Quantum and Woody Must Die! 3+4

R.I.P. Quantum and Woody!

A conspiracy is exposed! Plotters are thwarted! Would-be assassins get thoroughly trounced! Is there anything Quantum and Woody CAN’T do? But as the brothers settle into a steady rhythm, they discover the hard way that their lives will never be the same again. Not least because… UH-OHHHHH, THE GOAAAAAAT!!

Writer:

James Asmus

Penciler:

Steve Lieber

Editor:

Alejandro Arbona

As the series passes over into its second half, I've managed to get a better feel for what it is trying to accomplish. As a self aware buddy comedy, it's quite successful too, though the lingering issues of the first two issues do remain.

From suicide bomber sloth's and blowing up pandas to villains who are unkillable Frenchmen, the series doesn't stray far from dark humour, even if a lot of it is slapstick based. What has made the series a little deeper than just one set of slightly farcical setups after another is the small veins of humanity from our characters. Woody is the scumbag of the lead duo, happy to do anything to make a quick buck but aware he's messing up his brothers life, which at least means you are able to like him. Meanwhile Quantum is naive and sweet, still believing in helping others for the sake of.

It's Quantum who was the person I liked the most (and probably identified with to be honest), as his  attempts to flirt with a fan, who happens to be a member of a security agency that is trying to control the two brothers. Not that that really matters too much. The actual events of the series are pretty irrelevant and pay second fiddle to the duo's blunders as they navigate their way through calamity after calamity.

Which is fine- it's deliberately silly in the same way a Seth Rogan or Judd Apatow film is. Those who are fans of their type of comedy will love Quantum and Woody Must Die! as a series. But as humour is subjective, so I have to admit it doesn't quite work for me personally. I think it's because there aren't any real stakes-I came into the series ambivalent about the characters and left the same. They hadn't really changed at all and there were a lot of story and character beats left finished so they can be picked up in a later series (maybe?).

If I can't really be made to care too much about the characters, should I be obliged to pick up another potential future series to hope that half finished arc's get completed? Perhaps for some it will be enough. Comics are never ending soap opera's after all.

But it's not really enough for me. Which is a shame.

Cover image courtesy of Valiant Entertainment

Quantum and Woody Must Die! is available from Valiant.

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.