The totally hilarious Lockjaw strip from Paul Pope would be worth the five bucks alone, and most of the stuff in here was pretty great, but I think the “humorous” tone of the book kinda dulls its potential a bit, at least in comparison to what DC has been doing with Wednesday Comics. (and comparisons between the two books are inevitable.) You can tell so many different kinds of stories with the talent Marvel’s assembled here, but the recourse to schtick that’s pretty universalized across all the strips in this book ultimately winds up being very limiting. I really would have liked to have seen what other kinds of stories folks might have told. Maybe that’s a good thing? And it’s not like I expect Kochalka to create some elfin dark phoenix saga on a two page spread. I just wish there was a greater variety in the affects these stories project, in the atmospheres they inhabit.

That said, between his “Strange Adventures” strip in Wednesday Comics and this, I’m really realizing how beautiful Paul Pope’s work can be. I remember reading some of his stuff as a kid in the early nineties and being a bit baffled and now i feel like i should go back and check it out.