I wish, I really, really wish, that I could say that this comic was really great. I love Man-Thing (insert joke here [insert another insertion joke here]). The Gerber run on the comic was, and is, one of the best pieces of graphic criticism of a nation in turmoil that I've ever read. I wish we could see some more work like that now, with the Orange Man running roughshod over the US, but, alas, I think the comics companies are too invested in being companies, rather than producing art, sometimes.
I was also fairly confused by Man-Thing having his Ted Sallis brain back, and trying to be a star in Hollywood. This, to me, seems like just too far a stretch for this character. I know he's been a part of the recent iteration of the Thunderbolts, and I have no idea what happened to him there, but I kind of miss the old Guardian of the Nexus of Realities version of the character. There just seemed to be so much potential for a Doom Patrol-style series there that was just never picked up on. Ah well. Perhaps I'll get my turn one day.
The other reason I picked up the comic, aside from my love of Man-Thing is that it's written by kiddie-horror king R.L. Stine. He runs into the same kind of problem I see with lots of novelists writing comics, in that it takes them a while to recognize that they don't have to describe everything in the caption boxes. That's what the pictures are for. I'm willing to give the comic a couple more issues, but it's going to have to do something really neat to qualify for the unfortunately very short list of comics I can afford each month. I'll let you know how it goes.
To be continued.
