By: Marc Andreyko (story), Shawn McManus (art), Lee Loughridge (colors)
The Story: Marcel perfects the art of going to buy cigarettes and never coming back.
The Review: I was debating on whether to even review this issue, but in the interest of consistency, I couldn’t just sideline it without a word of warning to y’all first. But make no mistake; the temptation to quietly forget this issue ever existed was quite powerful. In fact, the issue would be fairly easy to forget since almost nothing of significance really happens in it at all, much like all the issues before it in this arc.
There is exactly one—count ‘em, one—piece of new information in this entire issue: Marcel didn’t make love to just one lady, but quite a many, each spawning one of several species of child: human, mice, and creatures in between. Aside from explaining where all the rodent assassins are coming from (and perhaps who their mastermind is), this isn’t much of a revelation. At best, you react with a raised eyebrow, perhaps with a tinge of disgust, but that’s a far cry from feeling genuinely interested.
After that, Andreyko doesn’t really do much with the rest of the issue, except set Cindy’s evil stepsister loose a couple times, always to her humiliating defeat. These battles are supposed to be our primary entertainment, but they’re almost incapable of producing it. First, our villainess is simple-minded to the extreme, poorly motivated and characterized, and just barely competent. I mean, even Marcel can catch one of her thrown daggers, for goodness’ sake.* Second, the fights just aren’t that impressive, being more of the fifties B-movie variety.
It’s not enough that the issue has almost nothing to offer; it has to irritate with some cheap plot devices as well. To account for why none of his paramours ever freaked the florgh out about their animal/hybrid offspring or Marcel’s abandonment of them, Andreyko simply adds magic, which “mercifully took away all memories of me and the children from their mothers.”
Even Cindy doesn’t quite buy this. “This is why I’m no fan of magic. What are the rules?!” It may be self-aware parody, but it doesn’t make the plotting any stronger. Compared to Bill Willingham’s careful construction of magic, Andreyko plays fast and loose, using it at every corner to achieve whatever development in the plot he wants. Need the Fairy Godmother to get back in action quickly? Simply throw in tourist season in New York City, a revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, and you’ve got enough “believing Mundys” to get F.G. well on her way to recovery. By the same token, though, that should make Cindy and her stepsister equally as durable, which can only drain even more suspense from their fights.
With a script this empty, the art is almost inconsequential, but McManus does his best to give you some lively visuals. His inherently clownish style is surprisingly capable of quieter, more emotional moments as well as moments of great ferocity. What his art cannot do is make the issue more interesting than it is, no matter how hard he tries.
Conclusion: A most unproductive, shoddy issue, making you dread the others to come. Fortunately, as a showcase title, one can afford to drop one unsatisfactory arc and pick up the next. Dropped until #27.
Grade: D+
– Minhquan Nguyen
Some Musings: * Although it is a little suspicious, isn’t it? Why would a peace-loving and love-making man be so adept at martial arts?
Grade
Conclusion