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Quantum and Woody are brothers, but they’re not on good terms. Last issue focused on a flashback when they were loving brothers. Cut to this issue where they are being forced against their will to do the bidding of an evil genius. Something tells me that’s not going to help them make amends.
So what’s it about?
The official summary reads:
They went looking for Woody’s birth father…and they’re about to wish they didn’t! Woody’s pop has left a long trail of broken promises and broken bottles behind him across the decades. Now, Quantum and Woody – the world’s worst superhero team, currently estranged – are thousands of miles from home, riding shotgun across Australia with the human dive bar that forever changed the course of both their lives. Will the senior Van Chelton convert his long-lost son to his hard-traveling ways? And can Quantum take on an older, smarter, and slightly more inebriated version of his unpredictable partner?
Why does this matter?
Writer Daniel Kibblesmith has proven this series is a good mix of comedy and action. He’s continued the tradition of bringing them back with a good amount of humor thrown on top. The art by Kano has been eye catching to say the least.
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
Australia is filled with freakish creatures.
This issue puts the pedal to the metal progressing the plot and fleshing out the villain. By the end the stakes are clear, the buffoonery of Woody is in full effect, and these characters may never be the same again!
Kano continues to mix up the layout designs in ways I’ve never seen before. Take a big meeting between Woody and long-lost family member. On the right is the old man from an angle looking upon him, on the left is Woody in a similar style and then between them is empty panels. This layout helps divide the characters and show there is space between them. As we move down the page we get a close up of both which leads to a whopping punch. How the panels are laid out does a lot to tell the story and this is just one of many interesting choices.
Kibblesmith is quite good at mining little bits of comedy in scenes either via Woody’s annoying personality or Quantum’s deadpan delivery. A surprisingly funny second scene has government agent types questioning a security guard for hilarious effect. The agents are stone cold and deadly serious while the guard is acting about how anyone would in the circumstances. It’s like if a normal person encountering actors in a movie. It’s over the top and worth a laugh.
Do they really play music there or is it a villain’s lair?
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It can’t be perfect can it?
This is one of those customary penultimate issues (the conclusion is next issue) that saves the action and big twists for the last chapter. That means scenes of downtime for the heroes who either prepare or wait for something to happen. The exposition for the villain is a little too late, being forced in to make the character matter for the next issue. It’s all still enjoyable, but it drags things down a bit.
Is It Good?
This is a good penultimate issue that continues to show how inventive Kano can make the art while Kibblesmith drops jokes in for our pleasure. The story arc is coming to an end and there are adequate stakes in play to make us all come back for more.
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