Future Quest #3 Review

How did Birdman and The Herculoids make their way into the madness of the Future Quest?  Your Major Spoilers review of Future Quest #3 awaits!

FUTURE QUEST #3
Writer: Jeff Parker
Artist: Steve Rude/Aaron Lopresti/Karl Kesel
Colorist: Steve Buccellato/Hi-Fi
Letterer: Dave Lanphear
Editor: Marie Javins
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99

Previously in Future Quest: A strange set of circumstances has brought Doctor Benton Quest and his Quest Team together with Inter-Nation Security and their premier agent, Birdman!  Mysterious portals in the swamp have led to the reveal that a cosmic menace known as Omnikron is breaching time and space itself, bringing together the greatest heroes of Hanna-Barbera in a battle for multiple universes!

A LITTLE JARRING

Of course, this issue doesn’t have any of the prime storyline, instead consisting of two separate “Vortex Tales,” flashback stories from times before the main conflict began.  In our first tale, we find out how Ray “Birdman” Randall met and partnered up with Agent Deva Sumadi before issue #1, giving us a look at Birdman’s life before all heck broke lose.  It’s a story drawn by Steve Rude, too, which means that the whole thing is utterly gorgeous, and gives us some background on Deva, including a big ol’ heroic moment where SHE saves the day.  We also get a little bit of Avenger The Eagle, Birdman’s purple pal, and an explanation of how Randall’s wings work (a plot point 40 years in the making.)  Our second story features the origin of the Herculoids, as Zandar and Tarra finally reveal to their son Dorno that they’re not from Quasar at all, but a nearby world, Amzot (a sly nod to the planet’s name changing in the cartoons back in the day.)

MORE OF THE DUDE!

To be honest, both of these stories are quite good.  Aaron Lopresti’s Herculoids look amazing, especially Igoo, the great rock ape, and it’s great to get the background of characters who notoriously don’t have a lot of that, but…  It honestly feels like this issue (which, it must be noted, has changed from the originally solicited contents) consists of two backup stories, without a primary tale, and while Omnikron is referenced in Birdman’s story, having a whole month worth of Future Quest without any progression of the main plot line is bothersome, and breaks up the flow of the narrative.

THE BOTTOM LINE: I’M CONFUSED

In short, this book consists of a pair of well-written, beautifully drawn tales, but doesn’t feel like it continues the story from issues #1 & 2 so much as it serves as secondary material, ala the ‘Front Line” specials that Marvel keeps throwing at us during their big crossovers.  I can’t complain about the quality of the stories here, but it is a bummer that this issue doesn’t have any of the main storyline in it, leaving Future Quest #3 with an-only-disappointing-by-comparison-to-the-first-two 4 out of 5 stars overall.  It’s a beautiful comic book, but the lack of a real main story does affect my enjoyment…

---

Dear Spoilerite,

At Major Spoilers, we strive to create original content that you find interesting and entertaining. Producing, writing, recording, editing, and researching requires significant resources. We pay writers, podcast hosts, and other staff members who work tirelessly to provide you with insights into the comic book, gaming, and pop culture industries. Help us keep MajorSpoilers.com strong. Become a Patron (and our superhero) today.