Wasp #1 // Review
Jarvis and Janet have known each other so long that it doesn’t even make sense. In many, many decades on a floating timeline, he’s never called her anything other than “Ms. Van Dyne.” The two are hanging out at a bar at the beginning of her latest venture on Wasp #1. Writer Al Ewing opens his four-issue mini-series with the aid of artist Kasia Nie. Color comes to the page courtesy of K.J. Díaz. The opening issue is an opportunity to follow the Avenger through a day in her life. It’s a fun journey that allows for a bit of intimacy with one of Marvel’s longest-lived superheroines.
It’s a maximum security bar. It’s got Baxter Building-level security. She’s going to need that level if she’s going to be welcoming costumed heroes. The masks have had a rough go of it after the tenure of Mayor Fisk, who has put a moratorium on superheroes in Marvel Manhattan. After her meeting with Jarvis, she’s got a date with her daughter, who has been up to a few things since the cancellation of her series not too long ago. Mother and daughter are faced with a threat as an old enemy comes to crash their meeting.
Ewing runs through the opening issue with a degree of grace that matches that of his main character. The three major moments in the issue are given a remarkable amount of emotional depth. Even a casual combat encounter with an old villain turns out to be kind of a deep emotional exploration of the villain in question. The result is more or less to be expected, but Ewing throws in a little twist at the end that turns out to be a really promising hook for the rest of the series.
Nie and Díaz find the emotional center of the story and cozy up to it right away. The interactions between Jarvis, Janet, and her daughter snuggle the page with great warmth. The architecture in the background is rendered with an appealing aesthetic befitting a title character who just happens to have been a fashion designer. Nie and Díaz do a pretty good job with the action as well, but the most impressive aspect of the visuals lies in the flashbacks. Díaz uses big Ben-Day dots for the flashback scenes, while Nie adopts a style that seems like a respectable homage to Jack Kirby’s early work with the character.
The first quarter of the series is over, and it already feels like it’s rushing by way too quickly. Though Ewing is clearly moving things around in a very tight four-issue space with a firm eye on the overall composition of the series, it’s to the credit of everyone involved that it feels disappointing that the series isn’t going to survive into the coming summer. Janet’s great fun. Always has been. It’s nice to see her in her own series again. Four issues, though? That’s simply not enough time with Janet.
