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Kareem Ali 4

Q2: The Return of Quantum and Woody #1

 

  • The good

    Strong character development and introduction for new and old readers. Current set up is intriguing and entertaining action sequences

  • The bad

    Humor is hit and miss. A lot of story threads introduced without being tied together

  • The ugly

    • Q2: The Return of Quantum and Woody #1 is a return to the classic characters and the start of a new series written by Priest and published by Valiant. It’s set 20 years after Quantum and Woody went their own ways but things change when Quantum’s mantle is picked up by a new figure seeking to fight crime. It opens up with the original duo when they were young, probably teens, walking through the woods with 2 girls just discussing random things. One of the topics is the book, “Of Mice and Men,” by John Steinbeck, and the disagreement is about whether he meant to make a statement about capital punishment or about protecting a friend. However, it’s not Lennie’s body from the book they stumble on in the woods surrounded by money with a gun in his hand. They can’t make a phone call because they don’t have any service in that location but Woody is more preoccupied with playing with the dead man’s gun than calling for help. So when a man in a pickup truck comes to the area they’re not sure if it’s because he heard Woody shoot or for some other reason. Either way this man knows they’re hiding and that the 2 girls took off running. He doesn’t identify himself when telling them to get in the car while attempting to clean up the scene. Woody doesn’t trust him and this leads to a precarious situation that becomes bigger than the initial problem. This was well before Quantum and Woody gained their powers but indicative of how things could go for them. 20 years later will history repeat itself for Quantum and Woody or is this the start of a new era for the duo claiming those names?

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    I was looking forward to this issue and the return of Quantum and Woody because after following it on and off over the years, I intended to keep up with it completely this time around. And if you’ve never read a Quantum and Woody issue before and are completely unfamiliar with the characters, I’ll just say they’re, uh…different. They’re described as the world’s worst crime fighting duo, and when they’re not at each others throats they’re frustrating the criminals they attempt to stop. However, you don’t need to be familiar with the characters or their stories to pick up this issue because even though it takes place 20 years after the original duo went their own ways, a good job is done in explaining why the original duo initially had no choice but to work together and how they got their powers. And the introduction to the new duo is handled very well even though everything about them isn’t revealed in this issue, of course. The new Quantum is introduced through a battle with one called Koro, and the action sequence is impressive with great artwork. A taste of Quantum’s capabilities is shown during this fight but Koro is a very intriguing character as well. And this is what makes the first issue so enjoyable; there’s a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor but the action is entertaining, and the story intriguing. It takes great writing to pull this off and Priest definitely does. The humor is hit and miss at times, and if it doesn’t work for you then you might enjoy the other elements here. I know I did, and I’m looking forward to the next issue.

     

    SUMMARY

     

    Q2: The Return of Quantum and Woody #1 is a solid start to the new series combining humor, action, and an intriguing story to create a refreshing twist for crime fighting duos. A lot of the humor is tongue-in-cheek or crude so it can be hit and miss or might not be another’s cup of tea. However, the character development and entertaining series of events has me looking forward to seeing what unfolds next for the old and new crime fighting duos.

     

    Release Date: 10/15/14

    Writer: Priest

    Artist: MD Bright

  • Rating ( 8 )
  • Total score 8.0

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