Comics
[Comic Book Review] “Ant Man” #1 Is A Polarizing Experience
I have a feeling that “Ant-Man”#1 is going to be a fairly polarizing book for fans. It sets itself apart from the average Marvel #1, certainly, but not necessarily in an entire interesting way. There are a lot of things I really admired about this new series, and just as many that I found detering. For every sincere laugh there is an eye-roll right after it, every interesting composition is followed by an indecipherable panel. Simply put, there is a lot to love and a lot to hate.
WRITTEN BY: Nick Spencer
ART BY: Ramon Rosanas
PUBLISHER: Marvel
PRICE: $4.99
RELEASE: January 7, 2015
Review By Eric Switzer
Current Ant-Man Scott Lang is quite the fuck-up of a superhero. This is made abundantly clear, and then reiterated, and then exhausted over the course of this super-sized 36-page issue. Whether that endears us to the character is an unanswered question, but there is no doubt that Scott is anything like his super-genius predecessor Hank Pym. Scott is almost childlike in his narration, at times forcing a cheap joke and seeming really unnatural. Though ineffective as both a crime fighter and an adult, the one thing he and his estranged ex-wife can agree on as a “redeeming quality” is his dedication to being a father to his teenage daughter. Though, not necessarily as a provider or consistent source of support, but as a peer, further informing us that Scott is obnoxiously underdeveloped emotionally. Whether this is a stylistic choice or shallow writing remains to be seen, but giving Spencer the benefit of the doubt and trusting that he has intentionally created an annoying protagonist isn’t much better.
There is precious little action to showcase the potential of Ant-man’s power to new readers, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing (see Scott Snyder’s “Swamp Thing”) but the set up to the series isn’t particularly gripping either; Scott applies for a head of security position at Stark Industries and is awarded the position after demonstrating he is the candidate most keen for the position when he breaks into Stark’s office to get a competitive edge. Scott then discovers his daughter is moving to miami, and decides to bail on Tony and go with her. Tony makes a vow to hunt Scott down for embarrassing him. The stakes here aren’t particularly high, and the choices this character makes just don’t matter that much in a world where alien invasion is a daily occurrence. Every series builds, but this issue certainly didn’t leave me begging for more.
There are some truly funny moments in this issue and Spencer has a strong enough voice for Tony Stark that I genuinely enjoyed his screen time. Unfortunately Scott Lang just isn’t a character I’m all that interested in yet. “Ant-Man”#1 receives a favorable score for production value and humor, but it is a hesitant score. Also comic books shouldn’t cost $5.
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Eric Switzer is an aspiring filmmaker and screenplay writer living in Los Angeles. His work tends to focus on the lighter side of entropy, dystopic futures, and man’s innate struggle with his own mortality. He can be found on twitter @epicswitzer or reached via email at ericswitzerfilm@gmail.com.
Comics
‘You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive’ – IDW Dark’s Next Horror Comic Will Make You Question Reality
Five friends. Four houses. One perfect life. Bloody Disgusting is excited to exclusively announce You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive, a brand new horror comic from IDW Dark.
From Eisner-Nominated writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, and rising horror artist Heather Vaughan, You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is described as a “paranoia-laced, socially-conscious, horror mystery that will leave you questioning reality, and reveal that this crafted world is more of a nightmare than the idealistic dream they were expecting.”
Phoebe Joplin has never questioned the world her parents built: a secluded community where she and her friends were raised to be smarter, stronger, and better than anyone else. No distractions. No dangers. No secrets. Until the night of their graduation.
When one of them dies under impossible circumstances, Phee starts to pull at the edges of her perfect life—and what she finds is something far more terrifying than she ever imagined.
Because this place isn’t a sanctuary. It’s a cage. And no one who discovers the truth ever leaves it alive.
Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing (Batman – One Bad Day: Clayface, Star Trek: The Last Starship) co-write the upcoming IDW Dark horror comic, featuring art by Heather Vaughan.
Jackson Lanzing said in a statement to Bloody Disgusting, “You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is in many ways a spiritual successor to our last creator-owned horror, The Principles of Necromancy – a dive into the promise and consequence of playing god with the blood of innocents. But the Hivemind book this reminds me of most is Clayface: One Bad Day. This is a deeply human story with intensely raw emotions – five best friends and their five mysterious parents, tearing one another apart for the promise of some impossible glory that’s waiting just beyond their darkest actions. We’re thrilled to be bringing this story to life with our long-time partner in crime, editor Heather Antos, at IDW Dark – and we’re particularly excited to give our Clayface fans a new, brutal and emotional horror made just for them.”
Adds Collin Kelly, “We’re deconstructing a feeling that seems universal these days; our elders have a death grip on their power, without any intention of giving it up to the generations that come next. YNLTPA is about growing up with the limitless potential of the future… and realizing how much it’s a lie we’ve been fed to keep us under the yoke of the past. Bringing this brutal experience to life is our artist and co-creator, Heather Vaughan, who brings an incredible amount of humanity to our cast. But it’s in our youthful leads that Heather’s art really shines – you are going to fall in love with these young people, even as they go through the worst experience of their lives. What we’ve all crafted together is going to be tragic, painful, but above all else, sincere – with a future so uncertain, there’s only one thing we can trust: you’ll never leave this place alive.”
“Some horror stories are about monsters in the dark. YNLTPA is about realizing the monsters raised you,” previews Senior Group Editor Heather Antos. “Working with Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly on this series has been a dream in the darkest possible way. They’ve built a story that’s layered, brutal, and deeply emotional, and every issue gives artist Heather Vaughan opportunities to push the art into places that feel both haunting and deeply personal. Some horror comics will keep you up at night…this is one that will stick with you for years to come.”
The first issue of You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive goes on sale October 14, 2026! Make sure to pre-order at your local comic shop by September to guarantee a copy.
Exclusively check out the various covers for Issue #1 down below.
IDW Publishing’s horror imprint IDW DARK features comics like A Quiet Place: Storm Warning, Smile: For the Camera, The Exorcism at 1600 Penn, Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees, The Twilight Zone, Event Horizon: Dark Descent & Event Horizon: Inferno, and more.
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