In a press release sent out today, Valiant announced that as part of moving Quantum and Woody to a multiple mini-series format, the opening salvo, Quantum and Woody Must Die! would be written by regular series scribe James Asmus and be illustrated by none other than Superior Foes of Spider-Man (and Panel Pal) Steve Lieber:
As revealed today at New York Comic Con 2014, Valiant is proud to announce QUANTUM AND WOODY MUST DIE! #1 (of 4) – the FIRST ISSUE of a dastardly new limited series jumping-on point for the most nominated series of the 2014 Harvey Awards! The first in a new series of limited series for the world's worst superhero team, start reading here as award-winning writer James Asmus (Gambit, Thief of Thieves) and Eisner Award-winning artist Steve Lieber (Superior Foes of Spider-Man) bring the most talked-about duo of semi-professional heroes in comics to a whole new high! (Unfortunately, there are a bunch of people that would like to kill them up there.)
Now let's be honest here. I love Asmus's writing, and I'm a big fan of Lieber's art, so my interest in this one might be just a little bit higher than most people's. But still, the idea of taking one of the best humor comic writers working on a mainstream title and pairing him with a person that can visually turn a bunch of C-list Spider-Man villains into comedy gold is sheer brilliance on the part of Valiant's editorial team. Whoever came up with the idea of nabbing Lieber and his visual aides for Quantum and Woody, a book with a non-speaking supporting character, deserves a raise.
Here's the premise for the new limited series, which is set to debut in January:
They came. They saw. They pissed off a whole lotta folks. And now a team of mystery vigilantes has singled out the world's worst superhero team out for complete and utter destruction. The first target: their minds! But who are all these all-new enemies? Are Quantum and Woody really hitting it off with a sexy duo of cat burglars? And, dear god, what have they done to the goat? Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Sex Criminals isn't the only comic that can quote Queen, comics fans – here come Quantum and Woody! (Or so they think! [Trippy, right?!])Keep in mind this is a series that put out a short story complaining about going up against Saga at the Harvey Awards. From the pages to the press releases, this is irreverent, fun comics. If you enjoyed Superior Foes and were worried about missing out on that type of book, fear not: This is going to scratch that itch, trust me. One of my favorite books in 2014 just got even better for 2015, and I can't wait.
"All of a sudden, a half-dozen mysterious forces are operating against them that they've never seen before," said writer James Asmus in an interview today with Comic Book Resources. "It's a whole batch of things that are both picking up where we left off and also feel like something's changed off panel that both the reader and Quantum and Woody will be trying to figure out how we got there."