The Astonishing Ant-Man #1

Scott Lang's life sucks. His new security business is in the toilet, only hanging on thanks to the increasingly thin generosity of a Golden Age heroine who owed him a favor. And thanks to Scott's efforts to keep his daughter safe by staying out of her life following a kidnapping attempt by his arch-enemy, she's turned on him too.

But things are never so bad that they can't get worse. Because Scott's latest big break into Miami's security market is in peril thanks to the efforts of his ex-wife's new husband. And Scott's arch-enemy - now in possession (if not control) of size-changing powers of his own - has chosen Scott as the target of a demo for a new smart-phone app aimed at the corrupt businessman on-the-go, who needs to hire mercenary super-villains to deal with those meddling do-gooders in a hurry.


Ant-Man is back and as hysterically, horribly funny as ever!  Nick Spencer packs humor into every page of his scripts and this remains one of the funniest books on the market today. Yet there is also pathos and it is hard not to be touched by Scott's plight as he watches his daughter's basketball games in a shrunken size, determined not to miss a moment of her growing up even if he can't safely be in her life.


The artwork aids in the comedic timing of the issue.  Ramon Rosanas does not go out of his way to create funny imagery, merely drawing the action as would be natural and allowing the absurdity of the Marvel Universe played straight to reveal itself. And the colors by Jordan Boyd leave everything looking fantastic.