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Irredeemable Ant-Man
The Irredeemable Ant-Man, Vol. 2: Small-Minded
Eric O'Grady has found himself in need of a little employment. It costs money to be on the run from the law. Luckily Damage Control is on the lookout for someone who can safely sift through rubble for survivors. Don't worry, though - he'll still have plenty of time to spy on the ladies like the despicable human-being that he is. Plus: Why fight super-villains when you can watch attractive ladies take their clothes off in the privacy of their own homes? Our little Irredeemable Ant-Man has got it made That is, until he realizes that the current subject of his perverted voyeurism is none other than Carol Danvers - otherwise known as Brian Bendis' and Frank Cho's The Mighty Avengers' Ms. Marvel Collects Irredeemable Ant-Man #7-12.
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 9, 2007
9 people are currently reading
100 people want to read
About the author
Robert Kirkman
2,511 books7,003 followersRobert Kirkman is an American comic book writer best known for his work on The Walking Dead, Invincible for Image Comics, as well as Ultimate X-Men and Marvel Zombies for Marvel Comics. He has also collaborated with Image Comics co-founder Todd McFarlane on the series Haunt. He is one of the five partners of Image Comics, and the only one of the five who was not one of the original co-founders of that publisher.
Robert Kirkman's first comic books were self-published under his own Funk-o-Tron label. Along with childhood friend Tony Moore, Kirkman created Battle Pope which was published in late 2001. Battle Pope ran for over 2 years along with other Funk-o-Tron published books such as InkPunks and Double Take.
In July of 2002, Robert's first work for another company began, with a 4-part SuperPatriot series for Image, along with Battle Pope backup story artist Cory Walker. Robert's creator-owned projects followed shortly thereafter, including Tech Jacket, Invincible and Walking Dead.
Robert Kirkman's first comic books were self-published under his own Funk-o-Tron label. Along with childhood friend Tony Moore, Kirkman created Battle Pope which was published in late 2001. Battle Pope ran for over 2 years along with other Funk-o-Tron published books such as InkPunks and Double Take.
In July of 2002, Robert's first work for another company began, with a 4-part SuperPatriot series for Image, along with Battle Pope backup story artist Cory Walker. Robert's creator-owned projects followed shortly thereafter, including Tech Jacket, Invincible and Walking Dead.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
October 5, 2011
Take a morally bankrupt, self-centered asshole…
Give him a stolen, high tech, super-powered battle suit…
Set him loose and on the run from the government and see what happens.
That’s the premise behind Robert Kirkman’s (Invincible, The Walking Dead) genre-subverting Ant-man series. Eric O’Grady was a low level analyst working at S.H.I.E.L.D. when he illegally came into possession of a nextGen version of the Ant-Man battle suit (accidentally causing the death of his best friend in the process).
The suit allows its wearer, among other things, to shrink to microscopic size which Eric, being the lecherous douchetard that he is, wasted no time putting to work for him:
*sigh*
The truly interesting aspect of this series (ignoring the above appeal to frat boy fantasies) is that Eric is neither a true villain (in the classic Mwahahahahahahaha sense) nor anything close to a true hero. He’s just a scheming, greedy, amoral weasel with little regard for anyone but himself. Kinda sorta like a politician.
However, despite Eric's less than charming moral pedigree, the emotional tension is kept elevated because the reader is constantly finding their expectations teased into thinking that Eric isn’t a complete shit and then, wham-o, the narrative rug is yanked out from under us when it turns out that, in fact…
Eric…is…a…complete…SHIT!!
What’s more, Kirkman is very upfront about it and doesn’t hide the ball about what his take on the main character is. He tells you Eric is POS. The problem is, we just don’t believe him. Our Pavlovian response to Marvel Comics have been so conditioned over the years, that we keep looking for the silver lining in Eric’s persona. Some ray of hope.
Didn’t happen…and I must admit that it was disappointing for me. Damn you Kirkman for making me grow up.
Thus, despite my great respect for what Kirkman has done with this series, I didn’t like this volume as much as the first for precisely the reason that Eric’s scumbagginess becomes all the more apparent. In volume 1, Low-Life, it was so compelling to watch Eric act all ass-like and scummy and then just when you thought he couldn’t get worse, he would do something halfway selfless and make you question whether he was all bad.
That dynamic was absent in this one and I started to see that Eric was going to remain an emotionally stunted jerk. Some of the fun was lost as a result of this revelation. Still, there were some wonderful scenes in the story that you just don’t get to experience with other comic series (e.g., Eric battling the Black Fox…on the Nintendo Wii was classic).
Overall, I have to give this a lot of props for the quality of the writing and the originality of the idea. I just wish Eric was a little more conflicted about being a tool.
3.0 stars.
Give him a stolen, high tech, super-powered battle suit…
Set him loose and on the run from the government and see what happens.
That’s the premise behind Robert Kirkman’s (Invincible, The Walking Dead) genre-subverting Ant-man series. Eric O’Grady was a low level analyst working at S.H.I.E.L.D. when he illegally came into possession of a nextGen version of the Ant-Man battle suit (accidentally causing the death of his best friend in the process).
The suit allows its wearer, among other things, to shrink to microscopic size which Eric, being the lecherous douchetard that he is, wasted no time putting to work for him:
*sigh*
The truly interesting aspect of this series (ignoring the above appeal to frat boy fantasies) is that Eric is neither a true villain (in the classic Mwahahahahahahaha sense) nor anything close to a true hero. He’s just a scheming, greedy, amoral weasel with little regard for anyone but himself. Kinda sorta like a politician.
However, despite Eric's less than charming moral pedigree, the emotional tension is kept elevated because the reader is constantly finding their expectations teased into thinking that Eric isn’t a complete shit and then, wham-o, the narrative rug is yanked out from under us when it turns out that, in fact…
Eric…is…a…complete…SHIT!!
What’s more, Kirkman is very upfront about it and doesn’t hide the ball about what his take on the main character is. He tells you Eric is POS. The problem is, we just don’t believe him. Our Pavlovian response to Marvel Comics have been so conditioned over the years, that we keep looking for the silver lining in Eric’s persona. Some ray of hope.
Didn’t happen…and I must admit that it was disappointing for me. Damn you Kirkman for making me grow up.
Thus, despite my great respect for what Kirkman has done with this series, I didn’t like this volume as much as the first for precisely the reason that Eric’s scumbagginess becomes all the more apparent. In volume 1, Low-Life, it was so compelling to watch Eric act all ass-like and scummy and then just when you thought he couldn’t get worse, he would do something halfway selfless and make you question whether he was all bad.
That dynamic was absent in this one and I started to see that Eric was going to remain an emotionally stunted jerk. Some of the fun was lost as a result of this revelation. Still, there were some wonderful scenes in the story that you just don’t get to experience with other comic series (e.g., Eric battling the Black Fox…on the Nintendo Wii was classic).
Overall, I have to give this a lot of props for the quality of the writing and the originality of the idea. I just wish Eric was a little more conflicted about being a tool.
3.0 stars.
April 24, 2023
My head-canon says Kirkman was actively trying to get fired from Marvel while writing this least likeable protagonist of any comic ever and you cannot convince me otherwise.
I especially love how the artist was also seemingly sick of these unsavoury scenes and just phoned in 9 identical copies of O'Grady's skeezy mug. Shudder.
I especially love how the artist was also seemingly sick of these unsavoury scenes and just phoned in 9 identical copies of O'Grady's skeezy mug. Shudder.
March 27, 2017
Eric O'Grady is back and using his powers to spy on Carol Danvers in the shower now. So that took up a few pages. The Damage Control stuff is actually a little fun, but once he starts sleeping with one of his coworkers, again under false pretenses, it gets old really fast. He never actually seems to suffer consequences, other than not every time getting exactly what he wants, though he does get tortured a bit by the SHIELD agent whose face he burnt off, so that's something, I guess. That torture gets him off the hook with Iron Man for all of the stuff he did do, though, and he gets zero comeuppance for the way he treats women. Unless you count sticking the woman he nearly raped on his best friend's grave with an unwanted pregnancy as comeuppance. I do not.
This is exactly what it says on the tin: an irredeemable superhero. He is the least likable character I have ever read. I was really hoping that this book would end with a coup de grace or a punchline that made the journey worth it, but it did not. I suppose I could track down other books in hope, but he seems to have a long story after this, with the Avengers Initiative, Thunderbolts, Secret Avengers, and Wasp. So that's discouraging.
In a way, this book is everything I hate about comics, nicely summed up. But at least we get to see one of the strongest women in the Marvel universe objectified in the shower without her knowledge or consent by a total asshole.
This is exactly what it says on the tin: an irredeemable superhero. He is the least likable character I have ever read. I was really hoping that this book would end with a coup de grace or a punchline that made the journey worth it, but it did not. I suppose I could track down other books in hope, but he seems to have a long story after this, with the Avengers Initiative, Thunderbolts, Secret Avengers, and Wasp. So that's discouraging.
In a way, this book is everything I hate about comics, nicely summed up. But at least we get to see one of the strongest women in the Marvel universe objectified in the shower without her knowledge or consent by a total asshole.
May 2, 2015
I enjoyed this book a whole lot more than the previous volume. I felt like Eric O'Grady aka Ant-Man finally made sense to me, he wasn't likable but he made decisions that actually made sense to me and his "irredeemable" self didn't seemed forced. his adventures also seemed to be more varied and interesting, ditching the backwards and forwards structure that never really worked for me and focusing more on his new job and trying to keep away from S.H.I.E.L.D. that being said I felt like it should've ended and issue earlier than it did b/c the last issue was way too melodramatic for me and wrapped up a lil too neatly for my liking but overall I kinda liked this book. it wasn't anything too amazing and I see why it didn't really last but it had its charms.
February 28, 2023
Per quanto riguarda i disegni vale quanto detto nella recensione del primo volume, di buon livello… per la storia e narrazione invece, non mi è piaciuto come sono state gestite alcune dinamiche, come la gravidanza di Veronica, la faccenda di Carson e la storiella rifilata a Iron Man (il quale ha pure abboccato).
Qui i personaggi secondari però sono un po’ più approfonditi.
3.0
Qui i personaggi secondari però sono un po’ più approfonditi.
3.0
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 1, 2019
The main character is too much of an a-hole to care too much about him.
March 24, 2022
Didn't read issue 7
March 9, 2023
Super dirtbag.
April 11, 2024
4.5 stars
August 26, 2008
This review is going up for both volumes of Kirkman’s Irredeemable Ant-Man because I read the entire thing in three sittings across two days. Three very entertaining sittings.
Essentially Kirkman took an asshole and his more responsible best friend and gave them a super-suit inspired by the hokier days of Marvel Comics. The suit lets the wearer shrink down to ant size and communicate with insects. What ensues includes fight scenes and romantic drama, but also ant drag racing, off-hours spying in the showers of a spy’s locker room, and a superhero fighting a thief… at Nintendo Wii Boxing. Most of it is centered around that selfish protagonist, who for all his typical good impulses will do at least one thing to remind you he’s a bastard in every issue. The bastardly thing is seldom a half-hearted act of selfishness; as characters often remark, he is a “****ing jerk.”
I’m not a fan of censorship, but darned if blanking out the cuss words didn’t make them funnier. That’s the atmosphere of Kirkman’s Irredeemable Ant-Man, which so easily could have fit into his Invincible universe.
Irredeemable Ant-Man is a comic besieged by the plots of other comics, especially by the massive cross-book plots Marvel loves to unfold. SHIELD is inexplicably attacked; most of the world’s mutants disappear; there is a civil war between superheroes and everyone is forced to register with the government; Hulk leads aliens to invade the earth; Nick Fury is nearly killed in the line of duty, Iron Man becomes head of SHIELD, and the old Damage Control starts up again. What’s funny is that almost every event is inexplicable, parodying the convoluted way Marvel forces its writers to include the massive plots into their own books. Who is Damage Control? What is the Civil War? If you didn’t pick it up reading other Marvel comics, you’re lost here. But they’re all so ultimately inconsequential to Ant-Man’s story that it doesn’t bother you. It’s hilarious.
Essentially Kirkman took an asshole and his more responsible best friend and gave them a super-suit inspired by the hokier days of Marvel Comics. The suit lets the wearer shrink down to ant size and communicate with insects. What ensues includes fight scenes and romantic drama, but also ant drag racing, off-hours spying in the showers of a spy’s locker room, and a superhero fighting a thief… at Nintendo Wii Boxing. Most of it is centered around that selfish protagonist, who for all his typical good impulses will do at least one thing to remind you he’s a bastard in every issue. The bastardly thing is seldom a half-hearted act of selfishness; as characters often remark, he is a “****ing jerk.”
I’m not a fan of censorship, but darned if blanking out the cuss words didn’t make them funnier. That’s the atmosphere of Kirkman’s Irredeemable Ant-Man, which so easily could have fit into his Invincible universe.
Irredeemable Ant-Man is a comic besieged by the plots of other comics, especially by the massive cross-book plots Marvel loves to unfold. SHIELD is inexplicably attacked; most of the world’s mutants disappear; there is a civil war between superheroes and everyone is forced to register with the government; Hulk leads aliens to invade the earth; Nick Fury is nearly killed in the line of duty, Iron Man becomes head of SHIELD, and the old Damage Control starts up again. What’s funny is that almost every event is inexplicable, parodying the convoluted way Marvel forces its writers to include the massive plots into their own books. Who is Damage Control? What is the Civil War? If you didn’t pick it up reading other Marvel comics, you’re lost here. But they’re all so ultimately inconsequential to Ant-Man’s story that it doesn’t bother you. It’s hilarious.
July 19, 2016
Like The Irredeemable Ant-Man, Volume 1: Low-Life, this was lots of fun to read. A douche-bag with an exo-suit who looks after his own interests is a nice change of pace. Robert Kirkman continues (and concludes) this awesome series, and Corey Walker (who collaborates with Kirkman on Invincible provides the art for issues 7 & 8, and Hester comes back and pencils issues 9 to 12. Like volume 1, this is a very funny book. I wish I has more books like this one to read.
I like that its story takes place behind-the-scenes of other Marvel series/events (Wolverine: Enemy Of The State, Civil War, World War Hulk) and how Ant-Man is involved in them. One of my favourite moments of this volume is when Ant-Man (who wants to hide from SHIELD, who are on his tail) sneaks into a woman's purse (while ant-sized, naturally) and lets himself be carried back to her place of residence. Turns out this lady is none other than Carol Danvers, the Avengers' own Ms. Marvel. When he thinks it's safe and finally gets out of the purse, he hears the distinct sound of a shower running, so he gets on top of the showerhead and gets a good eyeful of Ms.Marvel in the shower (in issue 7). The way Kirkman writes these funny scenes, coupled with the way Walker & Hester render them, you cannot help but laugh out loud.
If you can manage to find a copy of this book, pick it up! I give it my highest recommendation.
I like that its story takes place behind-the-scenes of other Marvel series/events (Wolverine: Enemy Of The State, Civil War, World War Hulk) and how Ant-Man is involved in them. One of my favourite moments of this volume is when Ant-Man (who wants to hide from SHIELD, who are on his tail) sneaks into a woman's purse (while ant-sized, naturally) and lets himself be carried back to her place of residence. Turns out this lady is none other than Carol Danvers, the Avengers' own Ms. Marvel. When he thinks it's safe and finally gets out of the purse, he hears the distinct sound of a shower running, so he gets on top of the showerhead and gets a good eyeful of Ms.Marvel in the shower (in issue 7). The way Kirkman writes these funny scenes, coupled with the way Walker & Hester render them, you cannot help but laugh out loud.
If you can manage to find a copy of this book, pick it up! I give it my highest recommendation.
October 22, 2008
Reprints Irredeemable Ant-Man #7-12. Ant-Man fight with the Mighty Avengers, joins Damage Control, and gets caught up in World War Hulk. The series isn't as bad as I thought it would be. A few of the issues are fun, and a character that is a jerk works. Unfortunately, Kirkman couldn't help trying to redeem him on occassion, and it doesn't feel right when he does.
April 30, 2014
Continuing the adventures of Eric O'Grady, the scummiest superhero out there! Although he is a bit of a scumball, you find yourself rooting for him as Eric comes to self-realization... Kind of... After lying extensively to cover his own rear. Overall a quick and entertaining read. Total mind candy.
February 2, 2015
Jak mě v jedničce O'Grady sral (přebere nejlepšímu kamarádovi po smrti holku a chce si to s ní rozdat na jeho hrobě), tady už je z něj sympatickej podvodníček a fakt mě to bavilo. Kirkman hezky buduje vztahy uvnitř Damage Control, série je vtipná (Black Fox s Wiičkem byl parádní) a hezky zapadá do různých marvelovských událostí.
May 2, 2012
Lo mejor que tiene el comic son el título y la portada. Y eso que el contenido está bastante bien y se deja leer con mucho gusto, eh. Pero me encanta cuando rompen la cuarta parted con tanta impunidad.
September 8, 2016
Eric O'Grady stops living up to his name by the end of this title. He starts to try to redeem himself. It's a little disappointing but the story is still good so I can't complain too much.
I really love the way that Eric scrapes his way out of trouble. He's such a little worm.
I really love the way that Eric scrapes his way out of trouble. He's such a little worm.
November 8, 2015
Molto bello. Kirkman non finisce di stupirmi. Il personaggio di Eric è tratteggiato veramente bene, i dialoghi sono fini e non lordi come spesso accade; poi alcuni supereroi mi stanno poco simpatici, ma questo è cosa mia.
Meravigliosa la scena della tortura.
Meravigliosa la scena della tortura.
August 11, 2024
A digest-size collection of the second half of Robert Kirkman's Irredeemable Ant-Man (in which the titular character predominantly uses a completely different name...)
Very decent entertainment despite its protagonist being a right bastard!
Very decent entertainment despite its protagonist being a right bastard!
September 12, 2008
So...fan...tastic!
Why did they cancel this book? I wish Marvel had just given Kirkman the keys to continue the series as a more indie book. You know, the way it was intended.
Why did they cancel this book? I wish Marvel had just given Kirkman the keys to continue the series as a more indie book. You know, the way it was intended.
July 12, 2015
Not as good as volume 1, and the plotting gets much more scattered here, but still pretty entertaining.
May 20, 2014
Great gobs of fun. It's a shame they cancelled this series after such a short run, but I'm happy to see that O'Grady will be popping up here and there in the MU for some time to come.
September 12, 2014
Some heroes are really big jerks.
September 22, 2014
antman is awesome
May 22, 2016
Wow...
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews