Ant TPB #1
"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.
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸Cast · 2 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Hanna is so tied to her fantasy of becoming a superhero that she has seizure like episodes. Her mother is an exotic and her father is in prison framed for murder so Hanna is in state's custody. Hanna is so caught up in her fantasy that she believes if she loses against The Cockroach in her story she will really lose her father. Hanna's mother now has a rich boyfriend but isn’t sure she can be a good mother because she has never been there for Hanna. She tries to help Hanna by going back to the apartment to get Hanna's all important journal. She reads the journal and feels for her daughter.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).