Another Great Moment with Susan Storm

This panel is from Fantastic Four #561:


I'm not sure why Alternate Future Sue seems so passive, but Regular Universe Sue is cutting quite a swath through the antagonists.

Take that, Dr. Banner, Jr.!

Speculation is Fun

*****

It's been weeks since the referenced comics actually came out, but this is your official SPOILER WARNING. (Particularly for Secret Invasion.)

*****

I have a theory about Janet van Dyne, aka the Wasp. It's not a perfect theory, of course, as it is dependent almost completely on Hulk #7, which takes place in a pocket Loebverse that may or may not have a tenuous connection to regular Marvel. (I'm assuming that it does.)

The Red Hulk story contained within Hulk #7 begins with She-Hulk trying to get somebody to help her track down and beat up Rulk. It's a quest of vengeance. There's really not much to explain, and you don't really need to know. Beating people up is the theme of Hulk. Anyway, the key is the list:

Panels from Hulk #7

Jen finally recruits Thundra and Valkyrie, who are not on the list. But the list seems to consist of the women She-Hulk knows and would call first. Right? Ms. Marvel's a friend and colleague. Storm's part of the Fantastic Four. Jen and Sue go way back. She knows Black Widow (and it's also possible S.H.I.E.L.D. made some suggestions.) She meets Spider-Woman at that Christmas party with Santron, if nothing else. Dazzler's an old friend from her Savage days. So's Hellcat. Risque... Wait, who the heck is Risque?

Let's look her up in the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #9, because it's handy and more official than Wikipedia.

Page from the All-New Official Handbook
of the Marvel Universe #9

Hmm. Risque appears to be a dead. She's a mutant, which means she could conceivably be alive again, but she's not exactly high profile. More to the point, I'm positive Jen and Risque have never crossed paths. Even more to the point, she has energy projection powers.

This is where the last few pages of Secret Invasion #7 come in.

Panel from Secret Invasion #7

Yes, it looks very bad for the Wondrous Wasp. Will she survive the Skrull invasion?

Scroll up and take another peak at Jen's list. Jan is as great a friend as Sue, and would be one of the first people Jen would call. She's not on the list, but Risque the Obscure Dead Mutant is right there between Tigra and Hellcat! Really?

In She-Hulk #34, the Invisible Woman joins the new Lady Liberators. She doesn't ask about Jan. What's up with that?

Panel from She-Hulk #34

I think Jan survives, and what's up is that she's just busy learning to control her new(ly enhanced) energy powers while establishing a new superhero identity.

Panel from Secret Invasion #7

It's fun trying to connect the Kirby dots.

Edit: **Thanks to Mallet for listening to this on IM a few days ago. Helps to talk, er, chat it out.

On Meeting the Artist II

Mr. Ryan Claytor of Elephant Eater Comics visited my LCS today. It was his last stop on his book signing tour, before settling into Lansing. Which is cool. It's always fun to meet the artist. Especially when the artist is an extremely nice guy who kind of reminds me of my (youngest) uncle (who, incidentally, is a painter living in California, and is also an extremely nice guy. Similar vibe, I guess.)

The thing is, though, while it's always fun to meet the artist, it can also be one of the most awkward guilt-trips ever. I'm not familiar with Ryan's work, nor did I budget for it today. It's the last Wednesday of the month, when most of my pull list comes out. I have a budget and a routine, and that didn't include a ten-dollar collected edition. So I found myself talking (awkwardly) to a recently local indie creator. Picked up the first trade to look at it, but... How do you stand in front of someone, anyone, and silently read (or read and comment on) their work in front of them? I had a similar problem when I met Guy Davis a couple years ago, but at least there I'd had the foresight to purchase and read his book (Unstable Molecules, a haunting take on the Fantastic Four) beforehand.

So that's the awkward. The guilt is passing up an autobiographical comic which, frankly, looks kind of cool with the creator sitting right there, and purchasing the Marvel monthlies I've already agreed to buy. Such is the nature of the pull list. *sigh*

Well, next week is slow. I'm pulling the Ms. Marvel Annual (Or at least, I think I am. Never can tell with my LCS. Gods, that's an awful cover...), I'm planning on Manhunter, and I'm curious about Marvel Apes (pending previews), but should they be there, I may plan on picking up the first collection of And Then One Day.