I recently read the reboot of Quantum and Woody. I got the first TPB in my Comic Bento. Shout out to Comic Bento. It was charming and hilarious. Other than Squirrel Girl it is one of the most charming and personality infused comedy books I've read in a while. This is not that. It’s close but not quite. A lot of what I liked about regular Quantum and Woody is not present here. A lot of the humor and character interplay is either lost or muted in this issue. Most of the book consists of the very heavy subject matter “What is life?” and “Whose life matters?” Even Woody is uncharacteristically stoic until the last quarter of the book.

The tone is kind of a mixed bag being super serious and a little dry at first but ramping up around the half way point. Even though I wasn’t exactly acquainted with one of the characters, that character’s sacrifice did manage to affect something in me. The story really takes it’s time at first and then rushes headlong to a conclusion with a lot plot points getting muddled in action. The “Previously On…” and the exposition gave me enough context to work with but the speed at which we hit the climax was a little dizzying. It seemed like this could have been a two issue story with the pace that it was taking and then suddenly it was over and while Quantum is mourning the loss of a close friend Woody is cracking jokes. I realize that’s Woody’s gig, that’s what he does but come on. Time and place man, time and place.

The bottom line, for me, is that the book stands on the shoulders of greatness. I know enough about Quantum and Woody to give this one a break. It looks like it’s the end of a major arc with a new arc to follow. The new arc hints at a more classic Q&W feel over what has, apparently, been going on so far. The franchise lifts the score one point for me because I know the good it can do and I feel like I can give it some leeway because of that. I can forgive the off pacing and the tone confusion because I know that’s an anomaly and there are some redeeming points, even if they are very small. If you want to see what all the Quantum and Woody hype is about then I suggest checking out the next issue where it seems they’ll be up to their old antics again and maybe just skip the first 5.

Score: 3/5

Writer: Priest Artist: MD Bright Colorist: Allen Passalaqua Publisher: Valiant Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 2/9/15 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital