Future Quest #3 Review

The Hanna Barbara comic series from DC Comics continue with Future Quest #3 and it’s split between Birdman and The Herculoids! Two stories for the price of one, but is it good?

Future Quest #3 (DC Comics)

So what’s this book about? The official DC summary reads:

An earth-shattering power has come to life in the jungles of South America, and Team Quest and Birdman race the forces of F.E.A.R. to reach it first! There they find time ripped apart in a lost valley where dinosaurs and cavemen run wild once more as the ancient legend of Mightor is revealed! Only the shipwrecked aliens Jan and Jace hold the secrets of what fate awaits our world, but as a force led by Jezebel Jade attacks, what new hero will rise?

Why does this book matter?

If you need a blast from the past injected into you via comic books this is your best bet. These characters have an old school feel and it’s interesting to see how the writers are giving the characters a bit of a facelift. Plus it’s always nice to see superhero comics that are meant to deliver adventure over the usually serious and dark comics of today.

Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?

Shout it from the rooftops!

The first half of this book focuses on Birdman and is written by Jeff Parker with art by Steve Rude. The art has the look and feel of a Jack Kirby comic complete with cool looking guns and in your face bombastic panels. It’s a fun story that does well to remind us where Birdman got his powers, how they work, and why he’s rather unique. Parker writes some dialogue that involves a lot of shouting and a lot of grandiose explanations. All in all this story is a lot of fun because there’s nothing else quite like it on the stands today.

The second story introduces each of the Herculoids’ characters and their powers with a fantastic flashback to how our human characters got to such a strange planet. Jeff Parker writes this story as well, with art by Aaron Lopresti. The art style is a bit more modern in this second half with a nice detailed look and great use of color (by Hi-Fi) to make the alien planet look extra magical. The dialogue has the same old school feel as the first story and much of it involves captions to explain how the robots took over the human characters home world.

It can’t be perfect can it?

Due to the heavy use of captions the Herculouds story does drag a bit, focusing more on revealing how the characters got there than the adventure at hand. It does serve to set up the next issue well though. That said, as a table setting story it’s easily skippable.

Don’t fall in love Birdman.

Is It Good?

It’s abundantly clear Future Quest is for anyone who wants to take a ride back to when comics were a bit goofy and a lot of fun. There’s nothing else quite like it on the stands today.