Ant-Man #2 Review

Written by: Zeb Wells
Art by: Dylan Burnett
Colors by: Mike Spicer
Lettered by: Cory Petit
Published by: Marvel Comics

Scott Lang is looking for his big break. After a rough period (if you call having to live in an ant hill because of a lack of funds a “rough period”), it seems he has found just the starting point. While tracking down missing bees in Florida might not be what some call an “Avengers level threat”, it’s a solid place to begin. And, when his mission leads him to a Nazi scientist made of bees and a trio of villains similarly made of insects, it appears this small-time problem is about to mimic Scott and get a lot bigger.

The humor of this comic continues to impress. The starting introduction from Scott’s ant landlord was the first of many laugh out loud worthy gags in this issue. This book has been able to walk a fine line of spot-on humor, interesting story, engaging action, and a bit of heart at the center of it. The comedy comes in many spots, not feeling forced and staying true to the characters. The action that opens the book was actually great. It used many engaging elements and made Scott look almost surprisingly coherent. The Cassie scene adds another element to the ongoing narrative. If this is Scott’s “down period”, getting close to losing his reason for uprooting his life adds another struggle for him. But also Cassie has legitimate reasons for wanting to leave. Not only to reunite with a friend but, as we saw in the opening of the #1, her father and she did run into problems when trying to team up. Seeing this play out is legitimately intriguing to me. Their relationship has a chance to be explored and altered in this series. The highlight of this issue was the introduction of the villain. Vespa, Tusk, and Thread already grabbed my attention. I liked how perfect (if somewhat "too perfect", but hey it’s a comic book) they were as adversaries for Ant-Man. But, the addition of Macrothrax makes this the threat I thought it could be (and that the title World Hive, promised). Now, this is an Avengers level threat! The way he infiltrated Scott’s mind was unnerving. And the end makes him even more dangerous. This book is firing on all cylinders. Jokes like “He’s probably having a sit-down with a bunch of bees…”, drama like Cassie’s Avengers invitation, and the action/suspense of Macrothrax’s masterplan is beginning to make this a real standout series. Also, this issue almost made me cry when a bee died… need I say more?

Multiple elements are brought to the table by the art as well. I’ve already noted how the humor is subtly displayed through the art style and illustrations. But, the action was given a great spotlight in this issue, showing the dynamism capable of the art. The use of deep blacks also left many scenes with a creepy almost horror vibe. Not to mention the designs of the villains are inherently menacing. The art did a good job of playing up the creepy nature of these characters, particularly in the scene where Swarm is relaying the history of the villains and there is a great group shot of the three with Thread reaching out towards the reader. The coloring of that shot is amazing. The palette felt grounded in the last issue, but with the new visuals, it added to the horror feeling. The content and dark/shadowy lines sometimes felt like old horror comics from companies like EC. The coloring and art joined for another terrifying scene when Macrothrax gives Scott a vision of his apocalyptic future. That was chilling. And, the lettering is doing wonders for the atmosphere of this book. It fills the pages with audible sound effects that add to the read.

Ant-Man #2 has already marked this series as something special. There are many elements to draw you to this book and keep you reading. The humor is outstanding, there are fascinating aspects to the story, and now there’s an enemy that is truly terrifying. And, the glimpses of the next issue seem like things are going to get even more fun. Insect will meet arachnid when Ant-Man runs into Spider-Man.