THE INFINITE ADVENTURES OF JONAS QUANTUM #1 Review

Legendary Comics

Writer: Marc Guggenheim  |  Artist: Freddie Williams II

Colorist: Christopher Sotomayor  |  Letterer: Patrick Brosseau

Jonas Quantum is the most intelligent hero on the planet, and he isn’t shy about coming across as such. This is someone who cured death during a stretch of insomnia. If I am having a stretch where I don’t eat everything in the freezer during a sleepless night that makes my week, and this guy is able to prevent death. Yeah, there is a wide gap between the two of us to say the least.

The initial introduction to Jonas, along with his partner Eve, does away with the typical slow burn of most origin stories. You get a page of Jonas as a baby, which is worth it alone for the hilariously annoyed facial expression (via Freddie Williams II) on Jonas’s face right after he comes out of the womb. After that, Marc Guggenheim wastes no time getting into the action, and the book keeps up that brisk pace throughout. It fills in the gaps when it needs to, however, so you still get substantial back story through small flashback snippets. These are sometimes no more than a single panel, but the point gets across, and then we move forward with the current plot. As I said in our interview, it really feels structured more like a TV show, which makes the story incredibly easy to follow. This is a huge plus, as the constant time jumping could be impossibly confusing if the structure weren't handled well. 

Jonas's relationship with Eve is another highlight of the book. Eve doesn’t take any of Jonas’s guff and is able to hold wits with him throughout the book. He’s a genius to be sure, but Eve is just as essential. Jonas is always ready to offer way more facts and history than is necessary at any given time, and it takes a character like Eve to balance that out and tell him when to shove it. These type of characters can easily become out and out jerks, so having a yin to his yang is incredibly important to keep him likable, and Eve serves that role well.

I would be remiss to not mention the incredible art by Freddie Williams II and Christopher Sotomayor. They bring all of the action and science fiction elements to life, with potent hues of color at every turn, and imaginative costume and location designs to match. I enjoyed it immensely for its unapologetic use of color, with very little grittiness or urban realism to be found. It actually makes the times they are in more standard or realistic locations (such as a pawn shop or smack in the middle of the city) stick out more when not everything is painted with the same brush.

If you are not a fan of classic comics or science fiction, then you will probably not dig this book. Nor will you if you like all of your backstory upfront or presented in a non flashback fashion. Personally while the story is interesting, it isn’t the biggest hook for me. That hook is the amusing banter between Jonas and Eve, and ultimately that is why I loved it so much. As long as that doesn’t go anywhere, count me in.

The Infinite Adventures of Jonas Quantum #1 is out on stands now.