Quantum & Woody #5 discussion

[tchalla8]

(sigh)...this is a bad week for VEI.

I admit up front I'll probably be in the minority here, but this really took a step back for me. I loved the first arc, but this....this is not interesting. And the sharp wit that made this title so appealing has turned into dirty jokes and pervy humor. To be fair, I don't like dirty jokes, so that's just a personal thing, but that made this whole issue turn sour for me.

And I know it's probably not fair to compare Doyle's work to Fowler's, but the fact is it does not compare at all. The kinetic energy Fowler brought to the forefront was completely missing here. If I'd never seen Fowler's work on Q&A I'd probably be ok with it...but too bad...I've seen Fowler's work and it's awesome. This was not awesome.

I'm really bummed

[blujay]

It was decent but for me it wasn't quite up to the standard of the previous arc. I thought all of Woody's parts were pretty good, and I thought most of the jokes worked pretty well, specifically the hipster banter and Quantum crashing the night club. But I see this arc going a semi-A&A tone which to me is a step back.

7/10

[Aomalle27]

yuck, not a good issue. To begin, the artwork was distracting and cartoony instead of comic books. This just didn't work for me, I see Q&W as satirical comic, rather than out and out loony toons cartoon. Quantum just didn't pop, and Woody looked horrible, a disheveled hairy mess. The story itself seemed less action hero and more mockumentary. The quick showing of the death machine would have worked had it led somewhere, but they just skipped over it. It felt like a horror movie tease, showing a topless girl from behind. Deliver the goods or don't bother. And the Quantum/ boss narrative they 're starting? I don't know, this may be the first valiant I drop, which is weird because I loved issues 1-3.

[ThatDarnCabbage]

Yeah, this was the first disappointing issue of the series. It was mostly the art for me. Lack of backgrounds, lack of detail, lack of energy. I even liked the story less, but I think I would've liked the story itself just fine it it was Tom Fowler drawing it. I think his style balanced the tone of the story just right. This book had one of the most cohesive teams out of any Valiant book yet, so the Valiant style of rotating artists affected this book maybe more than any other so far.

[Kertes]

The jokes were still just as good as the previous, but the execution killed it. I blame the art. The art really killed this issue. 5/10.

[KXXX]

I'm not really an art guy, for the most part. The plot was a lot more relaxed and *SQUEE* was funny as hell.

Loved it.

[Bone-A-Fach-ee]

Loved the writing, and script. That's all I can say about that.

[Captain Craig]

I agree with the OP. This issue took a step back for me. And I was really skeptical and biased coming in but the first arc proved me wrong. I do give things a chance.

I didn't hate the issue I just felt the issue was spinning it's wheels. As if it couldn't find traction for the narrative. Why did we spend so much time on Clone 69 again? Just to show her in various stages of undress??? A lot of that felt like wasted time. Mary-Maria she is not, which is what I felt they were perhaps trying to mimic.

All in all....still way, way better than Shadowman #12. I mentioned about being lenient right?

[BugsySig]

Was not digging the first half of the issue as I had come to expect something on every page to make me blurt out laughter. The second half upped the anti in that respect just a bit ("Just imagine an even slower Lord of the Rings and my browser history had a baby"...that's *SQUEE* funny).

I didn't mind Doyle's art, but it is no where near the match for this book that Fowler is. What he and Asmus did on the first arc was brilliant. This was a solid set up issue for a new arc, but didn't blow me away the way the first arc did.

[jmatt]

Meh. Miss Fowler. Not a fan of the political sniping either.

For a cover trumpeting All New Arc! and Must Read Valiant this was kinda boring.

[Donovan]

I didn't feel this issue either, and I think it was the art. All the hands were drawn really strangely. Why do I notice these things?

[pixierosa]

I thought this was a step back, too. The story did not move forward much, and my favorite character was the goat. I thought the hipster jokes were amusing, but for the most part the jokes were lame pervy ones that would have been hilarious if I was a 13 year old boy who had never seen a woman's body outside of a JC Penney's catalog.

Q&W isn't a title that I highly anticipate each month, but normally after I've read it I am glad that I did - I enjoy it more than I thought I would. Not so this issue. Bummer.

Jokes: mostly lame. Someone said clone 69 was like a poor MM. I agree. Lame lame lame.
Art: meh.

[lorddunlow]

Ugh. I think everyone is being kind. I almost didn't finish it. I'll continue to give it a chance for another arc or so, but I see this being the first VEI book I drop.

I'm not an art guy and usually say I could read stick figures with good writing, but this was not my cup of tea. I literally found the art nauseating.

The story was crap, and the jokes were well below the level of previous issues.

I have to agree with jmatt, that the political jabs were unnecessary (and I lean to the left! ) and took me out of the story - unlike the Harbinger stuff he complained about, this did feel like the writer pushing an agenda. If I want political satire bashing conservatives I'll watch The Daily Show - they are better at it.

Ugh/10

[BugsySig]

Ugh. I think everyone is being kind. I almost didn't finish it. I'll continue to give it a chance for another arc or so, but I see this being the first VEI book I drop.

I'm not an art guy and usually say I could read stick figures with good writing, but this was not my cup of tea. I literally found the art nauseating.

The story was crap, and the jokes were well below the level of previous issues.

I have to agree with jmatt, that the political jabs were unnecessary (and I lean to the left! ) and took me out of the story - unlike the Harbinger stuff he complained about, this did feel like the writer pushing an agenda. If I want political satire bashing conservatives I'll watch The Daily Show - they are better at it.

Ugh/10

I thought the political bit was strange, but that it was just more like a joke that went on too long. If it just went...

Lady: "You know the Republican chairman of the House ethics committee?"
Quantum: "I'm protecting him?"
Lady: "No. You're taking his mistress to have an abortion."

...and stopped there, I would have chuckled and moved on.

Republican could have just as easily been replaced with Democrat when it comes to ethics, but being a conservative makes the abortion comment more juxtaposed and therefore more comical (or so says my "Stand-up Comedy for Dummies" book).

But it just kept going...Maybe it was meant a political statement, I don't know, but to me it was just a poor caricature that was unnecessary. I have come to expect better from Asmus.

[lorddunlow]

Ugh. I think everyone is being kind. I almost didn't finish it. I'll continue to give it a chance for another arc or so, but I see this being the first VEI book I drop.

I'm not an art guy and usually say I could read stick figures with good writing, but this was not my cup of tea. I literally found the art nauseating.

The story was crap, and the jokes were well below the level of previous issues.

I have to agree with jmatt, that the political jabs were unnecessary (and I lean to the left! ) and took me out of the story - unlike the Harbinger stuff he complained about, this did feel like the writer pushing an agenda. If I want political satire bashing conservatives I'll watch The Daily Show - they are better at it.

Ugh/10

I thought the political bit was strange, but that it was just more like a joke that went on too long. If it just went...

Lady: "You know the Republican chairman of the House ethics committee?"
Quantum: "I'm protecting him?"
Lady: "No. You're taking his mistress to have an abortion."

...and stopped there, I would have chuckled and moved on.

Republican could have just as easily been replaced with Democrat when it comes to ethics, but being a conservative makes the abortion comment more juxtaposed and therefore more comical (or so says my "Stand-up Comedy for Dummies" book).

But it just kept going...Maybe it was meant a political statement, I don't know, but to me it was just a poor caricature that was unnecessary. I have come to expect better from Asmus.

+1 exactly what I was thinking when I read it.

[blujay]

Ugh. I think everyone is being kind. I almost didn't finish it. I'll continue to give it a chance for another arc or so, but I see this being the first VEI book I drop.

I'm not an art guy and usually say I could read stick figures with good writing, but this was not my cup of tea. I literally found the art nauseating.

The story was crap, and the jokes were well below the level of previous issues.

I have to agree with jmatt, that the political jabs were unnecessary (and I lean to the left! ) and took me out of the story - unlike the Harbinger stuff he complained about, this did feel like the writer pushing an agenda. If I want political satire bashing conservatives I'll watch The Daily Show - they are better at it.

Ugh/10

I thought the political bit was strange, but that it was just more like a joke that went on too long. If it just went...

Lady: "You know the Republican chairman of the House ethics committee?"
Quantum: "I'm protecting him?"
Lady: "No. You're taking his mistress to have an abortion."

...and stopped there, I would have chuckled and moved on.

Republican could have just as easily been replaced with Democrat when it comes to ethics, but being a conservative makes the abortion comment more juxtaposed and therefore more comical (or so says my "Stand-up Comedy for Dummies" book).

But it just kept going...Maybe it was meant a political statement, I don't know, but to me it was just a poor caricature that was unnecessary. I have come to expect better from Asmus.

+1 exactly what I was thinking when I read it.

+2

[jmatt]

But it just kept going...Maybe it was meant a political statement, I don't know, but to me it was just a poor caricature that was unnecessary. I have come to expect better from Asmus.

And of course there was a poke at the bible and the bad guys are all adorned with crosses. I'm not religious but for pete's sake, c'mon. Would they have dared to create bad guys festooned with Jewish or Muslim icons? I think not.

Oh and Dunlow? Love that rating: Ugh/10.

[BugsySig]

But it just kept going...Maybe it was meant a political statement, I don't know, but to me it was just a poor caricature that was unnecessary. I have come to expect better from Asmus.

And of course there was a poke at the bible and the bad guys are all adorned with crosses. I'm not religious but for pete's sake, c'mon. Would they have dared to create bad guys festooned with Jewish or Muslim icons? I think not.

Oh and Dunlow? Love that rating: Ugh/10.

Well who doesn't enjoy a good poke at the bible? They also trashed Game of Thrones and people actually enjoy reading that.

As for the crosses, I didn't notice, but that seems more like a liberty the artist took as opposed to something written into the script.

[jmatt]

As for the crosses, I didn't notice, but that seems more like a liberty the artist took as opposed to something written into the script.

Look again. Eileen: cross around her neck. Mr Magnum: cross on his ring, cross around his neck, two crosses hanging on the wall behind him. Ya know, just more of those a-hole Christian bad guys.

And we're also treated to a page of US soldiers who are, of course, racist. What else would they be?

It's unnecessary. It's indulgent. Be professional.

[BugsySig]

As for the crosses, I didn't notice, but that seems more like a liberty the artist took as opposed to something written into the script.

Look again. Eileen: cross around her neck. Mr Magnum: cross on his ring, cross around his neck, two crosses hanging on the wall behind him. Ya know, just more of those a-hole Christian bad guys.

And we're also treated to a page of US soldiers who are, of course, racist. What else would they be?

It's unnecessary. It's indulgent. Be professional.

Ah...I thought you meant the robbers at the beginning. Yes, I thought the crosses on the people at Quantum's work were unnecessary, just like the whole conservative, right-winger shtick...and that's coming from a pretty leftist liberal.

I can go either way on the soldiers. I prefer to see our military, especially those who choose to enlist, portrayed in a positive way. On the hand, having been exposed to quite a few enlisted soldiers in the past, it was not completely out of the realm possibility...especially if you consider it was a flashback to a time closer to 9/11.

[somewhatlazy]

Never been a fan of contemporary political references in comic books. Specific political themes work much better if the writer can make it their own alternate reality like in Watchmen and TDKR.

[iwantvaliant]

Brilliant, hilarious issue. This book is working its way to the top of my read pile.

[CylonSteve]

Didn't mind it, Ming Doyle's art wasn't terrible! The over the top right wing bashing was mehl I am a Stand up comic myself and saw the punchlines coming like 5th ave. As Bugsy stated about the Mistress with the Abortion, he was spot on with my thinking there.
I am hoping it gets better from here.

[bygranddesign]

I think it was another well written, well executed issue

I'm really surprised at the overly negative comments especially in regards to the political jabs

Asmus is poking fun at Hypocrisy above anything with his political jabs. And these are SOFT BALL jabs. Republicans who use religion as a way to gain favor with the conservative base and also have a mistress on the side that is having an abortion is worth poking fun at and satirizing! It rings true because we have seen things like this happen time and time again in Politics. This is why I read Quantum and Woody. Its NOT for super hero action. Its for being edgy and funny and topical. Obviously, there are plenty of democrats who are hypocrites ... and have their far left faction that are a bit wacky (some of the hard core enviromentalist especially). Maybe Asmus will take time to satirize Liberals more ... But i'm not going to keep a score card. I'm going to continue to enjoy Asmus's sharp witted, humorous storytelling.

I do think it was the weakest issue of the run so far ... but we got some more interesting insights into Eric's past which I think was great. I thought there were some great scenes with Woody and the clone girlfriend. I would like Asmus to get back into delving into Woody's past a little more to give him a little more depth - I don't want him to just come off as a wise cracking caricature.

I thought the art was solid - I think Doyle was a very good choice... obviously not Fowler good but still executed the story well I thought.

overall 7.5/10

[bygranddesign]

I'm not really an art guy, for the most part. The plot was a lot more relaxed and *SQUEE* was funny as hell.

Loved it.

+1

I think many of us were clamoring for storylines that were more grounded - where the personalities of the main characters can shine ... and that's what we got with this issue.