Ant-Men Be Good To Your Daughters

Ant-Man is a small movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe canon. Yet, Disney/Marvel does justice to the character, both Scott Lang and Hank Pym.

Good Things Often Come In Small Packages

Ant-Man was a good movie. It wasn't the best movie, but it certainly tugged at my heart as a comic book fan. There's plenty of action, comedy and super-heroics for what it's being called: a heist movie. Paul Rudd as Scott Lang & the titular Ant-Man was the right choice for the role. He's funny, charming & probably the most human of all the heroes to date. 

Father's Rights and Disney-fied Storytelling

I love movies with redemptive themes. As fans of the comics know, Scott Lang is a devoted if not responsible father. He's also the poster-boy for failed fatherhood in the Marvel Universe except for in the eyes of his daughter Cassie. It would have been nice to explore the relationship more, but the writers had a message to send. Men, fathers, often seek second chances. We see this in the movie.

As a child-less husband, I feel for Lang. He wants so much to be a part of his daughter's life. She sees the good in him when others, even Lang himself at times, doubts it. Yet, his new life as the Ant-Man stands to put her and her mom at risk. We also see this tension between Michael Douglass' "Hank Pym" and his daughter "Hope" as portrayed by Evangeline Lilly. Fathers who've messed up & are looking to redeem themselves in the eyes of their children should insist on taking their son or daughter to see this film as one, albeit "small," step in the journey toward reconciliation.

Sometimes Thinking Small is "OK"

I think Ant-Man was what it was supposed to be: a small film in the canon of the MCU that didn't need to be Iron Man, Thor or Captain America. It's the little movie that could because, right now, everything is possible with Marvel Studios. Ironically, the movie is not trying to, which sits in line with the humanity of Hank Pym. Marvel Studios has proven itself, and that means more than box office sales. Ant-Man, like the hero, is tried and true.

The Justice League United Gathers the Unconventional to Face an Unnatural Threat in JLU #11

Jeff Parker and Travel Foreman along with colorist Jeromy Cox and letterer Steve Wands creatively usher the JLU into the post-Convergence, DC Comics landscape with the help of a few unconventional allies.

What's Fun About This Book

This is the perfect creative team for this book. I'm saying this off the bat for issue #11 because I enjoyed it so much. The book felt like all the books I've enjoyed during the first couple of years of the New 52. Imagine "Animal Man," "Swamp Thing," "Justice League Dark" and "Aquaman" rolled into the same book; and you've got this first story arc. Kudos! In my opinion, JLU #11 should satisfy a number of new readers as a good jumping on point. It should also gain readers from the aforementioned, pre-Convergence series. Of this I'm willing to pitch.

Accordingly, Jeff Parker's tale is weird as all get out. It feels like a Swamp Thing/Animal Man crossover, which I personally have wanted to see again since the Lemire/Snyder run on "Rot-World." Yet, Parker's story combined with Travel Foreman's art resonates with the new ordeal he provides for this cast of characters. They include Poison Ivy, Mera, Jason Blood (Etrigan) and Swamp Thing himself as guest stars. They join Stargirl, Alanna Strange, a corporeal, psychedelic and God-like Adam Strange (who is stuck in some sort of zeta beam realm), Animal Man and relative newcomer (Jeff Lemire creation) Equinox, a Cree elemental. I really enjoyed the style in which the additional members were assembled, especially Jeromy Cox's use of color throughout. Reds, greens, blues, grays all coincide with each story of how each temporary member joined this rag-tag team of cosmic defenders. And this was the original premise of JLU from the outset: unite a group of heroes (that is NOT the Seven) who possess specific powers and capabilities for challenging unknown or cosmic threats to Earth and beyond. This new creative team seems ready to deliver on this promise.

What's Not So Fun

Some readers may think that Jeff Parker is mining tropes already explored by Scott Snyder and Charles Soule in "Swamp Thing" and Jeff Lemire in "Animal Man." Parker himself explored similar "terra incognito" (rather mysterious waters) in his "Aquaman" run. However, readers should give it a chance. I don't believe we can fathom what the direction this story will turn given what happens near the final pages. I thought that Stargirl's disappearance from the book altogether after enlisting Swamp Thing was strange. I didn't miss her, but I did notice. Of course it's explained why Martian Manhunter, Hawkman, Supergirl and Green Arow are M.I.A. I'm interested to find out why Supergirl "bolted."

The Punch Line

JLU #11 was good. I really enjoyed the story and the art. Can't wait to see where the story leads and how they solve a rather peculiar predicament with Swamp Thing.

Special Note: This is the first comic book review that I've written since the month in which my dad passed. He died Sunday, September 7, 2014 from complications due to lung and liver cancer. I loved my dad a lot, and he always supported my love for comics since I was a kid. I've manage to read through my pull-lists week-to-week and post comments here and there in the Twitter-verse on all things comics-related. However, this review marks my return to getting serious about writing with the time I have. Dad would've wanted it that way.