With the Ant-Man film just over a week away, Marvel is giving the hero some extra attention on comic stands next Wednesday by releasing Ant-Man Annual #1, which has the film’s two main characters, Scott Lang and Hank Pym, teaming up on the page. It’s essentially an extra chapter of writer Nick Spencer, artist Ramon Rosanas, and colorist Jordan Boyd’s current Ant-Man run, with all three creators working on the Annual along with artist Brent Schoonover, who is drawing flashbacks of Scott and Hank partnering in the past. Schoonover’s style complements Rosanas’ very nicely, and he maintains the clean look that has defined the Ant-Man ongoing while bringing a little more texture to his inking.
This preview of next week’s Ant-Man Annual #1 spotlights how Spencer has kept the spirit of his excellent Superior Foes Of Spider-Man series alive by having Scott employ former supervillains for his security business, and the presence of Grizzly and Machinesmith brings a lot of refreshing comedy to the book. That’s important, because this issue is covering some heavier material as Scott deals with the supposed death of Hank Pym in the present. It’s the first Marvel comic to follow up on the events of the disappointing Avengers: Rage Of Ultron graphic novel, which saw Hank Pym becoming the villainous Ultron in its final pages, and hopefully this creative team will be able to make that story’s fallout more engaging than the main event.