Review: Quantum and Woody #3

Creative Team:
Writer: James Asmus
Artist: Tom Fowler
Color Artist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Dave Lanphear

The Issue:
When we last left our heroes they were breaking into their father’s office at Quantum Laboratories. But by the time they arrived they discovered E.R.A. agents Johnny 1 and Johnny 2 taking over the very offices. But it wasn’t just the two Johnny’s that they had to face, but also Johnny 2’s creation known as the Nightmare Brigade. Facing their greatest fears the brothers are cornered until Quantum tackles Woody out of the window (which was 20 floors up if you’re keeping track at home).

After escaping the two go to a safe house, actually apartment of one of Woody’s former hookups, but instead of lying low the two get into a fight destroying everything. Afterwards they go in their separate directions vowing to stay out of each other’s lives. Quantum goes to hunt down the Johnny twins while Woody orders a Thai masseuse to come by his hotel room.

Woody’s hotel room is visited by what he thinks is a masseuse but is instead a strike force led by Detective Cejudo. Cejudo it appears isn’t just a Detective but also connected to the secret society known as the Crone. As the issue ends, Quantum’s search for the Johnny’s leads him to the very place his adopted brother was taken.

What I Liked:
This is a very funny book, and Quantum and Woody are extremely vibrant characters. They have a life that jumps off the pages and their banter doesn’t feel forced. There is this awesome dynamic of how they related to their father. He chose Woody, and was harder on Eric (Quantum). Eventually James Asmus will probably pull these layers back to show how their father was actually treating them equally but in a way that they both needed.

Not as much happened in this issue as the last but still a fair amount happened. And at this point even if nothing happened I would still enjoy reading these characters. This book isn’t afraid to be silly (there’s a clown-spider-needle monster!) but it also manages to strike a balance that makes things believable. While I am a big Valiant fan that is not something you can say for the bulk of the titles. Not that they all need to be jokey, but it’d help if there was more to work with in the others.

The flashbacks are also a nice touch. It is when I read this issue that I finally realized that Quantum and Woody (at least this iteration) is the superhero equivalent to the USA Network TV show Psych. While Eric is more serious in tone than Psych’s Burton Guster, and Woody is more reckless than Shawn Spencer but at the heart it’s there. There is conflict between the two but ultimately you can tell despite it all they care about each other.

What I Didn’t Like:
The Detective Cejudo twist didn’t really sit right with me. It could just be because I love messy stories where there are people going in all different directions, but I don’t think having her working with the Crone serviced the story. It merely got Woody from the hotel to the Crone. But why not have her just be doing her job and still tailing? I feel like this was a cheat because there was no hint of this in the first two issues.

Grade: 

4.5 out of 5 villains

Just a guy who was into this nerd stuff before it's popular. Now that is I'm just happy I have people to talk about it with.