When all seems lost … that is when the truest heroes emerge.
Creative Staff:
Writer: Jeff Parker
Artwork: Evan “Doc” Shaner, Ron Randall & Jonathan Case
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: ALW Studios’ Dave Lanphear
What They Say:
When the adventurous and inquisitive Jonny Quest and his adoptive brother Hadji make a startling discovery in the swamplands of Florida, they are pulled into an epic struggle between the Space Rangers and a dangerous villain who threatens the galaxy.
Now it’s up to the combined forces of Team Quest, Inter-Nation Security, Space Ghost, and a host of Hanna-Barbera’s greatest action heroes to stop him and save their universe!
Content (please note that portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The chase to find and destroy Omnikron continues as Space Ghost discovers it on the primitive planet of Amzot, the home of the Herculoids. His gargantuan allies with their human friends struggle to keep the fiend contained before it can absorb anything else which will add to its already overwhelming power, but they are not having any luck. As they continue in their pointless endeavor, the world eater pursues its endless quest of hunger, devouring any and all which stand in its way. While the titanic heroes sustain their efforts, the space defender, and the Galaxy Trio are also trying to eliminate the monstrosity but not with any success before it starts to generate a mysterious vortex, which threatens to suck in everything within the vicinity.
Meanwhile, Jonny, Hadji, and their new friend feebly confront a familiar face in the Florida Everglades, before he fades into an eerie energy laden mist. It is only then do they find a strange otherworldly craft crashed in the swamp, seemingly abandoned and lifeless; however once they enter the ship, and as their eyes adjust to the light, they find an injured female pilot and her simian defender, hidden among the wreckage. She must be an alien due to her strange garb and her monkey friend is also wearing the same costume, but from outward appearances, the visitor appears to be humanoid. As they escort their new friends from the debris, they are soon confronted by mercenaries dressed in an ominous black and red, demanding that they hand over the survivor. The intrepid young heroes cannot surrender the girl to these thugs, but it seems they have little chance to live otherwise. Outnumbered and outgunned, what choice do they have?
In Summary:
With this only being the second issue of Future Quest, writer Jeff Parker has brilliantly woven a fascinating world with familiar characters, mesmerizing the viewer with a successful mixture of the old and new. Even if you are not acquainted with these actors, the engaging story of futuristic action intruding on present day life drives the narration across and makes it well worth the read. As we are drawn deeper into his tale, Parker continues to fascinate us with a passionate tale of intrigue, human drama and the will to survive, all driven by the need to know and discover what mysteries are on the other side of that portal. He has constructed a great medium to unfold the struggle of an immense battle which Jonny and his friends know nothing about, but cannot help but become involved all due to the eruptions of that vortex. And once they rescue Space Ghost’s damsel in distress, they have no other choice than to interfere with the events which have spilled into their universe. This is shaping into a great blockbuster movie, with all of the cliffhanger moments and the obvious cliché of an ominous villain who will stop at nothing to take what is his … especially when that bad guy is the treacherous Dr. Zin.
But what majestically propels the story along is the frenetic renditions of iconic characters by Evan Shaner, Ron Randall and Jonathan Case with marvelous colors by Jordie Bellaire. Even with the use of three different artists and their own individual methods of visually describing a narrative, they all mesh into a cohesive unity of awe-inspiring action and human emotion which drives the characters to towards their goals. Shaner’s titanic opening battle sequence captures the imagination, his sparse backgrounds with larger than life figures caught in an epic fight opens the floodgates to this illustrious story. Randall continues with his tightly depicted panels, the detailing makes you want to stare into each page, amazed by the work which his penmanship brings to the surface, until it explodes in a frenzy of action. Then Case draws the story to a close, with crisp and concise illustrations which invoke the nostalgia of a bygone era, bringing forth images of the classic Jonny Quest animation and yet they still move us with a simplicity of motion that manages to meld into the previous forms. And yet even with these divergent drawing styles, they are all consolidated into a concerted form via Bellaire’s wonderfully imaginative use of hues and tones. She is able to create an all-encompassing atmosphere which surrounds the characters with an emotional tension, even if it is a plain white and black; the delicacy of her feathered shadows makes the story all the more substantial than a straight application of colors by provoking the eye to see past the obvious and revealing what lies just below the surface.
Future Quest is evolving into what Hanna-Barbera attempted so many decades but were hindered by close mind moralities and television censorship. While the action and story may harken back to those previous series, the motivations for revenge and greed still hold true and are more faithfully depicted to their true forms. Although they are still held back to some limit, the humanity which drives the story forward is the truest sentiment which makes this narrative something to behold and worth reading for its fullest appreciation.
Grade: A+
Rating: T (Teen)
Released By: DC Comics
Release Date: July 6th, 2015
MSRP: $3.99
