Well, this is apparently a big week for firsts. Ed Brubake’s Criminal #1 is out; and be sure to check out the Comics Nexus review for that; this is my first review for the Nexus, and it gets to be about The Irredeemable Ant-Man #1. Some of you may know me already from my inane ramblings in the Roundtable, or as Beadle on the Forum. For those who don’t, my name’s Paul Beasley and I’m going to be one of the regular reviewers for the site. Also I’m English, which means while I might swear and rant in my reviews, I do have exceptional table-manners. That’s right. Daron’s decided there weren’t enough drunken irrational Brits writing for the site, so I’ve stepped in to fill a void that didn’t really need filling. I mean seriously – how many people do you guys need to tell you there’s a “u” in the word “colour” before you actually start spelling it right?
Anyway, I think there’s a book somewhere I’m supposed to be reviewing. Oh yeah, right.
The Irredeemable Ant-Man #1.
The Long of It
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Pencils: Phil Hester
Inks: Ande Parks
Colours: Bill Crabtree
Lettering: VC’s Rus Wooton
No sooner has Scott Lang started decomposing in the Graveyard of Disassembled Avengers, than Marvel decided they couldn’t survive without an Ant-Man in the Marvel Universe. They therefore handed the task of creating a new one to Robert Kirkman, safe in the knowledge that this would be a very different kind of Ant-Man if they did.
The premise of the story is simple. Six months ago, long before Civil War broke out and Hank Pym became Reed & Tony’s pet god-cloning expert, he was stationed on-board the S.H.I.E.L.D. Heli-Carrier developing a new Ant-Man suit for the boys-in-blue-jumpsuits. Without spoiling the plot for you too much, this suit ends up getting stolen, and a new Ant-Man is born. For somebody who’s supposedly (to quote Captain America from Civil War) “one of the premiere members of the greatest team the World has ever seen”, Hank Pym is certainly a bit lax in security when it comes to his technology, isn’t he? Bill Foster stole his equipment to become Giant-Man II / Black Goliath. Scott Lang stole his stuff to become Ant-Man II. Rita De Mara stole his tech to become Yellowjacket II, and Erik Josten did the same to become Goliath II. And now it happens again. But considering three-out-of-four are now pushing up the daisies, Dr Pym presumably doesn’t see this as a long-term problem.
And what is the new Ant-Man like? Quite honestly, he’s the type of hero you would be. You may kid yourself you’d have the morals of Captain America, but let’s be honest here for a second. If you had super-powers, you’d use them to get rich and pick up the hotties. He’s a sleaze. But an endearing sleaze. And that’s why he’s the “Irredeemable” Ant-Man. But who he is”¦”¦ well, we’re left in a bit of doubt on that score; right up to the end; as the book focuses on not one, but two rookie agents who could turn out to be the man.
As far as the writing goes, Kirkman can be a bit of a mixed bag. His own stuff, like Invincible, can be excellent. If you give him the constraints of dealing with defined Marvel characters, like in Marvel Team-Up, it can be very hit-and-miss (and dear Lord what the hell was that ending to the Freedom Ring story-arc?). But if you give a basis of the Marvel Universe but then tell him he can play with it as much as he likes (as per Marvel Zombies), it can be superb. And thankfully, that’s what we get with this book. He’s got some Marvel staples like S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hank Pym, but he gets to create a whole new set of characters and do what he wants with them. And what he wants is to have fun. And I did. With dialogue like “When I find him – I’m going to crawl in his ear and kick him in the brain.” how could I not?
Hester and Parks’ art compliments the writing very well. It’s simple and quirky, but not in a way that detracts from the story. It’s very in-keeping with the fun style of the book, which is one of the best things you can ever say about comic-book art. It’s not super-flashy or ultra-detailed, but it really works well for the book.
The Short of It
In summary, I loved this book. Don’t get me wrong; it’s far from perfect. But what it IS is a great little introduction to a great little new hero. If you’re a Kirkman fan, you’ll love it. If you’re not, I would be willing to bet that you’ll definitely like it. With Kirkman, as well as Slott, Nicieza et al, Marvel are doing what DC has been trying to avoid like the plague – they’re keeping the funny books fun. And I for one really appreciate that.
Grade: B+ A solid start.
PS. Please comment on this review. As I mentioned it’s my first for the site, so I could really use the feedback. Gimme gimme. Please.
