This is the Wasp from the Marvel Universe.
This is the Ultimates version of the Wasp.
Definately different people. Same idea, young woman who shrinks to the size of an insect, has wings, attached to scientist-type of poor ability to express himself emotionally (I’m being polite!), but radically different backgrounds. The Ultimates Wasp is Asian-American for one, with a definate Matrix-like style vibe to her.
So when I cracked open the recent Ultimate Fantastic Four and note the rather lackluster appearance by the Ultimates, I note she’s front and center. ‘Hey!’, says I, ‘that’s a pretty nice pictue of her.’ And it is.
It’s just not the Ultimates Wasp. That looks far more like Regular Wasp, and she certainly doesn’t look Asian. This offical Marvel Universe page echoes the costume (though without sleeves), but have I gone mad? Did we lose the Carrie Ann Moss look a few issues of something back and no one told me? Does something happen in the missing last issue of Ultimates 2 where she loses her ethnicity? Maybe it was an off panel for him where he forgot and she looks the way she had later on in the book.
Is Greg Land lazy?
Well… yeah. To be honest, I can’t stand the man. His art style has turned so photo-specific that I can’t read the book anymore without losing the story because I’m wondering what magazine photo he ripped off this week. And I know I’m not alone.
And sure, it might look like nitpicking but, as Iron Man would say, “Oh come on!” If it’s a small thing, why didn’t the editor notice it and ask for a change? And what in the good Lord’s name is ‘Production’? I go to the front page to see which editor was in charge (John Barber as Associate Editor and Ralph Macchio as Adjectiveless Editor, by the way) and I see ‘Rich Ginter - Production’. That’s new.
So… where does the blame for the art gaff go? Is this just nitpicking or should this have been fixed before it saw print?
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I’m sure Marvel would say you’rer nitpicking, but I’m not Marvel.
My feeling is somebody, not the ditors, because at Marvel they never do anything, so maybe Millar or whatever the name of the Ultimates artist is, needed to mention to Land “Yeah, Wasp is Asian-American, she looks more like this.”
Maybe even go so far as to find an actress that lloks reasonably appropriate and just give Land a picture and say “Here is the Wasp. Draw it, Photo-Reference Boy.”
The worst part of it is? We have the photo-reference. I can google it in seconds. He can just light box in some Lucy Lu eyes onto the Carrie Ann Moss picture and WHAM! Insta-artist.
How could someone not notice the picutre is not an Asian-American woman? Hair can be dyed and grown out, costumes can be changed, whatever. But ethicity is kind of important.
Right?
That is, incidentally, Wasp’s correct costume (if you remove the sleeves, I mean), as of Ultimates 2. And for the record, Greg Land is a lazy hack.
Land’s notorious for this. In an earlier issue, he drew a Zombie Vision. Despite being a robot, the Vision can apparently catch a zombiee plague.
Still, Land did fudge up Ultimate Doom’s feet, thus retconning out those silly hooves. So sometimes his hackery turns out for the best.
Oh, and during the upcoming Ultimate crossover thingie, Land uses the exact same photo reference for two separate characters in the same panel, Sue Storm and some Squadron Supreme person.