Great Lakes Avengers #2

Great Lakes Avengers taps into something I’ve been missing since the late 80s and early 90s when my favorite comic was Justice League Europe, which followed an endlessly frazzled Captain Atom while he set up a European satellite location for the Justice League. He led a group of mostly b-grade superheroes that bumbled their way into public relations disasters and international super-incidents. It embraces the same kind of humor derived from team friction that leads to “drama” in other comic books.

We’ve seen a handful of successful comedies from Marvel. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is the most popular and rightfully so, but it doesn’t follow a team. Superior Foes of Spider-Man (which may be one of the greatest comic books ever) followed a bumbling b-grade team, but the core cast is comprised of only villains. This comic book hits every single note that Marvel needs it to. It’s lighthearted, has a diverse cast, appeals to younger readers, it’s funny for older readers, follows underdogs, and has a do-gooder message. Maybe it’s just because I am a sucker for this type of comedy, but it’s my favorite new comic book of 2016.

The reinstatement of the Great Lakes Avengers started in the most appropriate way: a comedy of errors. Years ago, Val Ventura (aka Flatman) filed claim on the Avengers trademark. After a series of cease and desist letters from Tony Stark, Ventura stopped using the name. Due to events in Civil War II, Stark Holdings. let the copyright lapse and the rights fell to Ventura.

While Flatman plays video games in his tiny, dingy apartment, Stark Holdings counsel Connie Ferrari informs him that he now owns “Avengers™”. Flatman will only return the rights of the name to Stark Holdings on one condition (well...two conditions, one of which is a pile of money about this tall), that they officially reinstate the Great Lakes Avengers. Flatman recruits most of the old team, Big Bertha, Doorman and Mr. Immortal.

In true bumbling superhero fashion, the first superhero fight involving the new Great Lakes Avengers™, started because of a noise complaint and ended with the team in jail.

Newcomer artist Will Robson’s art exists somewhere between David Lafuente and Tradd Moore. He’s already superior to Lafuente and I believe he’s still learning on the job. Robson’s style is a perfect comedic fit for Great Lakes Avengers. His version of Flatman is the best rendition ever. Flatman has subtle 3-dimensional features and his body drapes over objects like a stiff cloth. Other artists have made the mistake of giving him defined muscles in his flattened form, or have him behave as a normal person. Here, he truly interacts with objects as if he is a bendy flat object.

As an example of his talent for comedic art, check out the first panel to this issue. Writer Zac Gorman (Rick & Morty) must have told Robson to draw a “hipster douchebag.”  It doesn’t even need words.

Issue #2 takes time to introduce new characters and new problems, which made it a little slower than the nearly perfect first issue, but it’s still a great entry to a promising comedy series. Highly recommended.