Radiant Comics

I’m back from the comic shop this week and I got one new comic:

And now for a review of something I’ve read recently.

“The Irredeemable Ant-Man” by Robert Kirkman, Phil Hester, and Cory Walker

For my second pull off of the pile of Marvel trade paperbacks that I was given by a friend I decided to go with a Kirkman written book. I read and like both “Invincible” and “The Walking Dead” which are both Kirkman written books so I thought there would be a good chance I’d like this one too. And I did like it.

Kirkman has a different take than the Ant-man I’ve read stories before. There is a whole new guy in the shrinking suit. Eric O’Grady is a low level S.H.E.L.D. operative. He works watching a surveillance monitor and is bored with his job. Through a series of funny and serious circumstances he ends up in possession of the Ant-Man suit and on the run living life as a super hero.

The twist is that Eric is not a very nice guy. He’s billed as “The World’s Most Unlikable Super Hero” but he’s actually pretty likable. He’s just not trustworthy and can’t be counted on to do the right thing. His idea of being a super hero includes lying, stealing things if it’s convenient, mooching off anyone he can, and spying on women as they shower.

There is a lot of comedy in this book and it’s perspective is from that of an ordinary person in the Marvel Universe. Even if that person works for a spy agency and has a super powered ant suit. There are also references to all sorts of big crossover events going on in the Marvel Universe but from an outsider’s point of view.

The art in the book is nice. It gets the job done but I can’t say that it’s spectacular. Most of it is by Phil Hester with an issue or two by Cory Walker. They both do a good job with the off beat story and handle the comic moments well.

“The Irredeemable Ant-Man” is a solid and fun book that has a different take on a superhero. If you’re looking for an antidote to all the bleak and serious stories that populate a lot of comics these days check it out.