For today’s Comic Book Review I read and reviewed the Ant-Man and the wasp story from “Tales To Astonish #48” and what I found was an astonishing tale titled “Ant-Man And The Wasp Defy The Porcupine!”

the basic outline of the story is one of an evil scientist, a weapons developer for the military develops what he see’s as the ultimate weapon, but decides to use it for his own good instead of turning it over to the army.  Thus he takes on the name of Porcupine and starts his life of crime as a bank robber.

Story

When I first opened the pages I thought the cliché concept did have promise to be a good story,  the cover had an excellent sales pitch and the first couple pages got us off to a great start.  but then it went down hill, and fast.

The idea, as I seen it and it was first said  that the porcupine is already natures perfect weapon, and yet instead of keeping it simple and something that could easily be followed, they ended up giving the porcupine via is quills  almost every type of weapon imaginable and even some that are beyond imagination. I feel they may have went too far when they let him ‘fly’  but the horrors did not stop there.

the setting also had issues, with their being the bathtub in his lab. a deep sink or anything else would have had the same effect the bathtub was just one of the final nails in the stories coffin.

Artwork

I don’t go out of my way to look for mistakes in the artwork when i read a comic book and in general I don’t find to many. As such most of my reviews are subjective as to if I liked it or not,  but today, while reading the issue a mistake leaped right out at me,  and when you consider that the artwork was fairly standard, I have to take the mistake into consideration.

I have posted part of the panel in question here, and if you look at the man in the center left, his face is covered by a shadow that is an extension of the woman’s in the back.

if I felt the rest of the artwork was outstanding , I would have overlooked this, but for this issue I was left to point it out.

Originality & Continuity

I feel this story is quite cliché and as such in its self is not to original, the porcupine had some potential  but I feel that was lost in the liberal interpretation of abilities.  I feel for this months story little imagination and creativity was used, and the name and animal porcupine was used just because the menace needed an allies.

Characters & Development

I feel that the dynamic between Henry Pym and Janet van Dyne had a  lot of potential in this issue for growth in their banter back and forth and discussion as she fell ill.  But I can not help but feel that they may have overshot the mark here by overstating the issue throughout the issue.

That said, the development was there, and perhaps the best element of an otherwise bad comic book.