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Posted July 19, 2013 by Alvin Minon in Comics
 
 

COMIC BOOK REVIEW: Quantum and Woody #1

“May the road rise to meet you.”

Hey, I was really excited to see the goat!

The first few pages tells us of an uncanny tag team of superheroes that seems to irk everybody with the ruckus they cause whenever they do their heroics. Then later on, in what appears to be a sudden flashback, we find out the family history that started it all. Usually, back stories, especially those that involve tragedy and complex family relationships, end up heavy and grim. But that’s not the case with Quantum and Woody as James Asmus was able to execute well how to put the contrasting foster brothers, Eric, the straight uptight guy, and a class-clown type person such as Woody, together and mix into the drama tons of humorous moments and punchlines.

There’s a lot going on with the story and characters. I find it amusing that Asmus made sure that Eric and Woody’s personalities would get across his audience. And all of this happens despite the complex relationship the two share, plus the death of their dad that surprises them. Everything’s easy to understand and follow though as the reader would be led right into a flashback. Here, there wouldn’t be any of the usual gimmick where the story gets dragged into a scenario where characters are left with no choice but reminisce.I’m not sure if this is positive or what, but Q&W #1’s flashback barely scratches the power-origin part. Here the comic all talks about the family history, how the duo grew up together, and parted ways and get reunited later on. We see the difference in personalities since childhood, and how circumstances led to their personalities in adulthood. Though the catch is, there isn’t a lot of action going on, didn’t even get a glimpse of their powers in battle, and that might be a downer for some. The goat in shown in the cover doesn’t even make his appearance! As someone new to Q&W, I wonder where he’ll come in.

Well aside from all that, I appreciated Tom Fowler‘s art. He created some clean, detailed work that while it looks modern, it also has that vintage feel which is very evident when you get to the flashback and memory, or what you may call flashback-within-the-flashback pages (flashbackception!). Aside from the change in style, there’s Jordie Bellaire‘s work on the color which works great especially when differentiating the flashback from the memories. The vintage palette gave me that nostalgic feeling one should get when reading about a character’s thoughts or memories.

For a first issue, I was kind of expecting a bang: action here and there, showcasing the duo’s powers or at least how they do the job. But none of that happens here. Felt disappointed at first then I reread it again, only to catch how solid and well-grounded the characters have become in just one issue. It’s already been defined how the two are similar, or how they differ, how they think and act, which of course would affect any other adventure they’ll be taking in the future. For an origin story of course it’ll be somewhat cliché, a tragedy that will bring the characters closer to the reason how they got their powers. But the cliché was done right that it didn’t matter at all and what I focused on was how the characters were being formed and the humor that comes along each page.

I have never read the original Quantum and Woody series, so I can’t compare the new one with the original. I’m not sure how different or similar Eric Henderson and Woody Von Chelton is to the Quantum and Woody before. What is certain though, is that Valiant Entertainment‘s Q&W caught my interest and I’d certainly check the title after reading #1. I’d give Quantum and Woody a 4.5 / 5. Closer to 5 than 4 though. After all, I’m a new reader and it definitely got me hooked!

REVIEW SCORE: 4.5/5

Again, wouldn’t get to read this comic without our favorite comic book store. Big thanks to Comic Odyssey!


Alvin Minon