Recommended Reading for 8/7: Quantum & Woody

There are many intentionally bad super hero teams, including The Legion of Substitute Heroes, The Justice League Antarctica, and the Great Lakes Avengers (there are also the unintentionally awful, like the Champions and Extreme Justice, but we won't go there), but there's only one that actively bills itself as the world's worst superhero team, and that's Quantum and Woody! Part of the Valiant renaissance (I'm talking about the current series, from writer James Asmus and various excellent artists, not the original Chris Priest/MD Bright version, although I might get to that some day too), Quantum and Woody features two brothers Eric and Woody Henderson, one of whom at the series' beginning is an uptight security guard and the other is a con man who's not as slick as he thinks he is, who through an accident of super science gain super powers but must touch the bracelets they both wear together every twenty-four hours (with a great sound effect of KLANG) or their molecules will dis-corporate, and so they decide to become heroes for hire. And they have a pet goat who's the Poyo ungulate world. And things just get crazier from there.

The events of the series are set off by the murder of Eric Henderson and his adoptive brother Woody's father, a scientist working at Quantum Laboratories. Eric and Woody haven't seen each other in years, since Woody ran away when they were teenagers. But as they begin to investigate their father's murder separately (after getting into a fist fight over his coffin), they are drawn together, both figuratively and literally as one of their father's experiments explodes, granting Woody the ability to fire energy blasts, and Eric, who dons a mask and starts calling himself Quantum,the power to create force fields. Their investigation leads them to a cabal of scientists Edison's Radical Acquisitions (ERA for short), who are all bizarre, freaks of science, including The Crone, who is seeking immortality through harvesting organs from her clones, Beta-Max, a cyborg from the 80s, and a bunch of equally creepy others.

Quantum and Woody are a classic odd couple pairing. Eric is type A personality who has everything in his life scheduled and to a pattern. Woody is constantly on the move since he does whatever he can to not work an honest day in his life, usually by committing some sort of con. Also, just to make it clear that the differences are both skin deep and deeper. Eric is black and Woody is white. The interaction between the two of them, this strange love/hate relationship that you can really only truly understand if you have a frustrating brother, is the cornerstone of the series, and the engine that drives the emotional core of the title.

So I've talked about super science, murdered dads, and feuding brothers, none of which makes clear something that's also really important here: this comic is hilarious! Like completely fall out of your seat, squirt tears out of your eyes funny. The banter between Quantum and Woody, the bizarre rogues gallery, the Goat (more on him later), and just the situations they wind up in, and all perfect fodder for comedy. There are bits about whether Woody disguising himself as Eric constitutes blackface (the actual scene takes place off page, so it's only conceptually offensive), of Eric trying to get Woody to do one normal thing in a day that spirals out of control, and Quantum having to defend a group of white supremacists as they are the lesser of two evils that all just play out as screwball superhero comedy in the best tradition.

The circle of supporting characters is kept pretty tight in the series, really meaning two characters. Or is it one? Oh, clones... Yes, the two other recurring human characters are both clones of the ERA member The Crone. The Crone sent her clones out into the world to have them in positions where they would benefit ERA before she harvested one. One of these clones became a Washington DC police detective, Alejandra Cejudo, who got involved with Quantum and Woody as they investigated their father's death. She's not just a competent cop, but she does not want to take any of the crap that Woody, and to a lesser degree Quantum, dish out and get suckered into. She also declares autonomy from The Crone, trying to make her own life, which doesn't go over well. The other clone in the orbit of our hapless duo is Clone Number 69 (yes, yes, get all the jokes out of your system now, and be prepared for new ones in the comic, because they plum the depths). 69 is a naive clone in her late teens who leaves the ERA base with Woody and the two become a couple. There's a lot of humor on how she interacts with the world, not knowing much about the outside, and also in how she interacts with Woody, since the only thing she seems to know less about than the normal world is relationships.

And there's one other character I mentioned earlier who is a series regular, and that's The Goat. The Goat is, well, a goat. A goat that ERA experimented on. A goat that now has more super powers than it probably should, and is clearly more intelligent than a normal goat. I compared The Goat to Poyo, Chew's luchador rooster, earlier, and I think the description is apt, as The Goat is a breakout hit, who got an origin story in Quantum and Woody #0 and let me tell you, that origin is more involved than you can imagine and is something I don't want to spoil. The Goat is just awesome, and if there's a way for a new Valiant and Image crossover could ever happen, like the 90s Deathmate event, I think it should totally be called Deathbarn, and just be Poyo and The Goat destroying everything in their path.

Oh, and all this plot stuff I've talked about, with the ERA and the investigation of Quantum and Woody's dad? Yeah, that's just the first volume of Quantum and Woody! One of the things I really have to give Valiant credit for is that nearly all their comics are jam packed with stuff. I can't think of one that is a comic you just breeze through in five minutes. Volume two is a story where the now stuck together Quantum and Woody move in together, only for Quantum to get a new security job that isn't what it seems and our hapless heroes have to stop a war within the United States from breaking out. And volume three has the return of a vengeance seeking ERA and the rise of a reborn Thomas Edison who is... yeah, I'll let you read that for yourself.

And after those first three trades, Quantum and Woody went on hiatus and was replaced by The Delinquents. This was a crossover between Quantum and Woody and Valiant's other mismatched and hilarious duo, Archer and Armstrong. I went to link to reviews I did, and am kicking myself for seeing I only reviewed one issue of what is one of the best crossovers I've read in years. It's two odd couples having to work together to solve a mystery involving The Hobo Code (not to be confused with The Hobo Way of Thrilling Adventure Hour fame), genetically modified foods, Cow/man hybrids, and The Big Rock Candy Mountain. It's a great comic, you don't need any previous knowledge of either series to enjoy it, and it probably deserves a recommended reading of its own someday, since it is an absolute joy to read.

So, that's Quantum and Woody. Seriously, if you enjoy superhero comics like Deadpool, the Giffen/Dematteis Justice League, or Archer and Armstrong, all of which mix strong character work with zany humor, you can't go wrong with this comic.

Three trades of Quantum and Woody, "World's Worst Superhero Team," "In Security," and "Crooked Pasts, Present Tense," are all out and readily available, as is the trade for The Delinquents. The fourth volume of the series, "Quantum and Woody Must Die!" comes out on Wednesday.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 9/17

All-New X-Factor #14
Story: Peter David
Art: Pop Mahn

All-New X-Factor, like it's predecessor X-Factor, is at its best when it's about the characters. Peter David writes great superheroic action, and crazy mystic plots, but what he really does best is dig down into these people and let us get insight into them. Stories like the legendary "X-Aminations" issues and the issues with John Maddox, the dupe of Jamie who became a man of God are some of his best. This issue isn't quite as heavy and internal as those; it's a simple tale of team members Danger and Polaris, along with Polaris's sister, the Avenger Scarlet Witch, going to a Renaissance Faire for a girl's day out. Lorna (Polaris) is doing her best to not be alone with Wanda (Scarlet Witch), who Lorna still is holding against Wanda that whole depowering well over 99% of the mutant population thing that most humans and mutants have forgotten. Danger, who is an artificial intelligence, is beginning to experiment more with feelings and her "humanity" for want of a better word, mostly by asking Lorna if she wants to have sex and Lorna completely freaking out in an amusing way (meanwhile, when she asks Wanda, Wanda just says no thanks, which makes sense since Wanda was married to The Vision, who was also an A.I., for some years, so robot sex isn't something unheard of for her). David does wind up cramming in some action, as one of the women who works at the Renn Faire is being stalked, and her crazy stalker does attempt to kill her, and the women of X-Factor and the Avengers step in. We get the Peter David beat where he makes us a little worried about Lorna's sanity and/or morals, but it all works out. That particular touch, the stalking, is apt for this issue, as Lorna finds out her ex, Alex Summers, aka Havok, has been spying on her, and I feel like things are about to go very bad for Alex, but we'll probably have to wait until the crossover issues with Marvel's next mega-event, Axis, before we see what happens there. But before this big action piece, I was pleased to get this one issue of peace, quiet, and a drunk Scarlet Witch.

The Delinquents #2
Story: James Asmus & Fred Van Lente
Art: Kano

There are times where too much funny can make the end product seem overstuffed and not as funny as the component parts. That is NOT the case for The Delinquents, this fall's best comic book crossover, between Valiant's two mismatched duos, immortal drunkard Armstrong & naive assassin Archer and uptight hero Quantum & his con artist brother Woody. The first issue set up where the series would go, with the two duos on a collision course to find the treasure of the Hobos (a concept which I laughed at while typing), Armstrong to honor an old debt and Q&W because they were hired by the Monodsanto Corporation, known for their genetically modified foods, which is possibly the least subtle political joke ever, making it all the funnier. This issue plays with the classic superhero trope of the two heroes (or two twosomes in this case) coming together and fighting because of a misunderstanding, at a house that is a combination of Falling Waters and the House on the Rock. The initial combat is funny, with the unkillable Archer throwing down with the force field wielding Quantum, while Woody does his best to fight Archer, who can channel any physical skill, and winds up talking his way out of the problem, even directly addressing the trope in a very meta way. Woody then gets Archer drunk on absinthe before Quantum and a disappointed Armstrong (he wanted to get Archer drunk the first time) arrive from a fall out of the house. They find out more about the Hobo Code and the Hobo Treasure. We get reference to Big Rock Candy Mountain and the funniest Old MacDonald joke I've ever read. which I admit are more than you'd think. And then the issue ends with them being menaced by tigers. James Asmus and Fred Van Lente, writer of Quantum & Woody and Archer & Armstrong respectively, know their characters, and blend them seamlessly into one big crazy tapestry of anarchy. Kano's art is perfect, realistic but with this touch of kookiness that suits the subject matter. I especially like a panel where Armstrong sticks his head out of a moving boxcar, forgetting trains move a lot faster than they did when he was a hobo in the Depression, and his face goes all flat; it's got a Looney Tunes vibe while still fitting into the non-cartoon world. Oh, and it looks like Mondosanto has cow/human hybrid monsters. As The Simpsons pointed out, "If a cow ever had the chance, he'd eat you and everyone you care about!" So it looks like our heroes are in for some big trouble next issue.

Missing Your Favorite TV Show? Try These Comics!

It's summer time again, meaning hot weather, cookouts, and more reality TV than you can shake a stick at. Yes, most TV shows are on summer break now, so what are you to do to occupy those entertainment hours? Why binge read comics, naturally. And I'm here to help! Here are some comics that I feel would appeal to fans of some of TV's more popular shows. Some I've talked about before, some are new, but I think there's something here for everyone. I'm steering clear of traditional super hero comics for this one to give some more exposure to books from outside the big two mainstream (although there will be a Vertigo book), and I'm not touching on The Walking Dead. If you haven't tried the comic already, nothing I say will change that.

If you like Games of Thrones, you'd enjoy East of West

Game of Thrones is known for its massive cast, sweeping storylines, and mix of fantasy with a real world grit. Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta's East of West has a similar flair with a sci-fi twist. Set in an alternate world where the Civil War caused America to splinter into The Seven Nations, the future is a world flavored with both advanced science, mysticism, and the feel of the wild west. As the series begins, a pale rider appears with his two Native American allies, and he begins hunting those responsible for his death. For this is Death himself, returned to the flesh to kill those who took his wife from him. But the other Horsemen of the Apocalypse have come in the flesh again, and they are manipulating a cabal of officials within all the governments of the American nations to bring about the Apocalypse. It's a wild, well developed world of crazy sci-fi, fantasy, and horror tropes all existing together. You can go from an issue dealing with the inner politics of the nation of African descent, to an issue about a sheriff who decided justice wasn't found in the law anymore and is hunting the cabal, and the next seeing Death confronting an oracle to learn how to find his newest target. The cast is sprawling, each of the plotlines having its own and they only seem to glance off each other, and the machinations would make Littlefinger's head spin. Oh, and there's at least one scene of GoT style sexposition. If you've ever enjoyed any comic by Jonathan Hickman, or any TV show or movie of high stakes political drama or futuristic dytopia, try East of West.


If you like Brooklyn Nine-Nine, you'd enjoy Quantum and Woody

Brooklyn Nine-Nine is the hilarious cop show comedy starring Andy Samberg that debuted this season, and it does a great job of balancing the comedy with actual police procedural, while being a sitcom at its core. There are plenty of comics that mix humor with superheroics, but I can't think of any comic that is really a sit com with superhero trappings on the wracks now that works better than Valiant's Quantum and Woody written by James Asmus. Erik and Woody Henderson are adopted brothers who haven't seen each other in years until their father's death. Now, Woody is back in Eric's life, and bringing the chaos he always does, including accidentally getting them super powers while investigating their father's death that mean they have to touch the wristbands they now are forced to wear once a day or they both just dissipate. It's classic odd couple comedy, with Eric (whose superhero codeman is Quantum) as the straight man, responsible and straight laced, who wants to use his powers for good, while Woody wants to make money and get laid; and by the end of the first arc hes's brought a sexy clone of their first evil mastermind and a superpowered goat home with him to Eric's apartment. The comic lives and dies by the relationship between the characters and the fact that, as much of a screw up as Woody is, he's a likable screw up, while Eric is stiff, but is a likable stiff. And they have a pet goat that could go hoof-to-talon with Chew's Poyo (now, that's a crossover I want to see), so what's not to love?


If you like Orphan Black, you'd like Lazarus

Orphan Black is BBC America's sci-fi series about cloning, genetic engineering, corporations, and family, starring Tatiana Maslany in what is probably the strongest performance in mainstream media right now, playing not one but eight different rolls, five of them appearing regularly. And if you're looking for a comic with a high sci-fi concept, questions that deal with modern society and science, and a kick ass female lead, you need go no further than Greg Rucka and Michael Lark's Lazarus. In the not too distant future, corporations run the world, and each corporation is run by a family, and each family has a defender/enforcer called a Lazarus. The Carlyle family is one of the most powerful of these families, and their Lazarus is Forever Carlyle, daughter of the family patriarch. Forever (or Eve) has been engineered to be nigh-indestructible, faster and stronger than normal humans, and indoctrinated to be undyingly loyal to the family. But things are not as they seem, as squabbles between her siblings (all normal humans) created fractures in the family, and Eve begins receiving messages saying that her whole life is a lie. Eve is not just strong, but she's clever, and more than a little bit broken, the hallmarks of a Greg Rucka heroine. There are secrets, plots within plots, and a cast of characters that you can never be sure you can trust. It's sci-fi drama with the same tense character drama as Orphan Black, but with a scope that can't be done on a basic cable budget. And I now can't help but think of Tatiana Maslany as the only actress to possibly play Eve in a film adaptation. But that's just me.


If you like The Blacklist, you'd like Thief of Thieves

I can think of very few performances on TV as engaging as James Spader's one as criminal mastermind turned FBI informant Raymond "Red" Reddington on The Blacklist; Spader plays the part with equal parts grace, humor, and coldblooded ruthlessness. He's really just a supervillain. And I don't know if anyone could pull that off. But if you like elaborate capers with a criminal as your protagonist, you should check out Thief of Thieves. Masterminded by Robert Kirkman, with various writers working on different arcs, and all drawn by Shawn Martinbrough, Thief of Thieves is the story of Redmond, the world's greatest thief, who decides to give up the business and try to settle down under his real name of Conrad Paulson and try to make amends with his estranged wife and adult son. But the life isn't willing to let him escape. A dedicated FBI agent who knows Paulson is Redmond continues to hound him. His son tries to live up to his father's rep and gets deeper and deeper into trouble. And his cohorts know he had one more big score planned before he dropped out. So now, Redmond is back in the game, and has to outsmart everyone by playing all sides against the middle. It's a caper book that starts out slow and picks up steam quickly as our protagonist finds himself in worse trouble, stuck with enemies from the Mafia, Mexican drug cartels, and law enforcement, and in the end, as the tag line for the series said, "There's nothing he can't steal... except the life he left behind."


If you like Breaking Bad or Justified, you'd like Scalped

TV has developed a love affair with the anti-hero. You can have a main character who isn't the lantern jawed hero anymore, and few characters better typify this shift than Breaking Bad's Walter White and Justified's Raylan Givens. Scalped is a modern noir where every character exists in shades of grey, created by Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera. Dash Bad Horse has come back to the Prairie Rose Reservation where he grew up down on his luck. It looks like Dash needs to start over, and so gets in with Lincoln Red Crow, the chief of the tribal and the local gang lord. But quickly, it is revealed that Dash is undercover FBI, sent by an old nemesis of Red Crow's in the bureau to bring him down. But after his mother is murdered, Dash begins to spiral downwards, and the waters around him get murkier. Friends might be enemies, and enemies might be the best allies Dash could have. I wrote a full recommended reading for Scalped a while back, right after the final trade came out, and you can read that right here. Scalped is also in development for a TV series, so get in at the ground floor now.


If you like Guardians of the Galaxy or Serenity, you'd like Defiance

OK, so this last one is an inversion; it's a summer TV show that appeals to the same sensibilities as some of my favorite comics. One of the great pleasures of Guardians of the Galaxy and both the Serenity comics and their TV ancestor, Firefly, is the down on their luck heroes in the big sci-fi world. Defiance, which began it's second season last week on SyFy, is set in an Earth after the aliens have arrived; specifically various races who go by the collective title of Votans. After the war, all technology has been thrown back to a pre-computer age, and humans and Votans must work together to survive on Earth. Set in what was once St. Louis, now the city of Defiance, the series focuses on Joshua Nolan, who arrives in town and winds up becoming the sheriff, his adopted alien daughter, Irissa, and various locals, including the mayor, Amada Rosewater, the local magnate, Rafe McCawley, and local alien mobster Datak Tarr as well as their respective families. It has that same grungy, used world feeling that Firefly perfectly captured, and our heroes are always out of their depths, yet pull off a win most of the time. Other than compelling plots and well rounded characters, the thing that grabs me about Defiance is the world building. The seven alien races all have distinct looks, languages, and cultures that are distinct from one another. It's such a well thought out world it grabs you and pulls you right in. The first season is streaming on Amazon Instant Video (free if you have Prime) and is out on DVD, so you can get caught up and catch the new episodes as they air.