Review: Future Quest Presents #8: Mightor

by Tony Farina
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[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]

Writer: Jeff Parker

Artist: Steve Leiber

Inker: Ryan Hill

 

Summary

The life forms of the Starpoint Collective, (think of it as the government agency of all beings in other universes) have responded to one of the many signals Earthings (they call us Terrans) sent out asking for contact.

Meanwhile, Ty is having a birthday party. His family is giving him grief about his lack of adventure. Little do they know he is MIGHTOR! Superhero, tough guy and all around awesome dude. Adventure and he go way back…Well back to last year when he got the club during Future Quest.

The Starpoint Collective’s representative, Oskus, descends on Switzerland’s particle accelerator thinking that must be where the “world leader is.”  S/he is convinced that the Terrans are on the cusp interstellar travel and s/he along with the rest of the collective want to shut that down.

Positives

As has been the case with everything to do with Future Quest, the art is what makes these series go. There is just something so comforting about the way this book is going. The inkers in this series, in this case Ryan Hill, really take center stage. Finding that perfect tone to match the 1970s sensibilities of this book while making sure it has appeal to younger readers who want extreme detail and vibrant colors is hard yet Hill and artist Leiber pull it off.

Jeff Parker also tells a totally age appropriate story. Aside from a few people being obliterated by Oskus early on, this is a bloodless battle, which again, fits the 1970s sensibility of the book. The real kicker here is that Ty turns 13 and is in that strange place between boy and man. While turning 13 means one is closer to adulthood than childhood on a calendar, one is not really ready for much. Because Ty has the mind of a child in the body of a man, that is even more evident here. It is hard to do a coming of age story in such a short space, but Parker sticks the landing on this.

 

Negatives

Do you remember how a paragraph ago I cheered the 1970s sensibility of this book? Well, that is also the weakness. This is a G rated comic from the beginning to end because the two casualties are all but ignored and if one is not looking for the, one does not even notice. Unlike DC’s Superhero Girls series that has a younger audience in its cross-hairs, this comic is clearly reaching to Generation X’s need for nostalgia while keeping it clean enough for those same readers of DC Super Hero Girls. The other HB titles are so much more sharp tongued and Rated M that this book feels quaint in comparison and that can turn off those who loved Wacky Raceland or Scooby Apocalypse.

 

Verdict

If you are a Generation Xer with a 10 year old, pick this up and share it with him or her. Then, go to Boomerang and watch some of the original shows together. That will really make this whole experience worth it.

 

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