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crookedtreehouse's review against another edition
2.0
There's a certain pattern to 90s superhero humor comics that just fell flat as soon as the 90s were over. Now it reads as funny as 20th century Vaudeville acts. The raised eyebrow behind every one-liner is exhausting, and the idea that if you repeat a joke enough times it must be funny just doesn't pay off anymore.
Sadly, this is Priest at his best. I felt the same frustration with this title as I did with his Black Panther run. There's no real narrative structure, the characters' motivations and personalities change depending on what joke Priest thinks he needs to tell, and his flashbacks and asides rarely add anything to the story, rather they get used to repeat jokes and repeat jokes.
Unless it's for a reading project I'm working on, I think I'm going to avoid any future books with Priest's name on the cover.
If you do like the style of humor that was big in the 90s, and you like the sort of Over-The-Top-90s-Marvel (particularly the style that ran through the X-family books) you might really enjoy it. While I don't think this was ever Top Of The Line humor, I think it was mediocre for the era, and would appeal to people who miss that writing style but who don't want to read anymore Fabien Nicienza and Scott Lobdell books.
Sadly, this is Priest at his best. I felt the same frustration with this title as I did with his Black Panther run. There's no real narrative structure, the characters' motivations and personalities change depending on what joke Priest thinks he needs to tell, and his flashbacks and asides rarely add anything to the story, rather they get used to repeat jokes and repeat jokes.
Unless it's for a reading project I'm working on, I think I'm going to avoid any future books with Priest's name on the cover.
If you do like the style of humor that was big in the 90s, and you like the sort of Over-The-Top-90s-Marvel (particularly the style that ran through the X-family books) you might really enjoy it. While I don't think this was ever Top Of The Line humor, I think it was mediocre for the era, and would appeal to people who miss that writing style but who don't want to read anymore Fabien Nicienza and Scott Lobdell books.
tmaluck's review against another edition
4.0
A lot funnier/sharper/more readable than I originally figured. Reads easily and pulls humor from multiple sources (timing, dialog, visual gags, callbacks, flashbacks, puns, you name it). Good to know that the recent Valiant series came from, and is true to, its roots.
saif42's review against another edition
1.0
This was written to be funny. It is not. Don't like the 90's art either.
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