The Wasp #1: Come On, Feel The Noise. Girls, Rock Your Boys…

It’s 2023, and it is the year of the Wasp! No, the Chinese zodiac did not add another animal to their lineup, but to the queen diva of the Marvel Universe. No, she wasn’t the first, but she was most definitely the most stylish. Yes, my dears, I am talking about the one, the only Janet Van Dyne in her first ever (I think) mini-series by Marvel superstar writer, Al Ewing (Ant-Man, Defenders, Immortal Hulk), and rising star artist, Kasia Nie (Mockingbird) in this four-issue mini commemorating Jan’s 60th anniversary. Tagging along is Nadia (Pym) Van Dyne, Hank Pym’s daughter who was raised in secret by the Russian superhuman spy organization the Red Room. Nadia would defect to the United States, where she formed the female-centric think tank G.I.R.L. (Genius In Action Research Labs), which was designed to locate and before becoming both an Avenger, and Champion, before falling off the map. 

The story starts with Jan and Jarvis in Jan’s new swanky club (with no name as of yet) geared towards being a safe, neutral place for the superhero community to be and mingle. Think of the Bar With No Name where supervillains and petty criminals go to throw back some suds (I feel so old using that line), and talk about wins, and losses, and helps to humanize these characters who the only time we get to see them is when they’re robbing banks, doing some kind of diabolical plots, or getting their heads cracked, so I’m kinda excited to see what Ewing does with this new locale for Jan, and friends. I really hope we see She-Hulk in this mini at one point, mainly because we haven’t had much interaction between the two bestows in Rainbow Rowell’s She-Hulk run. 

Kasia Nie’s on art duties, and it’s a pretty solid job thus far, although I was hoping to see Jan in a new costume or two (she’s a fricking fashion designer. Staying in the same costume since her run on the Uncanny Avengers unity squad), alas it doesn’t look like it. At least we get to see all of the AMAZING (and not so amazing) costumes Jan’s sported over the years (my favorite is the asymmetrical blue and white number), by Russell Dauterman. Kasia’s Jan is fun, and fresh, while Nadia’s plucky, and her Whirlwind (Jan’s first real supervillain) is the lovable loser he’s always meant to be. 

Ewing is a huge continuity head, and it’s clear he’s going to dig deep by expounding on who, or what, killed her father, and it looks like he’s going to tie it into his Immortal Hulk run, with the Green Door, so that’s definitely got my interest peaked. Ewing’s Hulk has been one of the best runs since the beginning of the post-Avengers: No Surrender era. It also looks like we’re going to see members of the Red Room, including some Winter Guard members involved in this story, which I am all for it. One thing I’ve missed over the years is the lack of the Silver and Bronze Age Soviet-era villains that seemed to just disappear after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The revitalization of these characters in Jason Aaron’s Avengers run has been one of the biggest highlights for me. I can’t wait to see what this team has in store for them.