Review: Future Quest Vol. 1

Quick Summary

Pros: The story and artwork are both fantastic. The series is very approachable for longtime fans of the characters and brand new ones. It is also kid-friendly while still being fun for adults.

Cons: There is a lot going on in the story and it can get confusing at times.

Overall: This new series is undoubtedly the best thing to happen to this slew of old Hanna-Barbera characters in decades. They are all presented at their best in stories that are action packed, smartly written, and fun. This is a series for anyone who enjoyed watching old Saturday morning cartoons or to anyone interesting in picking up something like that.

Story

It is almost astonishing what this comic does with characters who were created for Saturday morning cartoons. Simple characters are given more depth and put in more interesting situations than ever before. This comic is what any fan of these characters has been waiting for and is the perfect place for any new fan to get started. This is not just a great comic book adaptation, this is a great comic book in its own right.

Since this comic is mostly based on characters and concepts introduced in television shows from decades ago, many readers may be wondering how much of the characters’ background they need to know before reading this. The answer is a resounding nothing. It certainly helps add to the reading experience if readers are familiar with the characters, however it is not necessary in any way.

In addition, another positive for this book is how kid-friendly it is. Not all of the new Hanna-Barbera titles are exactly suitable for children, so it is fantastic to see that Future Quest is as appealing to younger audiences as the shows which inspire it. Being kid-friendly, in this case, luckily does not mean that this is not something for adults; intense character development and a deep plot ensure this. Even more so than the original cartoons, this book is something everyone can enjoy.

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The majority of the story in this volume centers around the Quest family and Inter-nation’s fight against F.E.A.R. and Dr. Zin. Having this more grounded fight is great because it allows for a multitude of characters to have a chance at showing off what they do best. Each character has a moment where they get to be the one to take down the bad guys, whether it be Birdman taking down villains with his solar powers or Bannon showing off his military skills. It is the action and adventure that feels as if it were straight from the original cartoons, and there is nothing wrong with that at all.

However, the plot to this series has more layers than just this as Dr. Zin is revealed to be simply a symptom of the real problem, Omnikron. A multi-dimensional, all-consuming entity, Omnikron is a frighteningly ominous force across the whole of this series. This first volume only sees him in the background, mostly attempting to breech our hero’s dimension, yet it promises that he will be playing a larger part of the series’ overall story. I really like how this is played out as it gives the gang some realistic, human enemies to fight at first, while setting up a much larger and more epic enemy to face later in the series. Time will soon tell if this epic showdown will prove as worthwhile as indicated here.

The only real problem with reading this book is that it can sometimes become too deep in its own plot and thus mire itself in confusion. In Future Quest, numerous characters are introduced as the series progresses. This in itself would only be a slightly hard to keep up with, however readers also have to keep up with the time-jumping Omnikron plotline. At times, it feels like a little bit too much is going on in this short of a story. However, this does add a depth to the series that not many others have. It may be possible that this complexity will actually improve subsequent reads of the story in a manner similar to Final Crisis. Ultimately different readers will experience this in different ways, the type of reader you are will decide if this is something that will affect your reading positively, negatively, or not at all.

(spoilers end here)

Art

After reading this entire collection, you will not be able to shake the feeling that Even Shaner’s art was simply made for this series. It manages to look remarkably similar to the original Hanna-Barbera cartoons, while also taking it to the next level. There is a level of detail and care here which simply did not exist at the time and which makes this reading experience all the more enjoyable. It is as if someone created an HD version of the old cartoons and put it into print form. Honestly this art plays a huge part in how great this book is and it would not be the same at all without it.

Continuity

This comic series is based on a selection of various Hanna-Barbera television shows, including Johnny Quest, Space Ghost, The Herculoids, Birdman and the Galaxy Trio, Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossibles, and Moby Dick and Mighty Mightor. Though this comic is based on these shows, it does not share a continued continuity from them. Rather, it is simply a different avenue for these character’s to appear.

The new Hanna-Barbera universe has yet to do anything with continuity. This means that, though there may be a connected universe, nothing has been done with it as of yet.

• At one point in the book a character is holding an issue of Scooby Doo Apocalypse. This could be a hint that this series takes place in its own continuity or it could simply be a cool Easter egg.