Quantum and Woody Must Die! 2

They came. They saw. They pissed off a whole lotta folks. And now a team of mystery vigilantes has singled out the world’s worst superhero team for complete and utter destruction. Their first target: their minds! But who are these all-new enemies? Are Quantum and Woody hitting it off with a sexy duo of cat burglars? And, dear god, what have they done to the goat? Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Sex Criminals isn’t the only comic that can quote Queen, comics fans – here come Quantum and Woody! (Or so they think! [Trippy, right?!])

Writer:

James Asmus

Penciler:

Steve Lieber

Cover Artist:

Mike Hawthorne

Johnnie Christmas

Chip Zdarsky

Editor:

Alejandro Arbona

Publisher:

Valiant

A screwball comedy? A story about revenge gone awry? Two idiots getting the justice they deserve? I must admit, going into this I wasn’t sure what it was, having not read #1. However, it soon became apparent that it was a mixture of all three. Valiant are on a good run of recent, producing series with less than conventional heroes, thrust into situations that prove to be the making of them.

Q+W is one such series, which follows two brothers who are superheroes, whose career seems to have been a mixture of cashing in on their fame and causing harm to people and property to the tune of a small countries’ annual GDP. So naturally, when a small band citizens of their town decide to get their revenge, it isn’t going to be pretty…

Yet, come issue 2, it seems that it’s backfired, turning a duo once hated by everyone into unlikely comeback kids. It’s a great idea – especially as the duo are complete opposites. Woody is a fame courting, money hungry idiot who despises the idea of a secret identity, whilst Quantum still dons a mask and tries to help out others because it’s the right thing to do in his eyes.

As for the comedy itself, well, it’s hit and miss. The comic’s rather broad sense of humour never made me laugh out loud, but neither did it leave me cold, eliciting smiles and the odd grin all the time I was reading it. What helped I think was having the characters be more than just one dimensional jokes – Quantum isn’t exactly clueless, but he’s far more noble than Woody and new to the idea of fame. Woody on the other hand is a bit of a swine, but even he doesn’t want his brother to experience the extreme ups and downs of fame and become like he is, desperate the recapture it.

It may be me, but it also has a higher standard of art than I’m used to from Valiant, Steve Lieber’s pencils bringing out the detail and letting a lot of the comic timing work properly thanks to his exaggerated movement lines.

This being the first time I’ve encountered the duo, I’m still wondering if this is all it is, or if there is an unexpected level of depth that will appear and endear me to it. Even if it is, the mixture of laughs and first rate art means that ‘for all it is’, that’s not really a bad thing.

Cover image courtesy of Valiant Entertainment

Geek-o-Rama received a copy of this comic for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are those of the individual reviewer.