.

I did enjoy some of the fight scenes, the back and forth of Wasp shrinking to avoid attacks, only to have Ghost phase through her counterattack. Although you would think shrinking and growing repeatedly in such a short time like that would be a real strain on your system. Oh well, Hope's young, I'm sure she can handle it. The car chase through San Francisco wasn't too shabby. The parts with Scott and Cassie were cute, especially the one where she wants to be his crime-fighting partner, and he says she'd be great at it, but he'd be a terrible dad to let her do it.

Sunday Splash Page #37

"Dare to Dream, Scott", in Ant-Man #3, by Nick Spencer (writer), Ramon Rosanas (artist), Jordan Boyd (color artist), Travis Lanham (letterer)

I know, it's not a splash page, but this is the only issue of the series I'd kept, and it only had one splash page, and I found that one pretty lame, so I went with this page instead.

Spencer and Rosanas moved Scott Lang to Miami to establish his own security firm, which he then staffed with super-villains. Unfortunately, Spencer decided to take his cues from the recent movie and play up Scott as a complete loser that none of the other heroes respect or believe they can count on at all.  He even went so far as to reveal Hank Pym let Scott keep the costume because he felt sure there was no way he would be overshadowed by a successor if that successor was Scott. Because, ha ha, Scott is such a loser!

Keep in mind that Matt Fraction had just finished a stint on Fantastic Four where Scott played the team brain in Reed's absence and defeated a cosmically-powered Dr. Doom by unlocking the full capabilities of Pym Particles. Yep, sure sounds like an unreliable loser to me.

There's also the part where Spencer opted to depower Cassie Lang, Scott's daughter and one-time Avenger because. . . reasons. I dunno. He didn't try and de-age her to match movie Cassie, so I'm not sure why it was necessary to take her powers away. 

Being Marvel, the book was canceled after 5 issues because of Secret Wars, then restarted 5 months later with the same creative team and a slightly different title. I tried the first issue of that, decided I couldn't deal with the portrayal of Scott, and dropped it. I thought the fact Scott had assembled an odd crew of villains as his team had potential, but I had no confidence in Spencer to do anything interesting with it. Plus, I found Rosanas' art kind of dull and not terribly expressive, and the coloring didn't help. Everything felt too understated and low-energy.

Ant-Man (2015)

So I did get to see Ant-Man. It wasn't easy. You know, because he's small.

First things first. It is strange the movie spends so much time insisting the Hope (Evangeline Lilly) is in practically every way more qualified to steal the Yellowjacket suit than Scott, but then goes ahead and puts Scott Lang in it anyway. They really harp on that with his struggles using the suit, controlling the ants, not being able to fight worth a damn. She has to help her dad, Hank Pym, teach Scott all this stuff, when she's right there, already knowing how to do it. Scott's primary advantages seem to be he's a thief, and he's not Hank's daughter, which makes him expendable. Except Scott has a daughter of his own. Maybe he's been in jail for much of her childhood, but that's better than him being dead.

If I'm willing to take the movie at face value, that it needed to be Scott doing the thieving because he has the experience in that area, and the crew, it was OK. Decent little heist movie, had some humor in it. I didn't really find Scott's partner who can never get to the point funny like I was supposed to, but that's not a big deal. The various gags with tiny things suddenly becoming huge worked pretty well, and the fight between Scott and Cross on the train set was solid.

Pym mentioned concerns that Cross' formula with mess with brain chemistry or something if you used on people, and I wondered if we were meant to take it that Cross selling the suit to HYDRA was a result of that. I also wondered if we were meant to see the direction Cross went as partially a failing on Hank's part. Cross at times really seemed as though he wanted Hank's approval, wanted to work with him and build this together. And Hank, partially out of grief over losing Jan, and partially just out of good common sense about the potential for abuse with his inventions, rejected that.

I doubt that's the case. Cross was probably always going to do something unscrupulous like sell to HYDRA, and if Hank had gone along, it would have simply resulted in selling to HYDRA when they were still hiding within SHIELD. But the film has this strong sense of dads trying to make things right, with Scott trying to go straight, trying to be a positive influence in his daughter's life. And you've got Hank, who lost control of his company, lost control of his protege, and is largely estranged from his daughter (who really ought to have been his protege), and he's also trying to fix things before it's too late. Obviously he needs to repair his relationship with Hope, but if there isn't the idea he could have done so with Cross at some point in the past, I'm not sure what he was supposed to do to avert that problem. Kill Cross? Never invent the suit or the Pym Particles, I guess.

Anyway, I'm not generally a Paul Rudd guy, but Ant-Man was fine. I enjoyed it more than the latter two Iron Man films, or either of the Thors, I think. They probably all fall in that category of movies where there are parts of them I enjoy, and others I wouldn't bother to sit through. Go watch something else, come back for the next part I like.

What I Bought 11/10/2015 - Part 1

Relatively new comics have arrived, as I did not end up waiting a month to buy some really expensive first issues. Yeah, well, I'm kind of in a hurry. Patience is not one of my virtues.

Secret Wars: Agents of Atlas #1, by Tom Taylor (writer), Steve Pugh (artist), Tamra Bonvillain (color artist), Joe Sabino (letterer) - Looking at the cover, it's interesting Zemo has multiple different WANTED posters for Jimmy Woo. It makes me think he (or someone who works for him) had lots of photos of Jimmy, and just wanted to plaster them all over the city.

So it is a one-shot set on Battleworld, in a section controlled by a Zemo - is there more than one of those? - where the Atlas Foundation is an underground resistance movement. SHIELD only works to serve Zemo's interests, but Phil Coulson is tired of that, and wants to help Atlas find their missing leader Jimmy Woo. The team agrees to let him come along, and Gorilla Man finds Jimmy, but doesn't realize the one doing it is Zemo's young son, who kills him. What the kid didn't realize is that whole curse aspect of Gorilla Man's existence, so now he's the talking gorilla. As it turns out, Zemo's whole goal was to lure Venus in, because a transmission of her singing during a raid, made him fall in love with her. And as Venus points out, given her history, that's a bad move for the old man. So now a talking gorilla runs that city. Still better than Mr. Sinister, the Maestro, or any version of Tony Stark.

early in the story, Coulson keeps mentioning his assistant has other talents when Ken complains the kid is too stupid to realize a talking Gorilla (with a visitor badge that says "Gorilla Man" on it) is a gorilla, not a monkey. "Other talents", is the exact phrasing. Does that mean Coulson promoted the guy because they're having sex? Like corporate guys having an attractive secretary who can't type or take dictation kind of thing? Or did he mean the guy is good at busting skulls, but kind of an idiot? I'm inclined towards the latter, if only because there was never any indication of what other skills the guy has.

What Venus does to Zemo is interesting in light of a story I remember Jeff Parker writing during Secret Invasion, where Venus wasn't willing to make some Skrulls march to their deaths in the ocean (Jimmy said he understood, then ordered M-11 to death ray them, because dudes from the '50s don't fuck around when little green men invade Earth). Here, she lures Zemo in and literally walks his stupid ass off a ledge. Steve Pugh helps because he purposefully gives her this neutral look all through the exchange. She doesn't seem angry, but she isn't smiling. She lets Heinrich project whatever he wants so he'll follow her, completely ignoring what she's saying. I guess we could be meant to read she's singing all this to him, so he's enthralled, but I don't think so. There's nothing in Jimmy or anyone else's reactions that suggests that. Zemo's just That Dude, sure he's found a way to her heart.

It was a pretty solid book. The plot was fairly engaging. Though had the team never had Venus sing before? Shouldn't they have known it was a risk before now? That keeps hanging me up. There were some good character bits, although they all rely on you caring about the characters beforehand. I don't think Taylor did enough to where I would have necessarily felt bad about Ken's death if I didn't already like the character coming in. Frankly, I though Gorilla-Man's voice was a little off, and most of the other characters didn't get enough dialogue to tell one way or the other. Except M-11, which I think they did get right. You could chalk the differences up to alternate universe easily enough, though that brings us back to the same point. The story is banking on past stories to provide the emotional connection for the reader, but these aren't those characters, not exactly. It's the New 52 problem all over again, but as one-off, this works pretty well.

There are times I though Pugh might be photo-referencing actual pictures of gorillas for Ken's facial expressions, but I can't be sure of that, and otherwise I was fine with his art. Everything was clear, at least some of the Weapon X subjects had bizarre enough anatomy to suggest Zemo's experiments, and Helmut's transformation looked suitably terrifying to him. Might have been worth dragging out a few more panels, really let the horror sink in..

Astonishing Ant-Man #1, by Nick Spencer (writer), Ramon Rosanas (artist), Jordan Boyd (color artist), Travis Lanham (letterer), Idette Winecoor (designer) - Here we see Scott after he just promised to provide non dairy creamer in the break room. Although, between the way he has his hand placed, and the position of Beetle's wing, I thought he was carrying a dagger or something. Like Scott was literally going to stab these super-crooks in the back. Also, is Porcupine standing slightly hunched because he knows Beetle's wings are going to obscure his face otherwise, or is he drunk? Or injured? Is Scott skimping on health insurance, too?

Scott's still trying to make his business work, and hasn't entirely pissed off his primary investor yet. He has pissed off his daughter, by continuing to publicly stay out of her life, while secretly watching over her. And Darren Cross is still trying to take revenge on him, though he wasn't prepared for the world of today. He's right, though, paying 1.2 billion dollars just to be on the board of the company. It can't possibly be worth that much just to avoid having to directly converse with super-powered hitmen you want to hire. At any rate, it kept Scott from getting his head lopped off by Whirlwind, but it cost him a security contract at a big art museum, and may have succeeded in pissing off the primary investor. No idea if any of that is why he's in prison.

So, Miami P.D. sent a cop to act as liaison for the possible security gig, and it's the guy currently married to Scott's ex, and what the hell look was he going for? He had the Caruso dark glasses, but with a white suit coat. Just laughable. And they've taken the Pym Particles out of Cassie's system entirely now, so no more Young Avengering for her. That seems more than a little stupid and pointless, but I guess if she could get herself into danger then Scott's excuse for staying out of her life would seem even more obviously stupid. Like a super-villain, assuming they know Lang is Ant-Man and Cassie is his daughter, is going to care than Scott doesn't seem to be spending time with her? No, they're still going to figure she's his daughter, and if they attack her, he will show up eventually. It's just such an obviously bad decision.

The Power Broker - I'm assuming he's new - is a nice design. Little understated with the suit, but the lavender skin and jaw-thing make him stand out a bit. I'm sure he reminds me of someone, but I can't place it. I'm curious how much of an ongoing threat he'd be in this book, or if he and Cross end up against each other, given their differing views on things. Cross is very much about creating or innovating in what he sees as concrete ways, while the Broker is working with what's already there, ostensibly to make it more efficiently utilized, but really just making sure he gets a cut of all the transactions. Beyond the Broker, though, I'm still cold on the art. The colors all seem very calm and subdued, which blunts the effect of important scenes, and the fight scene didn't do much for me, brief as it was.

There's something about it all that doesn't connect, which is true of the book in general. It was on the border with me before the relaunch, and this hasn't changed my opinion. I'm curious to see what Spencer has planned with all the other villains he's going to bring in, but I'm not sure I'll be sticking around long enough to find out.

What I Bought 7/22/2015 - Part 2

Two more comics, each starring heroes who can’t quite seem to get things right.

Ant-Man Annual #1, by Nick Spencer (writer), Brent Schoonover (artist, flashback), Ramon Rosanas (artist, present day), Jordan Boyd (color artist), Travis Lanham (letterer) – Is Scott planning to stop a runaway trolley with the power of ants? That would be pretty impressive. Hopefully he’s not going to make them throw themselves under the wheels, in the hopes they jam them up. O’Grady tried that with a jet engine once, and I don’t recall it working terribly well. Plus, it’s kind of mean to makes the bugs kill themselves like that.

I was leaning towards giving this a pass and just waiting for Astonishing Ant-Man to start in October, but it got some good reviews, and I decided to skip All-Star Section Eight #2. Scott tries bonding with his employees at a Dolphins’ sports bar, to little success. Wait, there’s no such thing as Dolphins’ fans, said the supposedly non-existent Arizona Cardinals’ fan. Credit to Machinesmith for helping Grizz out. Also credit to Grizzly for sticking with a theme, even though the Bears are kind of a mess right now. Haha, enjoy rooting for Jay Cutler, says the guy who had to watch Ryan Lindley play quarterback like a drunk infant for his team last year. Lindley is a terrible QB. Roger Goodell could do something useful for once and force some team Arizona plays this year to start Lindley, just so their defense can pad their stats against him.

Where was I? Right, a broadcast announces Hank Pym died fighting Ultron in some book I didn’t read. Except I think everyone is just pretending he’s dead? This makes Scott think back to the last time he saw Hank, when Pym visited to track down something he hid in a lab inside the helmet Scott’s using. It’s a killswitch for some fake Avengers he built to make himself feel better, but they’ve been stolen by Egghead, who is back from the dead. I honestly assumed he’d been brought back years ago, just because that’s how it seems to go, but then I keep forgetting the Wasp is back, too, until she showed up at the end of this issue. Scott gets many laughs at Hank’s expense, which seems fair considering Hank keeps basically calling him an idiot, and outright says he let Scott keep the Ant-Man costume because he knew Scott wouldn’t make him look bad in comparison.

This is the thing I struggle with when it comes to Spencer’s writing. In a vacuum, this is all pretty funny. I chuckled more than once. But part of the reason it works is because I have certain familiarity with these characters based on past experience with these characters, and in that sense, it jars. It was an issue in Superior Foes too, where I couldn’t jibe Spencer’s Boomerang with the guy I’d seen previously, even accounting for Fred being the narrator and thus probably lying through his teeth to make himself look better. It’s like, “Ha, sick burn, but wait, would Pym actually think that? Well, OK, Hank can be kind of unaware of others’ feelings sometimes. Would Jan confirm Pym felt Scott was an idiot to Scott’s face?”

I know it’s all part of the theme Spencer’s going for, Scott being on the outs with other heroes, regarded as unreliable, a second-rate legacy version of a third-tier hero. To the point Stark can actually get other Avengers to ignore Scott when he calls for help, even though you figure at least a few of them would help just as a “screw you” to Tony. I think it’s all sort of satirical, taking something, then exaggerating it for comic effect. Pym struggles with confidence issues, so he builds robot versions of his teammates to say nice things about him, and talk shit about themselves. Lang has a tendency not to stick with any team for very long, and he’s not usually presented as a Reed Richards like super-genius, so he becomes someone who can’t see things through, and is not very bright, and people think so little of him they all tell him so. I think my issue is Spencer takes it a step further than I can stretch my disbelief, and it snaps me out of the story periodically.

Schoonover does a pretty good job of working close to Rosanas’ art style, though I’m guessing Boyd’s color work also has something to do with it. Schoonover gives Scott a bit bigger nose and more pronounced chin than Rosanas (not that you can tell when Scott has the helmet on, and I would laugh if it turned out the helmet was designed like that to deemphasize Scott’s chin and nose.) He also goes with much broader facial expressions and body language. Rosanas tends to keep things restrained, so even when someone is supposed to be freaking out, there isn’t a lot of weight behind it. Schoonover tends to go the other direction, people reacting more with their whole bodies. It’s not a bad approach. There is one glitch. When the flashback starts, Scott punches the Porcupine with his left hand, but he shakes quills out of his right in the next panel. I suppose he could have punched him less carefully with the right earlier in the fight and we didn’t see it. Also, I couldn’t tell if the A.I.-Vengers were supposed to be moving inside those tubes, or if he just wasn’t keeping their poses consistent. And whatever one might say about Hank Pym, he’s right about Wonder Man being a terrible actor.

Hawkeye #22, by David Aja and Matt Fraction (storytellers), Matt Hollingsworth (color art), Chris Eliopoulos (lettering) – Well, the Apocalypse will no doubt commence now that the final issue of this series has shipped. I have it on good authority God was waiting for this to wrap up before killing us all. Eh, it’s been a good run. We invented movable type and porkpie hats, not too shabby.

The redhead remembered the combination to red safe, but here’s Boss Bro and the Sad Clown. Clint shows up, then Lucky, then Kate. The other tenants take care of the rest of the goons, Kate deals with the tracksuit imbecile – finally! – and Clint, after some difficulty, puts down the Sad Clown. I think that’s the first fight Clint’s won in like 15 issues, so good for him. But Barney stole all his money back, and thinks Clint can’t find him again. Barney, Clint is friends with like 20 super-scientists, not to mention the Black Widow, I’m pretty sure he can track your fat butt down before you finish your drink if he wants to. Which I would, on principle alone. Barney appeared to throw in with Clint, then bailed. That’s betrayal, and I believe I’ve made my opinions clear on that a few times. But the whole universe is ending and Clint’s going to become real old for some reason or another, so I guess Barney gets away with it.

All the crime bosses have decided to continue trying to kill Clint and Kate, because they’re morons, I guess. You’d think Fisk at least would know better than to waste time with something like that. Is this an end result Fraction and Aja always had planned, or is it something Lemire was hoping to run with in his book, and this team was like sure, we’ll set that up for you? It doesn’t matter, really, other than I find it curious these characters, ostensibly concerned with making money and doing business, really think trying to kill super-heroes isn’t a waste of time and money. It’s something I was thinking about, given Marvel went ahead and started All-New Hawkeye before this had finished. I wonder if there were changes made to this, to accommodate that book.

It’s a pretty book as always. I’m curious about the use of the mauve/lavender color, whatever it is, Hollingsworth uses for backgrounds a few times. Almost always in conjunction with Aja doing a black shadow for whatever is in the panel, be it Lucky, an arrow, Penny’s hand and the gun she was holding. I don’t know if it just makes a good backdrop for the black, or if it’s meant to have a particular emotional resonance. He switches to a yellow when Clint and Kate finish off the clown guy. I really like the headbutt panel. Something about the way the shadows are drawn on Clint’s face, the way they almost evoke speed lines in his hair, makes me think of Joe Kubert’s art, the way he drew people getting hit, and how it could distort them. That’s never a bad comparison to elicit in my brain, for the record.

I might do a post-mortem in the future, though I could basically sum up my feelings in one double-page splash I’ve had saved on my computer for like 8 months now, but we’ll see. If I look at it strictly by itself, it was good. This is what I was hoping for from this book when it was originally announced. Lots of action, well-illustrated, some snappy dialogue. Clint getting to do some cool stuff and save the day, even if it doesn’t always go smoothly, and there are other problems to contend with down the line. It’s not the greatest final issue I’ve ever read, but it’s a long way from the worst.

Some Characters Can't Stand Even Moderate Success

I've mentioned a few times in my monthly solicitation posts that I'm a little confused at what Marvel's doing with Ant-Man. They given Scott an ongoing, and after the first arc, they skip a month, then do an annual, and August is going to have some one-shot, Secret Wars tie-in. It's a curious approach.

I have a theory. It's the slant Spencer and Rosanas are taking with the character, expanded to the book in general. What I mean is, the point that was repeated throughout the first arc was that Scott never sees anything through. He's always eager to start, but equally eager to bail, whether things are going bad or not. So now, when he's finally gotten his own series, when he's got a movie coming out, he bails on it. Too much work, too much chance of failure being the lead character. Easier to take months off, or do some one-shot issues. Much less pressure with those. Also, it serves to lower everyone's expectations of Scott, so he can simultaneously be annoyed nobody believes in him, while not having to really prove them wrong.

What I Bought 5/9/2015 - Part 1

I went out last weekend and perused some of the local comic shops. I tried three stores, and still didn’t manage to get all the books I was looking for. And the back issue pickings, while substantial, weren’t much help for the things I was looking for.

Ant-Man #5, by Nick Spencer (writer), Ramon Rosanas (artist), Jordan Boyd (color artist), Travis Lanham (letterer), Idette Winecoor (designer) – I was going to admonish Scott that riding a white blood cell wasn’t sanitary, but I guess something that destroys bacteria would be about as sanitary as it gets. So maybe I should be warning the white blood cell that Scott’s not sanitary.

Darren Cross is back among the living, and was pretty happy stomping Ant-Man, until his son mentioned that Cassie Lang was right there on an operating table. At which point Darren decides to kill her first, but Scott manages to prevent that by getting smashed through a wall. Things are looking bad for Scott until the Pym Particles in Cross’ new heart cause him to shrink, and have to be saved by his needy, idiot son. Seriously, Augustine is more desperate for Daddy’s approval than Harry Osborn was, and that’s pretty damn needy. Anyway, Dr. Sondheim got one of those extra hearts Cross had ready into Cassie, but her body’s rejecting it, so it’s into the bloodstream for Scott, and he saves his daughter. At the hospital, Sondheim averts the wrath of Peggy by telling her Scott saved Cassie from a myocardial infarction, by getting in touch with Sondheim after Cassie called him for help. Peggy is so terribly grateful, she actually encourages Scott to spend more time with Cassie. So naturally Scott gets all, “This is my fault! I am a danger to my loved ones!”, and resolves to bail.

We’ve got at least until July before anything happens with this, and that’s assuming that Annual is going to follow up on this, rather than be either a movie tie-in or some Secret Wars junk. So I’m going to hope this is one of Spencer’s fake outs, like the ones he was so fond of in Superior Foes of Spider-Man. You know the ones. “Oh, we aren’t really here for Silvermane’s head!”, or “That isn’t really Boomerang getting his ass beat”. Scott seriously just opened his business and hired two employees, so now he’s going to pack up and move to Montana? Come on.

Real talk here: If Scott was to blame for what happened to Cassie, it was either because he rescued Dr. Sondheim from Cross the first time, which is how Cross wound up dead the first time, or because he tried to remain an active part of her life while continuing to be a superhero part of the time, which is how she got exposed to all the Pym Particles. But if he hadn’t saved Sondheim, Cassie would have died anyway, and who knows what Darren Cross would have gotten up to. As for the Particles, it wasn’t like Scott knew that was happening, and Cassie has been risking her neck for years as a superhero. Ultimately, while Augustine might have liked the symmetry of using Scott Lang’s daughter to revive his father, it was the Pym Particles that made her the choice. Sticking it to Scott was just a bonus.

During the fight with Cross, Scott makes a Zoolander reference, then says Cross would have missed that. Would that be true? That movie is 14 years old now, and I think the gap between Cassie's age in that first story and her current age is smaller than that. She's still in high school now. Oh well, Scott was dead for awhile, he can be forgiven if he got a few things mixed up.

Rocket Raccoon #11, by Skottie Young (writer), Jake Parker (artist), Jean-Francois Beaulieu (color artist), Jeff Eckleberry (letterer) – Now, THAT might be enough guns that even Cable thinks it’s overkill. Hmm. Nah, probably still not enough.

Young and Parker opt to skip Rocket’s heist of the Book of Halfworld entirely, and jump right into his escape, involving a motorcycle that turns into a rocketpack, and a lot of musing by our hero about how Life encourages us all not to look back on our pasts, but to keep running. As Rocket doesn’t know his past, his response is, “Nerts to that,” but he can’t get the case open to read the book. Which is when the other raccoon, the one we saw around the end of issue 4 shows up. Her name is Captain Sale, and she isn’t Blackjack O’Hare or anyone else posing as a member of Rocket’s species. She has the key to the case, and she’s willing to share, to even let Rocket have first crack at the book. Which he does, and before he’s finished reading, he decides he’s finished, period. He leaves the book with Sale, and he and Groot leave, only to learn that because he didn’t pay his court fees, he’s once again a wanted felon. So he’s going to jail, but it appears he’s going to bust out just like he did in the first arc, so no worries.

Well, assuming we’re meant to take the Book of Halfworld as true, Young is stating that the Mantlo/Mignola mini-series did take place, based on some of what Rocket mentions reading. Still doesn’t explain why he doesn’t remember, or why there are other modified raccoons like Sale around. Also doesn’t tell me whether the Abnett/Lanning stuff persisted, because the way the Guardians are now, it doesn’t seem likely. I don’t think current Star-Lord could ever have been a great hero who felt he disgraced himself and gave up on life, you know? He was just a disgrace, period.

I think this arc got rushed. Skipping the heist, the quick arrival of Sale, and the fact any differences are put aside quickly, that Rocket takes one page to read the book and decide this whole quest was a mistake. It feels like there should have been another issue in there, but maybe that’s just me thinking issue 12 would have been a logical endpoint. With the looming presence of Secret Wars and all the changes it’s bringing, though, I can’t help suspecting it’s to blame. It is possible Young was trying to make a point. Rocket’s spent a lot of time being defined by his past, either claiming he was the only member of his species like it was a badge of honor, to cover up the loneliness and uncertainty he felt about that. Or he’s running around like a lunatic trying to find the truth about himself, but in the process making his current situation much worse by pissing off everyone and everything around him. Of course, it’s easy for someone who already knows their past, for good or ill, to tell someone who doesn’t, “Don’t worry about it. Focus on now.” It’s not wrong to want to understand things about yourself.

Though I was never clear on what Rocket actually thought his past was. Apparently he didn’t think it was anything like the ‘80s mini-series, but what did he expect? A planet of just intelligent, talking raccoons out there somewhere? His people were wiped out by the Kree, or the Skrulls? That they were the product of tampering by the Celestials? That he has a family waiting patiently for him to return someday? Did he honestly believe his life was mundane before he got mixed up in criminal enterprises/saving the universe?

In the initial motorbike scene, was Parker doing an Akira homage with the bike and Rocket’s clothes? I suspect so, but I’ve never gotten around to watching Akira, so it’s all kind of second hand knowledge, from pictures on the Internet. And lots of people have spiffy red motorcycles. I did enjoy some the subtle body language Parker works into the issue. Rocket’s slackjawed expression when Sale responds to his ‘Nah, I’m not buying this time,’ with, ‘I’m afraid I don’t understand. Have I tried to sell you something?’ The panel before, Rocket’s standing very straight, with his gun arm extended fully towards Sale. But at Sale’s response, he moves closer, his shoulders seem drooped a bit, and the gun isn’t wielded so menacingly. Rocket’s sure it’s another fake, but the response throws him some, and he hasn’t switched fully to the anger he’ll show in the next few panels. Also, when Sale offers Rocket the key, there’s something slightly sad about the set of her eyes I can’t quite parse. I think she’s disappointed at how hostile Rocket’s being, maybe also a little tired now that her search is over.

Also, I’d like to compliment Eckleberry on the sound effect for the rocketpack ignition on pages 4-5. The way it follows the contours of the exhaust trail, and the size of the letters mimics the size of the exhaust. So the initial “BOOOOOOOOM” is large, as the rocket initial ignites, and then the letters shrink and move a little farther apart for the “oooooomshhhh” as it settles into a smoother cycle. I’m not describing it well, but I liked it at any rate.

What I Bought 4/17/2015 - Part 3

I should probably mention that the place I’m staying now doesn’t have internet. There are plenty of places within driving distance that do, but it’s a matter of having time to drive there, plus not wanting to waste a lot of fuel. So consider this the official declaration of “possible erratic posting ahead” for the next 3 months or so, barring changes in circumstance.

Ant-Man #4, by Nick Spencer (writer), Ramon Rosanas (artist), Jordan Boyd (color artist), Travis Lanham (letterer), Idette Winecoor (designer) -  Oh jeez, a Miami Vice cover. It was inevitable given the location, I suppose.

So Augustine Cross has covered all the bases in his attempts to bring his father back. He’s got the right doctor, he’s got the goons to kill her and her son if she doesn’t comply. He’s got Cassie Lang, whose heart is accustomed to being large and the strain that comes with that, and donor hearts the doctor can transplant into Cassie after. And he has an adaptive security system full of things designed specifically to stop Scott Lang. But Grizz has been attending the Super-Villain Anonymous chapter in Miami, and that’s how he ropes in Machinesmith to take out the security system, enabling Scott to get in. Where he is promptly stepped on by Darren Cross. Crap monkeys. At least it saves Scott from anymore awkward conversations with his ex-wife about where her daughter is.

I’m sure Cassie will pull through – Spencer doesn’t strike me as the sort to kill her off, not after Fraction and Allred just brought her back – but I hope having a new heart doesn’t signal the end of her superhero career entirely (since it presumably wouldn’t be accustomed to size-changing). I still hold out hope for father/daughter crime-fighting adventures.

Additionally, I don’t see this continued recruitment of super-villains ending well for Scott. Grizz seems appreciative, but Machinesmith is pretty clearly already looking to make it pay off for him, and I don’t think Scott’s providing medical and dental will change that. Letting criminals be involved in setting up security for places in probably bad, since they then know how to get in. Since Stark has apparently gotten Scott blackballed from the superhero community, I imagine it’s only a matter of time before the Avengers show up to defeat Scott and what they’ll think is his new, second-rate Masters of Evil. I wonder, though, whether this is Scott trying to give people a second chance because he got one once, or if, as Tony suggested, he’s just taking the easy route? Rather than try to force Machinesmith’s hand, or use his parole officer as leverage, he just agrees to give him a job, because it saves time, regardless of the consequences.

Rosanas’ artwork helped carry the scene where Augustine makes his pitch. Spencer writes him as though it’s just another sales pitch, so he’s mostly calm, but occasionally gets either excited or tender, for that human touch. And for the most part, Rosanas draws him as calm and collected. He’s almost always gesturing in some way with his hands. Either putting a finger to his chin to appear thoughtful, or pointing with the index finger to illustrate some point. He even hugs the tank his father is in, to better illustrate his point about bringing a family together. It also has to be significant that during that whole spiel, we only see Darren Cross’ legs, or parts of his arms. We see him in his entirety earlier in the issue, but once Augustine starts the sales pitch and moves closer, we’re too close to see all of Darren. It creates a sort of distance, because we don’t see him as an entire person, just parts. This makes me wonder if Augustine is really trying to revive his father, or just looking for a chance to unlock some secrets trapped within him. The last time Darren Cross appeared, Dr. Sondheim double-crossed him, by putting his worn out heart back inside him. She’s not in much of a position to do that this time, so perhaps Augustine’s going to pull the fast one.

Rocket Raccoon #10, by Skottie Young (writer), Jake Parker (artist), Jean-Francois Beaulieu (color artist), Jeff Eckleberry (letterer) – Even Cable thinks that’s too many guns. Haha, just kidding, Cable never thinks there are too many guns.

Rocket’s trying to make some cash to pay off his court costs. Then he gets word from a criminal who says he has info on the Book of Halfworld, but Rocket will have to pay. Bye-bye clean record, hello arrest warrant. Klep shows him a photo of a case kept in a vault in a place called Tower City, and Rocket’s off, though he has to beat up some more cops and Cosmo first. Cosmo got jobbed in that fight, I tell you. Didn’t use his mental powers at all. Anyway, now Rocket’s in Tower City, and he’ll get right after that case, as soon as he finishes barfing.

This series is not exactly packed with plot. Young seems content to allow space for gags and reaction jokes, most of which involve Groot. Either Rocket’s irritated with how much Groot enjoys his drink, or Groot’s dealing with some surly bartender. Which is OK, I suppose. The relatively low number of panels – this issue averages a little over 4 per page, and only tops 5 panels 3 times - gives Parker space to draw weird aliens and hideous undersea beasts. The number of panels does increase near the end of the issue, as Rocket has to flee and fight his way through security. Which I’d guess is meant to convey a rising sense of tension or danger. Except Rocket dispatches his opponents so quickly it’s hard to buy in. Oh well, we know someone else is out there looking for the book, so that’ll be a problem for Rocket eventually. Something about Tower City makes me think of Ratchet & Clank, which isn’t a bad thing.

What I Bought 3/24/2015 - Part 4

For some reason, actors Karl Urban and Gerard Butler are mixed up in my head. I see one of them, and always assign him the wrong name. Don't know why, but it happens without fail.

Ant-Man #1-3, by Nick Spencer (writer), Ramon Rosanas (artist), Jordan Boyd (colorist), Travis Lanham (letterer), Idette Winecoor (designer) - OK, what the heck does "designer" mean? Also, between the first and second issues, Boyd went from "colorist" to "color artist". Just pick a job description!

Scott's trying to put his life back together, trying to get gainfully employed and be a good dad for his recently back from the dead daughter, Cassie (really glad they brought her back). He tries applying to be Stark's security consultant, and even gets the job. By breaking into Stark's apartment and hacking into his Iron Man helmet, but that's what Stark wanted anyway (and it's bigger jerk than normal "Superior" Iron Man, so whatever). Then Scott learns his ex-wife is moving with Cassie to Miami to get away from hero stuff, so Scott ditches the job and moves to Miami. Family first!

Once there, he tries to get a loan from a bank to set up his own security consulting company, but bank turns him down. Because banks are run by jerks. Jerks who hide a Nazi robot that turns things into gold in their vault, which Scott recaptures, because it was kind of his fault it got free in the first place. Upside, the head of the bank finds him interesting enough she invested in his company. Downside, Taskmaster's got him in his crosshairs, but not before he shatters Scott's illusions that they're arch-foes. Really though, he's just keeping Scott busy while the head of Cross Enterprises abducts Cassie. Cross' father was the guy who abducted Dr. Sondheim to perform a heart transplant and save his life, only Cassie need the good doctor for an operation of her own, prompting Scott to steal the Ant-Man outfit in the first place. Anyway, the son wants his dad back, and I'm guessing it'll be Cassie's heart he's going to use.

Oh, and the lamewad villain Crossfire is the son's uncle? Jeez, I hate that guy. Such a loser. You'd think he'd have learned his lesson after that time he tried killing Hawkeye with his own bow, only Crossfire was too weak to pull back the string and only succeeded in knocking himself unconscious with a concussion arrow. Some dudes aren't meant to be villains, because they suck.

Speaking of embarrassing defeats, Taskmaster might want to watch the ridicule. I haven't forgotten the time Rick Jones got the drop on him (it was in Busiek's Avengers run, and hey, Scott was there for that too!) That said, Scott, do not diss Taskmaster's outfit. I love the pirate boots and the cape. I do not have any idea how Taskmaster made paperclips form into a giant sword just by pushing a button. I assume magnets were involved, but how are they manipulating the whole thing? Unless Tasky has learned to imitate Magneto. No, I didn't think so either. Oh, and what the hell is he doing calling someone else "rip off"? Taskmaster's whole shtick is he copies other people's moves. There isn't an original bone in his body! Oh Tasky, there's a reason I enjoy watching you get punched so much.

I'm pretty pleased with the book so far. Scott's likeable enough, but he still shows just enough unscrupulous behavior I can see things blowing up in his face. He tries to be a smooth talker, but he's not really good at it (his attempts at sales pitches are consistently awful), and he does lack of commitment. Unfortunately, I don't think Stark was wrong about Scott looking for the quickest route. But I'm looking forward to seeing Scott and Cassie hang out together, and the Grizzly could make an interesting sidekick.

Rosanas's artwork and Boyd's colors work fairly well together. It's not a dark book, but it's not a wild and crazy one either, so the colors are muted without being murky, and the art is fairly realistic. I like the way size-changing is portrayed, with the progressively smaller, creamsicle colored outlines. It's a nice shorthand for the process that's going on with the Pym Particles. The facial expressions aren't always great. There are a couple of consecutive panels of Cassie where I'm not clear what emotion we're supposed to see. Based on the dialogue, I'd figure concern, maybe trepidation, but there's really no expression. For the most part, though Rosanas does well. The mass of ants looked good, and he draws paperclips that appear giant really well. I also like how, when Tasky pushes that button to control the paperclips, the concentric circles of the signal/pulse extend into the panels below, where the paperclips are starting to move. Nice touch.

A Discussion of Ant-Men

Reading She-Hulk #7, something that concerned me was that Patsy made reference to talking to Eric O'Grady, aka the Irredeemable Ant-Man. Setting aside my confusion about when this could happen, because Remender killed O'Grady two and a half years ago in Secret Avengers, or why Patsy would listen to O'Grady. Because it made me think those two had gotten close, and I know Sally and I joked about who Patsy could get into a relationship with that would be worse than Damion Hellstrom, but we didn't actually want it to happen. Yes, O'Grady would constitute a step down from the Son of Satan. At least Hellstrom could be charming some of the time. He would call. O'Grady's the type who tries to pick up the Avengers Academy girls with cheap booze. Guy has "loser" stamped on his forehead in 20-foot high letters.

I will admit, when it comes to Ant-Man, I'm on Team Scott Lang. I find Pym interesting, his constant attempts to find a way to be useful, to get it right. But the cyclical nature of comics means he's pretty much always stuck somewhere in that, either getting it right, or watching it all fall apart. That gets exhausting after awhile. As for O'Grady, fine, you don't have to be nice, or a good person to save the day. But O'Grady's such a scuzzy shitheel I don't want to deal with him.

Lang, though, seems like a comparatively decent and stable guy.  He did spend time in prison, but it was for burglary. We know how I feel about thieves, and other than that, he's been a reliable guy. He's smart, but not overwhelmingly so, although maybe that's changed if Reed Richards is asking him to fill in. He seems to have a pretty realistic idea of where he stands among the heroes, as in, he's not an A-lister, but if you need his help, he'll step up. But his first priority was to his daughter, which was nice. I found it obnoxious they went to the trouble of bringing Scott back in Children's Crusade, only to kill Cassie off a few issues later (and I note Heinberg killed the member of the Young Avengers he didn't create. Great job breaking other people's toys, ass).

I would have loved to see Scott and Cassie fight crime together. Scott would probably have spent most of his time working to pay the bills, but if Cassie wanted them to go fight evil, sure. So many heroes had lousy parents, or good ones who are dead. Or they're poor parents themselves, or they can't be around their kid because of reasons. Scott always seemed like he was trying to put Cassie first, which is maybe the big difference to me. Pym always feels like he's trying to prove something, or make up for one of his past mistakes. O'Grady's, hell, I don't know what O'Grady's after. Money and women, I think. Lang has done things in the past to try and pay back debts (helping Stark in Armor Wars), but even then, he's thinking about Cassie (Stark offered to pay, and Lang's small business could use the cash influx). Lang felt more more like a character I could relate to, and respect, because he's not a train wreck.

But to bring it back around to the beginning, I can't figure why Patsy would have been talking to O'Grady. I can absolutely see him trying to put the moves on her, but I'd think Patsy would hang out with enough of the other heroes to know what scuzzball Eric O'Grady was. That's a toxic waste dump she'd do well to steer clear of. Especially because he's dead.