Quantum and Woody, Vol. 2: In Security by James Asmus

Quantum and Woody, Vol. 2: In Security Reviews

• 
  Anne

  Not exactly grade-A, but still surprisingly fun enough to make me want to come back again.
  
  
  
  Quantum's boss decides to try and use him to take out a group of racist preppers who don't trust the government. Hilarious hijinks ensue when Eric tries to blend in with the white supremacists.
  
  
  
  But was it really hilarious?
  No.
  And there's just something missing between Woody & Eric chemistry-wise.
  Still, it's a fun title and I'd like to finish it out.
• 
  Chad

  Too much goofiness without the action to go with it.
• 
  Sam Quixote

  James Asmus’ second Quantum and Woody arc is as strong and funny as the first, and this time around he’s joined by the amazing art team of Ming Doyle and Jordie Bellaire.
  
  Eric’s rich cowboy boss, Terence Magnum, knows he’s secretly Quantum and hires him to be his own personal superhero - inadvertently hiring Woody too as, without klacking their super-powered bracelets every 24 hours, they both die. Their first mission? To take out a hillbilly outpost in rural America that’s stockpiling weapons for a 21st century revolutionary war against the durn govment! But things aren’t quite what they seem and before they know it, Eric (a black man) is inexplicably on the side of white supremacist right wingers in a fight against a private army!
  
  Q&W is a comic where the premise of the superhero duo is strangely the least interesting aspect of the series. I read Q&W for the comedy and amazing chemistry between the two leads, brothers who’re very much the odd couple of the comics world (or the Riggs and Murtaugh of the Valiant Universe - and not because they’re black and white). The book’s filled with tons of great details like Woody going apartment hunting with his clone girlfriend 69 (whose name has nothing to do with what you’re thinking!), and the continued appearance of Vincent Van Goat, who is a dangerous but lovable goat.
  
  None of the characters are meant to be realistic and that’s what I love about this book. Magnum’s a caricature of a rich Republican down-home Southern Baptist kinda fella (he’s even got a cross-shaped hot tub on his private jet – handy for spur-of-the-moment baptisms!) while the hillbillies are, well, as you’d expect from the label: nutjobs who blame everything on the “fascist” government. As highly enjoyable as these cartoons are Asmus does make Eric a Republican and writes him as an intelligent one, not a right-wing extremist like the others. Staying on the political slant to the series for a moment, I also really liked the way Asmus went after Don’t Ask Don’t Tell while it was still in effect (the US Army’s former policy on homosexual soldiers).
  
  I love that they’re still squabbling like kids but Woody’s somehow making Eric seem like a lunatic, like in the first book where he somehow managed to twist Eric’s words to make him look racist! In the second book, they discuss 69, the clone of their enemy, and Eric says “she’s got evil blood and I don’t trust her!”, and Woody says “You know that stance is basically eugenics, right?”. And it’s a small detail but Eric having trouble coming up with quips while he fights goons was a nice touch – becoming a vigilante and a “witty” chatterbox don’t instantly go hand in hand!
  
  Ming Doyle’s art is fantastic, complimenting Asmus’ comedic script with perfect facial expressions and physical comedy – the repeated use of the close up head shot was brilliant (also felt vaguely Chew-ish – but that’s definitely a compliment, as that comic is awesome). I loved the onomatopoeia in the final battle. When an overweight redneck with a bow and arrow (who Woody calls Fatniss Everdeen) gets a missile to the chops, the sound effect is “FAT-DOOOOM!” and when Eric figures out how to use his shields as weapons to take out a tank, the effect reads “BA-DASSSSSS!”.
  
  I was going to say the series needed more Vincent Van Goat but then I saw that next month’s issue is all about him showing how well that Asmus and co. know their audience! Quantum and Woody isn’t just Valiant’s funniest series, it’s one of the funniest and most entertaining comics being published right now. Volume 2 continues to impress and amuse with its unique brand of comedy and superheroes.
• 
  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

  A battle between two politically confused cults, one a government military subcontractor and another a group of anti-government nutjobs seeking annexation from the states.
  
  The mood of the book is very similar to the first volume, very zany action, some funny bits; fans of the first will enjoy this.
  
  The brother relationship is further developed, albeit slowly. I'm still not a huge fan of the relationship, but revealing more of Quantum's military history versus Woody's lazy lifestyle explains why they conflict. I assume they become close friends in the future.
  
  Quantum and Woody both support opposing political parties, but as a non-American, I'm not sure I understand the difference between the parties... is there a substantial difference? Most of the social/political commentary in this book seemed simplistic - but, I suppose, it was incorporated unobtrusively into an action packed superhero book.
  
  
• 
  Wing Kee

  Stupid but so fun!
  
  World: Doyle's art is good. It'd stylish and full of character, which is exactly what this series needs. The world building is there for the joke and the story. It's ridiculous and stupid and fun and that's all it needs to do.
  
  Story: Fun and racist and stupid. There is not a lot of depth in the story but it's all about the jokes and the chemistry between the brothers. The idea of domestic terrorism is played well and the people and situations we find is ridiculous but that's the point of the series.
  
  Characters: The heart of the series. The brothers are fantastic together and the banter and chemistry is a delight to read. The other characters such as 69 and Vincent just make me laugh. The villain this arc was a but meh but it served it's purpose.
  
  Good stupid fun.
  
  Onward to the next book!
• 
  Phil

  There is something very satisfying reading a book as ridiculous as Quantum and Woody. They are adopted brothers, constantly bickering, and the source of their superpowers requires them to spend time together or explode into cosmic dust. Throw a goat that shoots lasers out of its eyes and a clone of the woman that was trying to kill them in the previous volume into the mix and things just escalate.
  
  Quantum takes a private security job for a rich man that pits the duo against an anti-government compound. This book doesn't shy away from stereotypes and drops in just enough elements to distort them and make it really enjoyable. The art complements the story really well too.
• 
  Judah Radd

  Very clever and funny.
  
  Not particularly exciting, kinda dumb and not my cuppa-style art.
  
  I want to like this title a little more than I do. It’s definitely one of the most intelligently scripted Valiant titles, and it has very witty dialogue... but there’s an adventure factor that I’m craving and not getting.
  
  The plot feels like Asmus is like “well, it’s supposed to be dumb, so let’s make it spectacularly dumb,” and I get it... but it’s not very satisfying. I think maybe the title just needs to mature a bit more.
  
  Overall, this is enjoyable and worth reading, and I’m not gonna quit it anytime soon.
• 
  Lance M. Sacknoff

  I do love how Asmus can take the cliche formulaic approach to the sophomore entry into a superhero epic--confronting the long-term consequences and logistics of super hero-dom--and lampoon it in a fashion that advances the storyline while simultaneously providing some subtle insight on super heroes in comic books. If nothing else, Vol. 2 of Quantum and Woody provides a helluva lot of self-awareness and wit layered into an adventurous and comic (mis)adventure for the unlikely fraternal superhero team. I give only 4 out of 5 stars because I was not a huge fan of the art style for this particular volume; I prefer the bold colors and vibrant panels in Tom Fowler's work on Vol. 1 over Ming Doyle's art style within Vol. 2, which lacks the vitality and "pop" of Fowler's work.
• 
  Anchorpete

  I think I have said this before, but it is very hard to find a comic book that is genuinely funny. This book tries on almost every page, and doesn't always succeed, but this trade definitely had a moment where I laughed out loud, and had to reread a sequence, and laugh again.
  It is a fun book, and certainly is great at making jokes about racism, or people's extreme fear of seeming racist. It was a little too heavy handed with the references to Right Wing groups, for that aspect of the book to be funny, but as always the interaction between the two brothers is great.
• 
  Garrett

  Klang pt 2
  
  Damn this Volume is funny, still has me laughing out loud. Woody is just the type of unknowing(or so he would have you believe) asshole that just hits me right in the funnies.
  
  5 "I'm a &$@$ing superhero" of 5
• 
  Sophia

  This book has art by Ming Doyle and one of the main characters is a goat. That is reason enough to read it.
• 
  Richard

  Read and reviewed as part of
  Quantum and Woody: Deluxe Edition 1
• 
  Patrick

  Could be the story, could be me, or could be a little of both, but I didn't dig this one nearly as much.
  
  It isn't bad, but it also didn't have me laughing all that much.
  
  The next volume, though?
  
  We find out about that goat.
• 
  Lindsey

  Quantum and Woody is a hilarious and enjoyable read. Plus I adore Ming Doyle on art.
• 
  Roman Colombo

  Quantum and Woody might be my favorite Valiant title. It's really funny, the characters are excellent, and the art is a lot of fun.
• 
  Reed Benson

  Wild and wacky story of two goofy superheroes getting caught in a battle between two opposing right-wing groups with lots of guns. If you're a Republican, you might think that the writer hates you and only sees you as a stereotype, but if you keep reading until the fourth chapter/issue, you'll get a pleasant surprise.
  
  Religious stereotypes don't fare as well, unfortunately. The Archer & Armstrong stories, despite all their evil religious characters, do at least give credence to Archer's sincere religious beliefs and seem to show that not all Christians are psychos. There aren't any characters like him in Q&W yet.
  
  The crudeness is still here. Curse words are "bleeped," but I still think this story could be rated R (in movie terms). Not as much body horror, though, thankfully.
  
  I don't like the art as much as everyone else seems to. The art in the first book was perfect for the characters, story, and tone. The art here seems to be of a much lower budget and reminds me of comics I don't like (such as X-Statix and Madman). It did grow on me a bit over time, but I really missed the the old art.
• 
  Russio

  I nearly put this down after the first instalment, which consisted mostly of a lame-brained, take-nothing-seriously, sexually-obsessed muppet (Woody) making crass and unfunny comments. The idea of an odd couple is an old one but this was just irritating.
  
  Then the real story kicked in and it was excellent - shifting the humour away from puerile sexism to lampooning the American right (including a very funny page where the two heroes discuss one's Republican leanings) worked well. The situational irony of having a black crusader and his apolitical chum defending a cabal of white supremacists against a free-market racketeer made for frequent amusement.
  
  A complete about-face then. I have scooped up the next edition and will report back.
• 
  Adam Stone

  If you were a fan of
  Christopher Priest's original run on Quantum & Woody in the 90s, you should love this. The humor is about the same. The story structure is loosely based on the original. It's true to form without being derivative.
  
  I just don't like it. I find the humor cringey, and the plot uninteresting. The dynamic between the two foster brothers (an improvement over the "school friends" relationship in the original) just doesn't interest me, and the pop culture references were dated before the ink dried on the comics.
• 
  ISMOTU

  The new Quantum and Woody series continues with zany hijinks. Am I a hypocrite if I say it comes off as almost too silly for me? Regardless that's a criticism I have of the stories in this volume. The art is good and some of the jokes land but when Woody starts talking about how not enough of his jokes in his life had been funny I started to agree. Definitely firmly entrenched in the zeitgeist of America but I can't help but wonder how well those aspects will age.
• 
  JeLo Guevara

  This is insanely awesome ----- fun-filled, action-packed, adrenaline-rushing and a lot of surprises. It never loses its quality.
  
  P. S.
  
  More Goat please!!!
• 
  Tomas

  Full of jokes, great characters, amazing art and fun plot. What else do you want?
• 
  Shawn M.

  I got a few laughs out of it, but it felt like they were trying too hard at times.
• 
  Megan Murphy

  I didn’t think they could keep up with the first volume, but boy was I wrong! Backstory and a lot of laughs.
• 
  Steven

  This is a very addictive series!!!
• 
  Patricio

  Calificación: 2
• 
  Hunter Lambright

  Ming Doyle deserved better than this.
• 
  Ferenc

  4/5 - Graphic Novels
  3/5 - Characters
  2/5 - Story
  
  3/5 - Rating
• 
  Joshua Williams

  Really didn't like the change in artist this volume but the story was still great.