Spider-Woman #7

Writer – Dennis Hopeless
Artist – Javier Rodriguez
Inker – Alvaro Lopez
Colours – Muntsa Vicente

Spider-Woman’s plan to go undercover as the Porcupine to rescue his family as well as all of the other missing families belonging to various Z-list villains is well underway and what she finds is not exactly what she expected. It is still amazing to see the direction this book has gone in since its little mini-reboot and now being a title that provides consistent entertainment and more than a few laughs. The mystery of the missing families is essentially solved and while it is not what Jessica had thought it would turn out to be, there is an even bigger one that makes itself known. So after Jessica goes undercover as the Porcupine, she continues her undercover work as a member of one of the missing families and she never fails to provide a steady stream of chuckles as the story moves along. What is nice to see is the characterization going on with our heroine. She has had solo adventures before, but nothing that ever went really in depth to what she thinks or feels and this series is a breath of fresh air for doing that. Though Jessica Drew might be the star of the book, there is also a source of laughter to be found between Porcupine and Ben Urich. Aiding in this endeavour is Javier Rodriguez whose pencils are a marvel to behold in and of themselves. If the words by Dennis Hopeless were absent, the pencils by Rodriguez would still be enough to convey everything needed to tell this story and it would probably be just as funny. As it is, the two of them make a perfect team and it makes this book a joy to read. There are a lot of grim and gritty, serious-type books being put out by a lot of publishers so it is refreshing to pick up Spider-Woman each and every month and find some lighter fare.

4 out of 5

Ant-Man #5

Writer – Nick Spencer
Artist – Ramon Rosanas
Colours – Jordan Boyd

In this issue, Ant-Man fights to save the life of his little girl. The worst thing that could ever happen has happened as Scott’s superhero life has come home to nest and put his daughter in grave danger. It is something that Scott will never forgive himself for and now his greatest foe, or at least the one responsible for his creation, Darren Cross, is among the living again with Cassie’s heart beating in his chest. Now it is a race against time for our size-changing hero as he must defeat the villain as fast as he can so that he can get Cassie to a hospital before it is too late. For the first time in this title’s history the book takes a real serious turn, though of course it does not forget to give us at least a couple of laughs along the way. So it is that Nick Spencer and Ramon Rosanas push out hero to the limits in a fight that takes a real physical toll, yet as Scott is fighting for the life of his daughter he will not stop until he either wins or until he is unable to continue any longer. During the issue we get some flashbacks from his life with his daughter and it is touching to see a man love his child as much as he does, but come the end of the issue, he makes a choice that he knows he has to. It is one that his wife suggested long ago yet he chose to ignore and now he realizes that he must. What this means for the book going forward is anybody’s guess, but hopefully it is not a permanent one. With no pun intended, Ant-Man is the little book that could. It has defied expectations and is a very solidly produced title that is always entertaining and always a good read. Though you can probably say it about many of Marvel’s books, Ant-Man is definitely one of the best new titles to come along from the publisher in the last couple of years.

4 out of 5