Broken Frontier

Ant is back, but she doesn’t know where she’s been and she’ll need the help of a few powerful friends to figure out where she’s going.

Where has Hannah Washington been? She wishes she knew. All she knows is that a truck driver found her on the side of the road, a journal her only possession. The writing inside is hers, but it makes no sense. Further, Hannah is vexed by the image of a superhero called Ant, who apparently disappeared, presumed dead, after a number of great adventures. Many questions sparked by the gaps in her memory and the words on the page revolve around one name: Steven Richards. He’s easily found, though, at a comics convention promoting his new book Ant: She Didn’t Do It Alone. Even more questions arise, but Hannah soon learns that she isn’t the only one who wants Richards. Jessica Mime and her gang of thugs want his technical genius, and they kidnap him from the convention before Hannah can speak with him. Seemingly from nowhere, Hannah as vexed as everyone else, her alter ego The Ant appears to foil the crime. But Jessica and a monstrosity named Arachnid prove too much for her. Ant finds help on her side, however, when Savage Dragon bails her out, and then Spawn reveals to her that her mind isn’t as messed up as she thinks it is. Rather, someone has been messing with it and manipulating her for some unknown reason. The final showdown between Ant and Jessica Mime goes as hero/villain showdowns go...but only for a while before it all goes so horribly off-track that Jessica is left wondering if any of it has happened the way she thinks it has.

Reality Bites collects the beginning stories of Ant Vol. 2 now published by Image, and there’s much to like and a few things that are seriously noteworthy in its four collected issues. First, anyone with a burning desire to create comics and just as intense doubts about the obstacles in the way needs to read Mario Gully’s introduction. His long, hard road to where he is today took a detour through prison, but he’s made it with an uncanny mix of talent and will. His chronicle of his journey is stirring, earnest, heartfelt, and required reading for anyone who longs to be where he is now.

Then there’s Ant herself. Most impressive about Hannah Washington isn’t the bootylicious frame that celebrates black femininity in a way we rarely if ever see in comics. No, it’s how quickly and easily the reader takes to her as a fully realized character. She’s troubled, has huge questions with few answers, and barely knows or understands her powers. Add to this some harrowing childhood memories and the sense that she feels all alone in this world, and you have a very unlikely superhero. And yet, she’s never a victim or falls into the victim’s way of thinking. Hannah Washington is a strong, deep character, and Ant is a hero because she overcomes Hannah’s troubles. Black women are among the least represented types in comics, and while so many are all atwitter about Storm’s impending marriage to T’Challa, it would be great if as many fans took notice that in Hannah Washington Gully has created a character in whom hard core comics readers and those who never picked up a comic in their life can invest their time, money, and emotions. At her core is a strength of character that wins over anyone willing to give her story a chance. In fact, Hannah is so rich a character and has so much potential that at times while reading Ant: Reality Bites one can feel her taking over the story, sometimes quite easily getting away from her creator.

Tight story structure and plotting, as well as smooth scene transitions are the writing’s strong points. A number of other comics writers would find ways to decompress the events of Ant #1 through #4 to six issues, but Gully and Hammond maintain a relentless rhythm of action and reaction without rushing things or, worse, sending the reader back a few pages because the focus has been lost or muddled. And though Ant wasn’t on Image in her previous series of stories, the reader would never know it, as Gully and Hammond do a fine job of integrating her into a world shared by Savage Dragon and Spawn. Ant is as new to this universe as many new readers are to her, and this aspect of characterization makes her easy to identify with and root for. Lastly, Gully and Hammond craft a cliffhanger that seems to come out of nowhere but is fully in line with what’s already happened. It throws the reader for a genuine loop, the twist so drastic and yet so logical that I for one am compelled to continue reading this title to find out what the real deal is.

But for these writing strengths, there’s a weaknesses that has to be noted. The narration and dialogue need to be as tight as the plotting. But at times Ant is overwritten, Gully and Hammond too often relying on a pile of words to do work that’s better suited to Gully’s images. He’s a strong artist, and his level of skill and talent are more than capable of carrying the load of sequential narration and emotional content. In many ways, his art style is classic Image era. Indeed, the influence of McFarlane and Lee are clear. But he’s also moving towards a style that’s his own. His lines are sure-handed and clean, but he inks a rougher, edgier, more textured look, the overall effect a compelling mix of the slick and the gritty. His framing and staging are excellent, as well, and the remarkable sense of how to push a story forward with images impresses most in his action sequences. There’s room for improvement, however. In addition to letting his artwork tell the story as much as the writing, he can also give his artwork more power and impact with a more widescreen approach to panel construction. His style is much more suited to the cinematic, such that the standard square panel hems him in too much. If he can improve on these two aspects, don’t be surprised if Ant becomes a comic to be reckoned with.

If you don’t know the name Mario Gully, remember it. If you do, spread the word. The Ant isn’t perfect, but its creator is the real thing, and with time his creation will be too.