Broken Frontier

Eric O’Grady continues reveling in the stolen Ant-Man armor, but how much longer will he be able to elude the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents hunting him?

You’ve got to love Robert Kirkman for having the stones to come up with the concept for a book like The Irredeemable Ant-Man. This version certainly puts a spin on the idea of the traditional superhero, and Ant-Man’s current incarnation is vastly different from what has come before. Ultimately though, I believe readers are going to be divided into a love’em or hate’em category when the run on this book eventually comes to an end. In the meantime, this issue certainly paints an unapologetic picture of our fledgling wanna-be hero.

In this fourth installment, Eric continues to dodge the fuming Mitch and a troop of deployed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents sent to bring back the stolen Ant-Man suit. Of course, Eric is being a real ass while wearing the armor, and he does his best to lie, cheat and steal his way into the heart of Veronica. Worse yet, Eric also discovers the power to control ants, but instead of putting this knowledge to good use he decides to the force the tiny insects into racing each other for the sheer sport of it. He also finds himself reveling so deeply in this act, that he leaves himself wide open for a surprise attack. In the end you’ll never believe who’s the culprit behind it, but this is one spoiler that I won’t be revealing here.

For my money, Kirkman is such a skilled talent for writing a story as intriguing as this. Whether you like Eric O’Grady as a character is definitely up for debate, but you can’t fault Kirkman for crafting him and molding the man into the biggest ass in the Marvel Universe. The character is so unlikable, but yet I can’t help myself from not dropping this book from my pull list. Ant-Man is a solid read coupled with an intriguing premise in which Robert has managed to paint an unflattering picture of a man who doesn’t deserve the use of the name of Ant-Man. Kirkman is indeed the real deal, and if you have been following his career since starting out at Image, you’ll know this is one writer quickly rising in the ranks at Marvel.

The art team of Hester and Parks has done an admirable job of illustrating this series. They’ve been on par with Kirkman’s passion for solid storytelling, and so far I like what I am seeing in every issue. Many of their panels continue to display a playfulness that fits nicely into the conceptual schemes and machinations of Eric O’Grady’s dubious exploits. A good case in point here flourishes about halfway through when the duo kicks into high gear while fleshing out the scenes of Eric reveling with the ants. I thought it was a big send-up and done so to show how asinine the character truly is. These guys never miss a beat and I can tell that both artists are enjoying their stint on this run.

So what more can I say about this title, other than it being a terrific read so far? It’s not that often that a book like this will come along boasting an intriguing concept and following that up with a great creative team to boot. Ant-Man isn’t likeable, but that’s the point of contention being debated by Kirkman in his scripts. His take on the character is refreshing and one that I am definitely looking forward to reading each and every month.