Marvel Comics has been very good at producing fantastic one-shot stories to coincide with big movie releases. Take for instance Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 — Marvel released Mission Breakout and Mother Entropy just as the film released. They were quality books that anyone can enjoy. They’re up to their fine work again with Ant-Man and the Wasp soon to hit theaters, and Ant-Man & The Wasp: Living Legends is one of two Ant-Man books out today.
So what’s it about?
Read our preview.
Why does this matter?
This issue is written by Ralph Macchio, who knows his way around Marvel heroes (and writes a lot of the forwards in the trade paperbacks). He’s joined by Andrea Di Vito who has drawn many movie-focused tie-ins like this one.
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
Look who decided to show up.
This issue mixes the old with the new, putting Scott Lang on track with a story that serves as a sequel to a classic Tales to Astonish #49 adventure. This means going to Dimension Z and teaming up with the original Wasp to save the lives of an alien race. It has a Golden Age comics feel that should make older comic fans giddy for the comic writing style. It also puts Scott on track to get a little classic Ant-Man action since he’s a modern take who hasn’t done something quite as science fiction-ey as this.
Di Vito draws a good issue and it has moments where it’s modern looking and others where it looks and feels like a classic comic. That suits the story when it flashes back and helps when it gets ridiculous (I mean Dimension Z, come on!). There’s some fantastic panel work in this issue too. Take for instance a scene where the Wasp jumps away from the villain and her pose is striking. In another Ant-Man erases someone (with a device called the eraser, duh) and it looks rather cool.
Thanks for the exposition duder!
It can’t be perfect can it?
The story as a whole is a big generic. It doesn’t bore, but it doesn’t exactly stand out either. It’s a perfectly fine adventure, but it’s not a must read. It calls back to a classic tale which should suit old fans, but doesn’t really have a place in the now further untethering it from any time or place.
Is it good?
This is a perfectly fine read and a fun one if you’re jazzed for the Ant-Man movie out in July. It’s another example of Marvel putting out a quality product for a more general audience.
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