4 out of 5

I recently gave Waid’s future DD story in the 50th Anniversary issue a bum-wrap because future tales can be balls if they’re used to set up present-day storylines.  And maybe that will be Marvel’s plans down the road with these “100th Anniversary” issues, but Stokoe’s Avengers contribution is just all comicy bonkers, in the same vein of Morrison’s 1,000,000 series (before it ramped up and got way too over-Morrisony) or the Amalgam books, back when that happened.  What sells it, though… is that Stokoe sells it.  The contents are handled with the same visceral and yet naive forward thrust of the other series he’s handled, such as Orc Stain or Godzilla.  Meaning that, though we’re battling stacks of Moloids and there are editorial references to events that haven’t actually happened yet, it’s presented with only a slightly grinning face.  James saves the all-out humor for the ‘Previously On…” opening page (and maybe the ‘next issue’ blurb), which has a hilarious memorial for Mr. Stokoe, who “passed” before the issue was complete, and an ad for the customizable organism Quiblet, which will totally exist at some point.  The plus / minus to James actually scripting the book instead of just making it a gag fest is that it has a ramp-up period.  The flip-side is you get a story and a conclusion, but the book legitimately feels like an ongoing instead of a one-shot.  It’s pretty convincing, in other words, which is slightly to its detriment as a “must read now!” qualifier.

The art, of course, is astounding.  If you’re not familiar with James, he’s of the Darrow school of uber detailing, but then flitted through that Dave Cooper-esque insanity, where everything is influenced by… in Cooper’s case, genitalia, and in Stokoe’s case, fungus.  MAYBE THAT’S THE SAME THING.  Another version of this would be Brandon Graham’s cracked-out crowded panels, and he shares a similar limber style with Stokoe, except to my eye, Graham has no appreciation for making a page readable.  It’s all just iconography.  But Stokoe is clearly making comics, and they look fantastic, especially when colored with his Brendan McCarthy-esque pastels.

P.S.: I love comics.