Irredeemable Ant-Man #1

Robert Kirkman & Phil Hester

I picked this up at the last minute because, well, I haven't read either Kirkman's Invincible or Hester's Firebreather, but they both look like things I would enjoy. So I should enjoy this too even if I've been too cheap to pick up those trades to be sure. And I did. The initial issue of The Irredeemable Ant-Man follows a new soon-to-be-Ant-Man and his friends on a SHIELD helicarrier in a long flashback bookended by the new Ant-Man in action. It's his origin story basically. But it's really an original one. The character of this new Ant-Man is going to be a fun one. The cover provides for a nice example as he proclaims "Sigh. Twenty-three super-villains and not one wallet." That's kind of who this character is. He's not your average superhero. He does things that normal people would probably do in his situation, as can be seen in the opening scene, where he asks a woman he just rescued from a mugger for a date. It's a silly look at a superhero, but it's a highly enjoyable comedic one about how this irresponsible spaz of a guy gets ahold of this costume and inherits the name of Ant-Man. Hester's art here is great as well. Although there's a lot of dialogue and not too much action in this issue, the art remains interesting throughout, and it's kind of nice to have an issue dedicated to the characters during an origin. It made me attached and I'll be clamouring for the subsequent issues (and possible picking up those Invincible and Firebreather trades). Hester also came up with a nice design for the new Ant-Man suit - very simple and sleek and a little alien. If this first issue is any indicator, this could shape up to be a really fun series. A