Big boy season continues as the team of Ant-Man, Giant-Man, Goliath, and Atlas infiltrate Frost Giant-occupied Florida on a mission of assassination!
Giant-Man continues to be the ideal event tie-in comic. This War of the Realms side-story gives you just enough of the overall story to get you invested in the stakes, then it dutifully kicks things into fun mode. Aside from a few deeper references to the Marvel pantheon of gods and some mentions of past exploits, it’s also very accessible for new readers. Even if you’re only familiar with Lang and Foster from the Ant-Man movies, this is still an easy and hilarious read.
Another thing that I really appreciated was how it followed on directly from the ending of the previous issue, AND followed it up with a solid gag. It’s moments like this that make the wait between issues worth it and add to the feeling that this mini will read really well in trade format, as well. Kudos to writer Leah Williams for the tight plotting and the solid pay-off!
That’s not to say it’s all jokes and goofs, as the issue still takes the time to remember what is at stake. Scott is a father, after all, and this issue picks up from the wonderful parental chat between Scott and Freyja, expanding on how worried he is about his daughter and how scary the idea is that the Frost Giants may not see any use for the females of earth.
On the lighter side of things, however, this issue switches things up from the punch-ups seen in the previous issue and some of the other tie-ins. Instead, I have to go into a spoiler to further explain why this issue in particular was so fun.
Okay, as a Panama City native, I couldn’t help but feel proud as the gang finagled their way behind enemy lines in the most Florida way possible: by bro-ing down with the Frost Giants over some brews. It’s incredibly endearing, even showing us the lighter side of the bad guys. They’re still would-be world-crushers, but they do know how to party.
…And then there’s a punch-up, which is drawn wonderfully by Marco Castiello. It’s a messy tangle of bodies and limbs, spit and ice flying in equal measure. It’s a bar brawl from Hel, like a scene from Road House that just happens to involve larger than life creatures. Castiello’s mix of humorous facial expressions and hand-to-hand violence mix with Rachelle Rosenberg’s colors to create a visual style that feels at once cartoonish and gritty.
The whole book has a brilliant tone that keeps the story from getting totally gloom-and-doom, but also never shies away from how dire the situation really is. The final pages are the closest the story gets to feeling hopeless. Even then, though, the characters approach the situation with their trademark gallows humor. Things are looking pretty grim for our favorite big boys, so next month’s concluding issue of Giant-Man can’t come soon enough!
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