Written by: Jeremy Whitley
Art by: Alti Firmansyah, Espen Grundetjern, and VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: May 8, 2019

The Unstoppable Wasp is not for everyone. If you don’t like to have fun, fall in love with the characters or have a smile on your face while reading a book, I guess you should look elsewhere. For me, this book is where I go to escape the doom and gloom of most of the other books on the shelves nowadays and I feel bad for those who just won’t give it a shot. Not only that but when Jeremy Whitley revealed that Nadia suffered and then began getting help with her bipolar disorder, he did so with extra care and research that just made me fall in love with Nadia even more which is hard to believe! So, does this issue make me smile or cry (in a good way)? Let’s find out…

It’s Birthday Party time for Nadia and while that wouldn’t mean much to a lot of other heroes, it’s her first one. Yep, they really don’t celebrate much in the Red Room (well, maybe some really, really bad stuff) and so Janet Van Dyne is throwing a bash for Nadia and it’s a celebration…a Birthday celebration and a “you are just so nice and awesome” one as well.

If you are looking for some earth-shattering stuff here, you might leave disappointed, but if you’ve been enjoying this book, there is just so much to smile about here. I can’t see anyone not loving Nadia in the first place, but after this, it’s darn near impossible. She’s a hugger and every page just oozes happiness. It’s not just her, either, but everyone at the party and there is tons of cool guests.

Viv calculating who is related to Nadia (with Whitley poking fun at past convolutions), Cassie Lang trying to out-cute Nadia herself, a hilarious Hercules and so much more. There are also some genuine feels with Bucky, Jarvis and Tony Stark. I told you, a ton of cool guests and lots and lots of hugs! It’s not all just hugs though (which would have been fine with me) when everyone goes dancing, but there’s a twist that just adds more characters and fun to the mix. The issue then ends on a crazy cliffhanger that is sure to throw a wrench in things a bit going forward and I can’t wait to see how it all works out.

I think it’s easy to see that I loved this issue. Besides everything I’ve already said, there are plenty of moments with the Agents of G.I.R.L. to keep regular readers interested, but you could just jump into this with minimal knowledge and have a good time. Alti Firmansyah art is great and fits the style that Gurihiru set for the series and knowing this is all part of Nadia coming to grips with her disorder and moving forward is just icing on the cake!

Final Thoughts:

I loved this issue so much, but I love Nadia so that is no surprise. Seriously, I dare anyone to read one page of this issue and not fall in love with her! Alti Firmansyah’s art just makes it all look fantastic and while other books are busy with death and destruction, this book just wants you to smile…and maybe hug…and then smile some more.

9.0/10