MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
STORY: Jeremy Whitley
ART: Elsa Charretier
COLORS: Megan Wilson
LETTERS: VC's Joe Caramagna
COVER: Elsa Charretier with Nicolas Bannister
VARIANT COVERS: Elizabeth Torque; Nelson Blake II with Guru eFX; Skottie Young; John Tyler Christopher; Andy Park
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (March 2017)
Rated “T+”
The Wasp a.k.a. Janet van Dyne is a Marvel Comics female super hero. She was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and first appeared in Tales to Astonish #44 (cover dated: June 1963). The Wasp is usually depicted as having the ability to shrink to a height of several centimeters; fly by means of insectoid wings; and fire bio-electric energy blasts. The Wasp is also a founding member of the Avengers and has been a leader of the team.
After Janet van Dyne, there is another version of The Wasp. She is Hope Pym, also known as the Red Queen and the Wasp, and is the daughter of Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man. Of course, Marvel has an alternate universe version of Hope Pym, and her name is Nadia, who is now in the main Marvel Universe. She is the daughter of Hank Pym and Maria Trovaya. Nadia is the star of the new Marvel comic book series, The Unstoppable Wasp. It is written by Jeremy Whitley; drawn by Elsa Charretier; colored by Megan Wilson; and lettered by Joe Caramagna.
The Unstoppable Wasp #1 finds Nadia hanging with Ms. Marvel a.k.a. Kamala Khan. It's time for Nadia to straighten out the affairs of her U.S. citizenship – remember that U.S. borders are closed to some. We learn the story of the romance of Nadia's parents and her life in “The Red Room,” a secret facility in Russia that trained young girls to become weapons. Then, it's time to meet a heroine/role model and villain/role model.
The Unstoppable Wasp is like many girl-hero comics that have emerged during the last few years (Batgirl, Moon Girl and Devil Dragon): glib, snappy, snazzy, and fun-to-read. In the case of Nadia-Wasp, it is her positivism and on-the-bright-side personality that makes her attractive. In spite of my cranky, old-ass ways, I found myself liking her. Page by page, writer Jeremy Whitley will not let you not like Nadia-Wasp, and he will make you want more of her, mainly because she seems to want more us – at least our positive side.
I love the retro-style art of artist Elsa Charretier. With the coloring of Megan Wilson, the storytelling here graphically recalls early 1960s Marvel Comics and also (delightfully) Darwyn Cooke's interpretation of the Silver Age. I won't grade this comic book just yet, but I hope to soon. And yes, I will recommend this to young readers (especially girls) and to girl-hero lovers.
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.
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