Cover: J. Scott Campbell & Tim Townsend

Ant TPB #1

Dec 2004 · Arcana · 9.95 USD; 13.95 CAD

☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join free

About this Collection

This volume kicks off the 2004 Ant series from Arcana, collecting the early adventures of the insect-sized superhero. It follows Ant and Hannah Washington as they navigate the challenges of being tiny heroes in a big world, establishing the tone and conflicts of the series.

"Days Like This" is a poignant, character-driven story from Mario Gully’s Ant TPB #1 (2004), a standout collection that captures the fragile line between imagination and reality. Centered on Hanna—a girl whose vivid fantasies blur with her emotional struggles—this issue explores her deep connection to her self-created superhero mythos, especially her belief that losing to The Cockroach in her story means losing her father for good. With interior art and writing by Mario Gully, colors by Stefani Renee, and letters by Sean O'Reilly, the story gains emotional weight through its quiet, intimate moments, especially when Hanna’s mother, grappling with her own absence and a new relationship, returns to retrieve Hanna’s journal and begins to truly see her daughter for the first time. The cover by J. Scott Campbell and Tim Townsend adds a striking visual counterpoint to the story’s introspective tone.

Contains 4 stories

Days Like This

29 pp · Superhero

In "Days Like This," young Hanna grapples with the sudden absence of her father, her quiet determination to become the unnoticed hero Ant fueled by a journal of dreams and small acts of courage. When her private hopes are discovered by a boy who sees her differently, the bond between them begins to shift—though what comes next remains unwritten.

Days Like This [Part 2]

21 pp · Superhero

Days Like This [Part 3]

21 pp · Superhero

In "Days Like This [Part 3]," Hanna’s fragile grip on reality blurs as her fantasy of becoming a superhero collides with the painful truths of her life—her father imprisoned, her mother absent, and her only anchor a journal she clings to like a lifeline. When her mother, newly involved with a wealthy man but unsure of her own worth as a parent, risks everything to retrieve the journal, she’s forced to confront the depth of her daughter’s pain—and the story she’s been living in.

Days Like This [Part 4]

36 pp · Superhero

In "Days Like This [Part 4]," Hanna, still reeling from the journal that sparked her journey, teams up with Steven—now Gadget Man—to confront The Cockroach and uncover the truth behind a long-buried murder. As the past and present blur, she races to save her mother from a dangerous secret, only to wake in a world that may never have been real.