Lokkin' Procu-Fine
After a run of modern comics reviews in my reading order (Avengers The Origin) it’s almost comforting to be back to my bread and butter, the one and done sixties comic. In this case it even features Ant-Man and The Wasp who are probably my favourite heroes of the sixties. Here they face a threat from the diabolical Porcupine. A man who looked at Iron Man’s costume and thought: “like that, but with more spikes”.
We have a decent villain of the week here in Alex Gentry. He’s certainly a threat to Ant-Man and The Wasp, he’s basically wearing a massive collection of projectile launchers, loaded with a variety of gadgets that would make even sixties era Batman blush. What he has in terms of weaponry and mean spiritedness he lacks in motivation. He invents a weapons suit for the military and upon putting on decides that he won’t get paid for his efforts so he’s going to go take over the underworld and rule as a king of crime. He also looks kind of goofy with his wicker-man-esque gas masked suit. that makes him look more than a little like a seventies era Doctor Who alien.
The actual plot of this issue is quite engaging if a little simple in concept. The Porcupine attempts robs a bank as it is being opened while Janet Van Dyne and Hank Pym are in attendance, revealing an illness in The Wasp leaving Ant-Man to hunt him down alone. Both characters get plenty of opportunities to shine throughout this issue, with The Wasp in particular saving the day more than once. We also get some fine character development as you can see Janet’s frustrations with Henry’s lack of response to her advances grow. It’s a promising development and I'm genuinely intrigued to see where their relationship goes.
The art here was good. Don Heck has a real eye for Ant-Man and The Wasp, he’s great at drawing both of them and drawing really good emotion on their faces. The Porcupine does not look great and given the limitations of printing technology at the time it may have been impossible to get the necessary detail in place. He just looks like a cross between a grizzly bear and a sumo wrestler and really doesn't feel like an intimidating foe, which is a shame as he is quite a savvy threat to both of the heroes. There’s good detail packed into the background and we’ve got quite a well drawn comic that is completely ruined by a picture of the Porcupine that has just been slapped in the middle of the page.
This is solid work from both the writers and the artist, let down by the design of the villain. If the Porcupine had a better look and better motivation this would have been a really decent comic. As it is, the heroes’ arc progresses nicely and the villain’s actions feel dangerous, he’s a worthy foe of our heroic pair, leaving a comic that is worth your time investment.
“Here Jan, I Got This For You! Aureomycin!” … “Henry Pym… I Hate You!”
Hank Pym / Janet Van Dyne