Review: Irredeemable Ant-Man, Small Minded Digest

Moe Zilla over at Helium has an interesting take on the Ant-Man graphic novel by Robert Kirkman…

There was one graphic novel in 2007 with a special fascination. “Irredeemable Ant-Man Volume 2: Small-Minded Digest” collected the last six issues of the Marvel comic book. The book’s ill-fated publishing history ultimately affected its plot, both in good ways and bad.

The last six issues continued the original story from Volume 1. The new Ant-Man was Eric O’Grady, who was young, irresponsible, and able to shrink himself to the size of an ant. In an exciting premise, he’s a fugitive from the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents (from whom he stole the suit). Living on the run – and trying to hustle dates – he audaciously finds work by posing as an entirely different superhero, named “Slaying Mantis.” There’s a final reckoning at the end, but it only proves what an effective anti-hero Eric was. There’s a real question as to whether he’ll do the right thing – and since he’s been such a consistent jerk, it’s a much more interesting dilemma.

But the comic book’s low sales also led the plot into several unexpected gimmicks. The first story in this collection finds Ant-Man sneaking into Ms. Marvel’s headquarters, and stumbling into the middle of a fight with the Avengers. (“The world’s most shameless tie-in” the cover art promised.) The next issue’s cover tried an even more desperate gimmick, using an especially sexy cover that showed Ant-Man peeping on a woman in a shower. Two issues later came the tie-in issue with Marvel’s popular “World War Hulk” series. (Ant-Man fights the Incredible Hulk by diving down his throat.) These gimmicks worked with the ongoing story arc about Eric’s gradual transformation. “It’s time to play hero!” he says at one point. “For a little while at least. Then it’s time to play looter…”

There’s a rush in the final issues to tie up hanging storylines – but some new characters had also been introduced to complement Eric’s new life. He encounters a rival looter named the Grey Fox, an aging jewel thief who later bonds with Eric over games on the Wii. Eric also gets into a healthy romantic relationship with a superpowered co-worker named the Visioneer. (“I can read your emotions, you jackass. I know you’re in love with me…”) Even characters from the early stories reveal new facets to their personalities – for example, agent Mitch Carson, who’s pursuit of the fugitive left him disfigured and vengeful. And the final issue re-visits Eric’s rejected girlfriend from the earliest issues. Through these encounters, Eric comes to a surprising decision about what he has to do.

The answer finally arrived in “Avengers: Initiative” (issue 8). But for those who want to see how the irresponsible superhero got there, his early adventures wait in “Irredeemable Ant-Man Volume 2: Small-Minded Digest.”

Source: Helium