This hero bit was your idea
Quantum and Woody (#17, 32 and the Goat-oneshot are still missing from making my collection complete) must be one of the finest superhero comics ever made. Not only in form—although the skippy-jump non-linear storytelling with small chapters and one-page flashbacks work wonders too—but mostly the characters are what makes it stand out from the thousands of lesser creations.
That and the fact that for once the humour actually works. Really works, without being forced and it and everything that happenes pretty much comes from the characters. It might have been Woody that came up with the idea that since they had superpowers they must be heroes, but it was the fault of Quantum that it got serious. Their different levels of commitment to the wole shebang is beautifully reveled in a spread with 18 panels wherein Quantum jumps out the window, onto the flagpole and into their parked car on the street. Woody on the other hand takes the elevator and comes out through the door—he’s also the one who carries the car keys…
Even so, the comic was just as self-aware if not more than anything by Morrison, Gaiman or Moore. There’s a whole discussion about words the publisher won’t like: the s-word, f-word, b-word, and most of all the n-word. It’s even treated like those morals being delivered to the viewer by the actors during or after the cretids to a few tv-shows in the 90ies—but a whole lot funnier.
I had thought to do some more in-depth thinking about the series, so I’ll get back to it a few more times later.
