Quantum and Woody, Vol. 1: The World's Worst Superhero Team by James Asmus

Quantum and Woody, Vol. 1: The World's Worst Superhero Team Reviews

• 
  Anne

  3.5 stars
  
  Archer & Armstrong meets The Wonder Twins. <--kinda?
  
  
  
  I liked it! It was silly and over the top, but I liked it.
  Eric and Woody were raised like brothers by Eric's father, who seemingly only took Woody in to appease his conscience after his wife (who wanted to help kids in the foster system) died. Woody was/is a terrible influence and drives the straight-laced Eric nuts, but they came together to solve their father's death. <--sort of?
  And ended up with superpowers.
  Now they have some sort of energy blast-y abilities, but the downside is that they have to stick together or they will literally fall apart. It's an Odd Couple story as old as time!
  
  
  
  
  The whole thing was crazy (but fun!) and makes me wish I'd been reading about these guys a long time ago. I'd love to find out what the best run of these characters is, and I'm betting some lovely geek on Goodreads knows the answer to that one!
  
  
  
  Overall, definitely good enough to continue with the next volume.
• 
  Amanda

  In this reboot from Valiant, Eric and Woody Henderson are adopted brothers whose relationship has always been tense. Polar opposites in every sense, Eric is the reliable, straight-arrow, while Woody is your typical case of reckless arrested development. Raised by Eric's biological father, both competed for his attention and felt unfairly judged against the strengths of the other. This rift only grows over the years to the point where the adult Eric and Woody have nothing to do with one another.
  
  When their father is killed for one of his scientific experiments, Woody and Eric are reluctantly reunited and, in the course of investigating his murder, stumble into one of his experiments--changing the course of their lives forever. Now imbued with superpowers they neither want nor understand, they become the world's worst superhero team: Quantum and . . . well, Woody, because superhero names are stupid, right? In too deep to back out, they continue to pursue their father's killers and, during the course of the adventure, there will be sibling rivalry, crude humor, clones, spider-clown hybrid assassins, and, by God, there will be a goat.
  
  On the surface, Quantum and Woody is nothing new. This is the formulaic buddy-cop movie setup, but with one clever twist. In making Eric and Woody brothers, the conflicts between them go well beyond personality and race. Giving them a shared history and childhood means that they're easy to relate to as it all boils down to good ol' sibling rivalry, which Asmus plays for laughs that hit close to home for anyone who knows the joys of loving--and hating to the depths of your very soul--the people who know you better than anyone else in the world.
  
  Because I never read the original, I have no idea how this reboot matches up. But it is a comic that knows how to laugh at itself and its genre and in the grim age of nihilistic anti-heroes always teetering on the precipice of some existential crisis, it's nice to be reminded that comics can also be plain silly fun.
  
  Cross posted at
  This Insignificant Cinder
• 
  Diz

  Two brothers investigate the death of their scientist father and in the process get super powers. The relationship between the brothers is the strong point of this book. Eric (Quantum) is a straight-laced ex-millitary security specialist. Woody (he uses his real name because he doesn't care) is basically an irresponsible criminal. So, I guess it is basically a superhero Odd Couple. Oh, and there is a goat. The goat is amazing, but only appears on a few pages. Hopefully, future volumes will feature more goat. The weak point of this book is that it sometimes prioritizes comedy over story, and the comedy is a bit juvenile at times.
• 
  Geekritique

  Find this and many more reviews over at
  Geekritique!
  
  Quantum and Woody really are the worst superhero team around. Although they generally save the day, it's not always clear that was what they originally intended. The first volume comprises issues 1-4, and although it's thread through an enjoyable story, the ridiculous situations the characters get themselves into often overshadow the plot. It deliberately attempts to be as funny as possible, and sometimes it falls flat, but often it hits home. This is a nice addition to Valiant Entertainment's arsenal, and does include a few passing mentions to other heroes in the universe.
  
  Eric and Woody Henderson are brothers by adoption. Eric's father took young Woody in, knowing he was a troubled kid: always getting arrested, into fights, drug habits - the works. Woody eventually ran away from home, never to return. Some time later and it appears their father was murdered for something he was working on in his laboratory. This, of all things, brings the two sons back together, and the friction between the two is magical. By friction I mean to say the two couldn't be more opposite in every way, and their ridiculous head-butting eventually leads them towards their inevitable super-powered origin; a laboratory experiment gone awry. Eric, who eventually adopts a cool blue outfit and calls himself Quantum, gains the ability to create force-fields. Woody, who decides not to wear any particularly notable costume, and doesn't change his name at all, gains the ability to create energy blasts. The irony of the two's newfound abilities is that they can't wait to get away from each other, but are required to 'Klang' their bracelets together every 24 hours, or else they'll fade away to nothing.
  
  Were I reading this on a weekly or monthly basis, instead of in it's collected trade paperback format, I probably wouldn't really get too involved in this series. It simply divulges from the issue at hand so quickly it's often hard to keep up with. But bear with me, as it is really fun.
  
  The inherent inability to get along sets them apart from pretty much any superhero team on the market, a refreshing departure from the perfect team-mentality other books push. And sure, other teams generally take some pushing and shoving to work together coherently, but any coherent work Quantum and Woody get accomplished is never quite a planned effort. It just sort of... happens.
  
  And boy, is this book funny. It straddles the line of what is politically correct and what isn't when it comes down to ethics, race, and more, but it never goes too far. Being of different skin colors, the two brothers often get themselves into immensely ironic scenarios, and the artist's ability to portray the shock on each others faces is priceless. That's not to say all the jokes land. Often they're littered with sensored curses, which do little to dissuade a young imaginative mind from deciphering what's actually being said. It goes from feeling like a children's read to something stamped with an R rating, and that felt unbalanced.
  
  The villains too were ridiculous to the point of unbelievability. But that's the whole fun of the novel. These superheroes are morally ambiguous, because all they really want is to solve their father's murder. They in turn save the day in decidedly unheroic fashions. And that's kind of fun. That's the real point. And it lands with flying colors in that department.
  

  Grab this in:
  
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• 
  Chris Lemmerman

  I read these two volumes together, so I'm reviewing them as one block for ease.
  
  Quantum And Woody is about the (mis)adventures of Eric and Woody Henderson - Woody was adopted by Eric's father and, when said father is mysteriously murdered, the pair team up to try and track down the true killers. Along the way, they find themselves exposed to a dangerous quantum energy experiment which gives them the ability to project energy blasts and forcefields. The catch being that if they don't klang their golden wristbands together once per 24 hours, their atoms will disappate and they'll both die. Unfortunately, getting along isn't really their strong point.
  
  The first volume details Q&W's fight against the ERA, another secret society (the Valiant Universe has a hell of a lot of these) that steals scientific innovations so that they can make money. The second sees Eric go back to work for his security firm, only to wind up a contracted superhero and stuck in a war between a private military corporation and a group of white supremacists. You can't make this stuff up.
  
  James Asmus' dialogue is quick and snappy, full of great (if risqué) jokes and a fun bond between the two brothers that's always strained but also always hilarious. The villains are as cartoonish and zany as the heroes, and the supporting characters don't get skimped out on either, from their teenage-clone sidekick/girlfriend to the peculiarly unexplained genetically modified goat. Yes, they have a goat. He's on all the covers, and his name is Vincent Van Goat.
  
  The artwork in the first four issues is by Tom Fowler, while Ming Doyle takes over for the second four. Both have similar art styles, playing fast and loose with human anatomy but never to the point of caricature, while Jordie Bellaire colours all eight issues for consistency. This is the first Valiant book I've read where the artist on the flashbacks is the same as the main artist too, but Bellaire uses a distinctly different palette for these to the point that it almost feels like someone else doing the pencils.
  
  Quantum & Woody doesn't take itself too seriously, from the dialogue to the caption boxes to the goat, but it's genuinely good fun and another great entry into the Valiant Universe (that I need to get back to reading more of).
• 
  Drew Canole

  I really love how the backstory is handled, although at times it does seem a bit too familiar. I also don't see why the two brother's hate eachother so much - it seems a bit put-on as in the present-day story they probably should be getting along - and gaining superpowers would probably be really cool.
  
  One scene has Quantum getting mad at Woody because Woody said the bad-guys knew Quantum was black (even though he's in his costume) because Quantum has a black-guy voice. Maybe I'm just really permissive, but I don't see why Quantum would be offended by that comment. Also, the bad-guys could see Quantum's hands (and thereby deduce that he's a black man) - it feels like the author ignored that in order to create the drama.
  
  Besides for my disbelief in the character's relationship, I really enjoyed this fun, over-the-top romp of a superhero story.
  
  The evil organization being Thomas Edison's Radical Acquisitions was a nice touch, and seems oddly timely - as Edison's legacy has been given a beaten recently as the American patriotism yields to Tesla and the other gifted creators who were allegedly abused by Edison's business practices
• 
  William Thomas

  I groaned audibly when I first heard that Valiant we're going to be publishing comics again. Just another attempt to cash in on the new Golden Age of comics, I thought. Another company trying to bog down the market in the same way so many others did in the early 90s, I thought. And here I am a few years later eating my words. Because 80% of their books are f@&$ing amazing.
  
  Quantum and Woody as written by Asmus is everything you've heard. All of the reviews by IGN and Newsarama and Comic Vine are dead-on accurate. It's irreverent and smart, hilarious and consistently awesome.
  
  Let me do my typical review-by-way-of-mashup. This book is like Remender writing for the TV show Archer. It's like Warren Ellis had a baby with Mark Millar and named it this book. Oh, and they gave that baby a killer goat.
  
  I don't know how long it can keep up the momentum, and I don't care. This volume is the best money I've spent in a while on a gn and I don't regret a single dime.
  
  With the art by Ming Doyle perfectly capturing the antics and the hilarity of the writing, it's so solid that you can't pass it up.
  
  Writing: A
  Art: B
• 
  Jan Philipzig

  The World’s Worst Superhero Team...
  
  …consists of Eric “Sad-Sack” (according to Woody) Henderson and Woody “Reckless Jackass” (according to Eric) Henderson, two adopted brothers who - due to their contrasting personalities - never got along all that well while growing up. As adults, they have lost contact… until their father suddenly and mysteriously dies. Reluctantly reunited in their effort to solve the mystery of his death, a freak accident imbues them with the superpowers they need to crack the case.
  
  It’s your typical buddy cop set-up in the tradition of movies such as Lethal Weapon or 48 Hours, but enriched with superpowers and, more importantly, a shared family background. While the superhero twist allows for the kind of over-the-top action most comic-book readers have come to expect from their medium of choice, the shared family background adds some good old sibling rivalry to the mix - an ingredient that comes with lots of potential for personal drama and comedy, and that ultimately turns the series into a very relatable and all-around entertaining read.
  
  Recommended to superhero readers who prefer their stories with a liberal sprinkling of crude humor!
  
• 
  Dan

  Review -
  https://youtu.be/RoxVYNhIiMs
• 
  Jenn Marshall

  I could not stop doing 2 things while reading Quantum and Woody; laughing and reading parts aloud to my husband. This book is so good! It is very silly. Hands down the goat is a favorite. People scream in terror when he appears and Quantum says he feels like he's being mocked. It is my type of humor. I did not want to put it down.
• 
  Ericka Clou

  I read this for one of my Bookriot Read Harder challenges. I liked the main characters in this comic a lot, and especially their humor. The plot is pretty good. The bad guys are kind of gross and silly and are the only part I would have told the author to change if I’d been the editor.
• 
  Rahma

  2.5 stars.
  I am disappointed. This one looked like it was going to be really fun to read, but turned out to be extremely boring... 😕
  I’m not yet sure if I’ll keep going with the series.
• 
  Adam

  Following around the world’s worst superheroes is a good hook. It’s humorous; some of it landed flat, but I enjoyed the Reddit-like message board page that Quantum and Woody both post in at the beginning of each volume.
  
  The art was a bit confusing at times. I didn’t know if I was looking at the back of someone’s head, or the side of another. It’s very loosely drawn.
  
  The story is engaging enough to check out the next issue. I didn’t find out until after I finished that this was created nearly a decade ago, and it has a lot of sequel collections available to read. There’s a couple of interesting, overarching mysteries they’re teasing out, and issue #4 ends with a big one.
  
  Overall, it’s a light and funny series, a good escape for a while.
• 
  Marco

  So far the best Valiant book I've read.
• 
  Vinnie Uube

  A pair of likeable super-powered goofballs.
• 
  Wing Kee

  This was so close to being 4 stars.
  
  World: The art is great. There is great character and emotion in the art. This is probably the best art from Valiant's reboot IMO. The world building is fun and ridiculous like the series. There is no info dumping and the parts are introduced when needed. It is a bit slap dash and basic but it's thee only for the jokes and the characters which is the true point of the book.
  
  Story: The story is more fun than I had expected. The jokes don't always hit but the chemistry between the mains are great. The story is ridiculous and fun and over the top. The situations ridiculous and a stretch. There are some pacing issues but this book is about fun and it's just way fun. If you compare the to Archer and Armstrong, this series is way more fun.
  
  Characters The heart of the story and these two boys are fun. They are great together and the banter and chemistry is wonderful. The arc is simple and heartwarming. It's good. The rest of the cast are out there and ridiculous and fun.
  
  Good fun.
  
  Onward to the next book!
• 
  Paul W.

  It's unfair to compare this to the original by Christopher Priest, one of my favorite writers, but I cannot help it. It's got humor, but it's not as clever or as interesting as the original book. Hopefully it'll be better by book 2.
• 
  Mark Morabito

  This book got me to actually laugh out loud. Can't remember the last comic that got me to do that.
• 
  Chad

  Not bad, has potential.
• 
  Tyler Graham

  A ton of fun, filled with sass and sarcasm, this comic follows two brothers who become imbued with superhero powers while on a mission to discover what happened to their recently deceased father. I was happily surprised to discover that their constant bickering manages to come across as heartwarming and amusing, rather than annoying. Bonus points for a mysterious goat who comes in at the end of the last issue. I'm hooked.
• 
  Patrick

  Oh, god. That's got some pretty effin' funny jokes in it.
  
  Look, the humor is childish as all get out. I know this. But, it's funny.
  
  And honestly, it wouldn't work if the sibling relationship between Eric and Woody didn't come across as being so genuine. It really feels organic in exactly the right way.
  
  I'm still waiting to find out more about the goat.
• 
  Judah Radd

  Very fun. This is basically the Deadpool of Valiant.
  
  Fun story, one liners, jokes and action. I remained highly entertained (even if I walked away just a bit dumber.)
  
  The art is sufficient. I think this is is going to be a pretty nifty series.
• 
  Dariusz Płochocki

  Pierwsze spotkanie z Valiantem całkiem udane, chociaż fabuła mocno zakręcona, a sama kreska nie najwyższych lotów, to jednak humor nadrabiał inna braki, zacna jazda bez trzymanki. I tylko kozła mało...
  
• 
  Trike

  This book was a lot of fun. It's silly but it works.
  
  I missed the whole Valiant Comics thing back in the 90s due to being old and not reading comics. Therefore I didn't realize this was a reboot of the original book. I looked it up on the Grand Comic Database and, based on those covers, it looks like Q&W was always a goofy superhero mag.
  
  Humor is hard to do and origin stories are a dime a dozen these days, but Asmus pulls off both of these feats handily. I was never once ahead of the story because I was content to simply let it flow and follow along. That's the sign of good writing.
  
  The art by Tom Fowler is likewise clear and concise. I've ranted often enough about artists who try to get too fancy with the panels, thus rendering the story difficult to follow, but Fowler keeps everything tidy so that even when there are multiple characters on the page and things are literally exploding around them, you can still readily follow everything that's happening.
  
  I'm in for the follow-up books. It's always nice to discover something new (and fun!) to read, and Quantum & Woody fills the bill.
  
  Also, there's a super-goat. What's not to like?
• 
  Cale

  Trying to write a funny super hero comic book can be hard. It's not difficult to inject a little humor into an action book, but this is trying to go the other way, injecting mayhem plot onto comedic characters. And for the most part it works. Foster brothers who despise each other gain super powers that require them to be near each other at least once every 24 hours. Overachiever and runaway, the two are high on the Odd Couple spectrum, With Quantum forever cleaning up Woody's messes (or the messes the two create together). The first couple of issues kind of struggle with the balance (actually coming down a bit too serious on occasion), but by the last issue, it's going full tilt gonzo, with a showdown against the ERA and a very dangerous goat. It's definitely silly, and even manages to be funny more often than not, although nothing had me laughing out loud (maybe a couple of snorts). Art works well for the story, and it's a fun enough romp.
• 
  Hector Ibarraran

  This title was a lot lighter than some of the other Valiant reboot stuff I've been reading. It made me laugh a few times, which is awesome. I'm certainly looking forward to checking out the rest of the series. I'm thinking I'm probably going to actually start pulling some more Valiant stuff at my local comic book store.
  
  I don't think the concepts in the book, or any other valiant book I've read for that matter, are very original. Everything feels like the kind of stuff a kid in the 90s would dream. What makes these stories fun is execution. The art is beautiful and professional. It has none of the lamentable stylistic choices of comic books past. The stories are great and, while the writers take shortcuts here and there, for the most part the characters are flawed but likable.
  
  I still feel like there is room for growth, and Valiant could find a way to be a little bit deeper, but they are off to a good start.
• 
  Shannon Appelcline

  The World's Worst Superhero Team (1-4). I'm surprised by how much of the structure of the original Q+W that Asmum decided to keep: the self-destructive superteam, the snarking, the humor, the flashbacks, the subtitles, and the wackiness are all here. Asmus isn't as funny as Christopher Priest, but he still does quite well with all these concepts. I also love his additions to the mythos. Having Eric and Woody be actual (adopted) brothers is just brilliant, and the new group of super villains that bedevils the heroes in this arc are an icky addition to the storyline that would have worked perfectly in the original Q+W as well. Overall, this is a fine revamp of Quantum & Woody that I'm looking forward to seeing more of [7+/10].
  
• 
  Des Fox

  Quantum and Woody is just about one of the funniest damn comic books I have ever read. Almost every other page made me laugh out loud (or at least chuckle), between the expertly crafted dialogue and the absolutely absurd characters and situations. The characters are wonderfully realized, with surprising family drama stories between the wonderfully hilarious scenarios. James Asmus was born to write this book and Tom Fowler's illustrations match the tone perfectly.
• 
  Phoebe

  I liked this comic far better than I expected. I mean, the cover says 'buddy movie with a bizarre element that's supposed to be funnier than it is'. The first few pages head in that direction, but something about the brothers' poor impulse control and sustained inability to deal with their own emotional states keeps the story fresh and charming, even. And then there's the strategic, comedic nudity . . .
  
  I'd read more.