Comics Review: "Ant-Man" #1

- by Ninja Ross, 9 January 2015

Did you know there’s an Ant-Man movie coming out? I know! I didn’t know either! And now there’s a new Ant-Man comic book out, just in time for the first trailer (which had a trailer of its own, because whatever). Almost like there’s some kind of... marketing thing going on.

Click for Giant Man size.

Whether it was intentional or not, the book came out this week. Written by Nick Spencer, with art provided by Ramon Rosanas, this new series follows Scott Lang, rather than Hank Pym. Lang is trying to get his life back together. He’s an ex criminal, a superhero (more or less) with a record of being unreliable, he’s divorced, jobless and he was dead for a bit.

In "Ant-Man" issue one, he’s aiming to get back on track by getting a new job as Tony Stark’s head of security, giving him financial stability and a way to support his daughter. To get the job, Lang has to compete with several other super powered candidates, all full of ambition.

Anyone who isn’t familiar with Lang (that’s most people) can relax, as Lang talks about his past in the initial job interview, with handy flashbacks.

There are times when I would actually like MORE flashbacks, since I know very little (nothing. Nothing at all) about Scott Lang, but it does a very good job of telling you most of what you need to know without boring you to tears.

How nice!

Marvel hasn’t been very good with comicbooks over the last few years, mixing blandness with mediocre storylines and forced movie/TV show references and tie-ins. So, it’s perfectly reasonable to expect more of the same from "Ant-Man", a comic book released primarily to promote the upcoming movie. But... this is actually pretty good. What could have been blander than the actual word “bland,” the book is more fun than anything I’ve read from Marvel in quite a while (Punisher not included. That has been awesome).

I can call you Betty, and Betty when you call me...

Spencer’s script is full of humour, without sacrificing any of the more human and dramatic elements. Lang’s dialogue and inner monologue is snappy, while his interactions with those he cares about is often full of feeling.

There are no real super villains here. A couple show up here and there, but never for long and any fighting happens somewhere else, away from our delicate eyes The fights are nowhere near the main point of this book, anyway; it’s all about Lang and the people in his life. And that’s probably the best direction to go with a character like Ant-man. It’s what made Hawkeye so good.

It’s not only a well paced, well told story, though! It also looks nice! Rosanas’ art is a perfect match for Spencer’s more subtle story. It’s simplistic, but never to a fault. Everyone looks human and full of expression, making the good guys even more likeable.

Somewhere, Aquaman is telling a fish that he knows that feeling.

And, thanks to colours provided by Jordan Boyd, it’s also a very vibrant book. Rosanas and Boyd help add a lot of life to the book, helping Spencer’s story really shine. The duo offer a more laid back look than most of Marvel’s book and is pretty reminiscent of David Aja’s work on Hawkeye in that sense.

Basically, buy the book and read it. That is the whole point of this review. But it’s a great start, regardless. It’s not necessarily going to make you fall in love with Ant-Man and camp outside the cinema to see the movie, but it’s a good start. Hopefully, this book won’t be forced to feature anything to do with whatever terrible crossover event Marvel comes up with next. Hopefully it’ll continue to be an interesting, fun book.

 
Let's hope for that! And if you HAVE to buy a Marvel book, buy this one! It's really good!

Tagged: comics, Reviews.

blog comments powered by Disqus

Loading

---

Follow @TrashMutant