[REVIEW] ANT-MAN #1

Writer: Zeb Wells
Artist: Dylan Burnett
Colorist: Mike Spicer
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover Artist: Eduard Petrovich
Editor: Darren Shan
Publisher: Marvel Comics

It’s been a little while since Earth’s smallest Avenger got a spotlight treatment, and in this week’s Ant-Man #1, writer Zeb Wells takes him on a father-daughter adventure worth following.

When Scott is tasked with finding missing beehives, he’s led to the lair of a classically goofy supervillain — none other than Swarm, the Nazi bee hivemind! From what I can tell, their paths have never crossed despite being such obvious adversaries for one another, and the fight that ensues is a whole lot of fun. But in classic superhero plotting, Scott soon learns Swarm isn’t the threat he should be facing. The only thing worse than one bugman is a group of bugmen, and Scott may not get out of this one unharmed — or rather, unbitten.

One thing I really like about Wells’ take on Ant-Man (that I haven’t seen so much in his more recent stories) is that he’s called Ant-Man for a reason. Everybody’s familiar with the size-changing aspect of his skillset (2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp involved him shrinking into the Microverse), but he can also communicate with insects, and that becomes especially relevant in this first issue and the series moving forward.

Another thing I really appreciate about this new story is the continued focus on Cassie Lang, Scott’s superhero daughter currently known as Stinger. Ever since she was brought back from the dead in the early part of last decade, she’s been used in varying capacity by different writers, so having her around to fight alongside her dad just “feels” right. It’s actually kind of bonkers that we haven’t had a whole team of characters in the Ant-Family yet, so this may be the closest thing we get to one until Marvel wises up and brings us the Bug Brigade (That’s a freebie for you, Marvel).

Ant-Man’s status as a comical character means artists can play with his visual depiction more than the artists of, say, Avengers might have an opportunity to, which makes Dylan Burnett’s zany art a perfect match for Wells’s script. It’s dynamic, cartoony, and accurately reflects the vibe Scott (and Ant-Man) represent. But he’s not the only member of the art team putting in some solid, quality work here — Mike Spicer’s colors are vibrant and varied, while letterer Cory Petit really breaks loose with his rendering of sound and dialogue.

Ant-Man #1

8

Premise

8.0/10

Execution

8.0/10

Script

8.0/10

Art

8.0/10

Credits

• Strong, cohesive creative team
• Fun setup for a plot
• Nails the perfect tone of an Ant-Man story

Credits (cont)

• Could use a bit more of Cassie Lang