Quantum and Woody
Encyclopedia
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series published by Valiant Comics
Valiant Comics
Valiant Comics is a comic book imprint published by various publishers since its inception with Voyager Communications, Inc. in 1989, later Acclaim Comics, Inc. Its assets were purchased from the bankruptcy of the Acclaim Entertaintment by Valiant Entertainment, Inc. in 2007.-Voyager...
. To date Quantum and Woody has sold almost one million comic books in a variety of languages. Among the most critically acclaimed comedies in comics, Quantum and Woody is written by Christopher Priest
Christopher Priest (comic book writer)
Christopher James Priest is a writer of comic books who is at times credited simply as Priest. He changed his name legally circa 1993.-Biography:...
and illustrated by Mark Bright
M. D. Bright
Mark D. Bright is an American comic book and storyboard artist. Often credited as M.D. Bright, he is best known for pencilling the Marvel Comics Iron Man story "Armor Wars," the two Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn miniseries for DC Comics, for painting the iconic cover to Marvel Comics' Transformers...
. After Acclaim Entertainment purchased the rights to the Valiant catalog for $65 million in 1994, Quantum and Woody was introduced to the Valiant Universe and quickly gained a dedicated fanbase. Quantum and Woody was one of the first comics to market online with writer Priest's online participation. The characters have guest starred in many Valiant titles - most prominently in the Unity 2000 series. Valiant Entertainment is the current owner of the Valiant catalog (including Quantum and Woody).
Wizard Magazine said Quantum and Woody is “The World’s FUNNIEST superhero team... This book is hysterical, plain and simple. From the title and tagline themselves to the characters and scenarios... The Lethal Weapon of comics... 5 out of 5.”
Quantum and Woody has also been called "one of the finest superhero tales of our modern age"; "the funniest, most solidly entertaining and original comic book that I’ve read"
Quantum and Woody were childhood friends who lost touch with one another as they entered their teenage years. Re-united after the deaths of their fathers in a helicopter crash, the two gain super powers that require them to touch their "control bands" together once every 24 hours or risk having their bodies dissipate into energy.
Plot
Eric Henderson (Quantum) is a decorated Army tactical officer. Every move this “Type-A” African-American makes is planned with precision. Woodrow Van Chelton (Woody) is a goofy white guy with a guitar (but no band). His idea of detective work is hanging a suspect out a window. They are childhood friends who have lost touch with one another as they entered their teenage years. Now re-united after the deaths of their fathers in a helicopter crash they begin investigating the suspicious deaths, and become victims of a high-tech industrial accident that turns their bodies into pure energy. The metal gauntlets they each wear must be slammed together every 24 hours to reset their energy matrix—or their atoms will break apart and their bodies will fade away. Eric takes the code name “Quantum” to work undercover and find his father’s killer. Woody wants to avenge his father’s death too—but code names are stupid; people can call him “Woody.” Can they solve the mystery without strangling each other or destroying the world?Characters
Eric Henderson a.k.a. Quantum Eric and Woody were best friends ever since their fathers began working together. But when Woody left high school without a word, Eric is told by friends that it’s probably because he is black. He spends the next fifteen years hating Woody and pushing to better himself so he can overcome future racial prejudices. Now sober and serious, he is a former army officer with copious decorations who believes everything is one big conspiracy. After years of separation, Eric and Woody meet again at their fathers’ funeral. Convinced the deaths were no accident, they take it upon themselves to unearth the truth. As Quantum, Eric dons a self-styled battle uniform containing dozens of sophisticated surveillance devices, defensive weapons, tactical field material and survival gear.Woodrow Van Chelton a.k.a. Woody Eric’s former best friend from high school and crime fighting partner. Woody is usually still in bed when crime strikes. His costume was designed by Eric, but as he keeps misplacing pieces his own wardrobe is slowly replacing it. It currently consists of a leather jacket over his spandex uniform and a pair of goggles. His only tactical gear is a nine millimeter Beretta and a Zippo lighter. Free-spirited and immature, Woody’s priorities are picking up chicks and bugging Eric.
Terrence Magnum Once one of Quantum & Woody’s prime suspects, he is now simply a victim of their sloppy detective work.. The duo stumbled onto Magnum’s activities in Taiwan during their investigation. It turned out Magnum had nothing to do with their fathers’ murders, but was actually head of an international criminal organization and privy to an illegal device that could decode U.S. military codes. Thanks to Quantum and Woody, Magnum was arrested. Since his release, he has become their greatest enemy.
Critical response
“The World’s FUNNIEST superhero team ... this book is hysterical, plain and simple. From the title and tagline themselves to the characters and scenarios ... Quantum and Woody is the LETHAL WEAPON of comics.” (5 out of 5)– Wizard Magazine
“The funniest, most solidly entertaining and original comic book that I’ve read."
– Comic Critique
"One of the finest superhero tales of our modern age ... The only thing more impressive than the comedic elements are the moments of poignancy and maturity that provide balance to the mix ... If you’re a fan of the superhero genre and well-developed characters, I highly encourage you to seek out Quantum and Woody."
– Brandon Thomas, Comics Bulletin
Comics Bulletin
Comics Bulletin is a website with an emphasis on the American comic book industry, updated daily with news, reviews, interviews, and editorial content. Coverage ranges from mainstream to independent/small press comic book and graphic novel publishers.-History:...
“Quantum and Woody remains one of the bright examples in the comic book world of how to do a smart, funny, and, most importantly, realistic superhero team.“
– Ryan McLelland, Newsarama
Newsarama
Newsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews and essays about the American comic book industry.-History:Newsarama began in Summer 1995 as a series of Internet forum postings on the Prodigy comic-book message boards by fan Mike Doran. In these short messages. Doran shared...
“The fun of this book comes from watching these two play at being superheroes ... one of these two is black, and the other is white. It doesn’t matter which ... what does matter is that these elements play against stereotypes to utter perfection ... I suggest you track [the comic] down as soon as possible.”
– Vroom Socko, Ain't It Cool News
Ain't It Cool News
Ain't It Cool News is a website founded and run by Harry Knowles, dedicated to news, rumors and reviews of upcoming and currently playing films and television projects, with an emphasis on science fiction, fantasy, horror, comic-book and action genres...
“One of the finest superhero comics ever made ... the characters are what makes it stand out from the thousands of lesser creations.”
– Carbonated Ink
“The centerpiece of this series is the characters. Quantum and Woody are not without their faults, and not without their merits. While Woody comes off as the fun guy you'd want to party with and Quantum as the stick in the mud know-it-all, they each have shades of gray that make you believe in them as "real" people.”
– Augie De Blieck Jr., Comic Book Resources
Comic Book Resources
Comic Book Resources, also known as CBR is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book-related news and discussion.-History:Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1996 as a development of the Kingdom Come Message Board, a message forum that Weiland had created to discuss DC...
Creator Quotes
"From the onset, Doc suggested we reverse the likely roles, making the black guy the straight man and the white guy the irreverent funnyman. What I wanted to do was play with themes of race and political correctness, coloring outside of the lines and enjoying the freedom of not being at DC or Marvel. We both wanted the book to have heart. And to have lots of action." - Christopher PriestChristopher Priest (comic book writer)
Christopher James Priest is a writer of comic books who is at times credited simply as Priest. He changed his name legally circa 1993.-Biography:...
"I think a lot of the humor in the first issue came about as a result of my having to write it in a New York hotel room while my laptop (and later Acclaim's loaner laptop) kept dying. I wrote issue #1 out of sequence because, well, first issues are boring. Here's the heroes. Here's their origin. Here's the villain. Yawn. So I mixed it up, moving things around in sequence and separating them with titles, like a blackout sketch comedy (or the Frasier TV show, for you younger kiddies). The humor was a mean-spirited irreverence in the vein of David Letterman and Howard Stern" - Christopher Priest
Christopher Priest (comic book writer)
Christopher James Priest is a writer of comic books who is at times credited simply as Priest. He changed his name legally circa 1993.-Biography:...
"The black guy is always the comic relief. He's always the loud, angry negro. Mark [Bright] said, 'what if we did Powerman and Iron Fist in reverse' and I said 'why don't we do black men can't jump!'" - Christopher Priest
Christopher Priest (comic book writer)
Christopher James Priest is a writer of comic books who is at times credited simply as Priest. He changed his name legally circa 1993.-Biography:...
"It was never really intended to be a comedy book and I think the reason why it worked is that Mark and I would plot it as an action adventure book and I would go back and have Woody mock everything" - Christopher Priest
Christopher Priest (comic book writer)
Christopher James Priest is a writer of comic books who is at times credited simply as Priest. He changed his name legally circa 1993.-Biography:...
"Quantum & Woody were in Nepal and they had rescued this goat and at the end of the story they return to America and Woody had insisted on keeping the goat. As a gag - just to mock Quantum - Woody put a mask and a cape on the goat, kinda like Krypto the super-dog. Mark and I went on and did issue five and six, we were working on issue seven and I got a phone call from the editor and he said 'I don't understand, where's the goat?' and I said 'What goat?'. He said 'Well back in issue four Woody had this goat and it had this cape and the mask...' and I went 'Yeah, that was just a gag. I mean, the goats gone. You haven't seen the goat in a couple of issues, the goats gone.' 'No! No no! The kids, they love the goat. You've got to bring the goat back! The goats the best thing about this book!' so Mark went back in and at the very last minute he added the goat to some pages in the background before they went to press and from then on, for some reason I will never understand, the goat gave us a bump in the numbers. - Christopher Priest
Christopher Priest (comic book writer)
Christopher James Priest is a writer of comic books who is at times credited simply as Priest. He changed his name legally circa 1993.-Biography:...
Awards
1997 Squiddy Award, long established fan awards, for 'best creative team' and 'best ongoing series of the 1990s'The trade paperback "Quantum & Woody: The Director's Cut" was a top votegetter for the Comics Buyer's Guide
Comics Buyer's Guide
Comics Buyer's Guide , established in 1971, is the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry...
Fan Award for Favorite Reprint Graphic Album for 1998.
Merchandise
Woody travels to Malaysia where he dresses a goat in superhero costume complete with cape as a gag about the absurdity of wearing costumes, but instead, the goat became perhaps the most popular aspect of the title. Vincent Van Goat, as he became known, is so popular he has been immortalized in his own "Inaction Figure" toy (featuring zero points of articulation, no possibility and a genuine synthetic cape) and even his own one-shot comic book where he takes center stage.Trivia
-In 2010 was voted "One of the 10 superhero buddy movies Hollywood needs to make" along with Superman/Batman, Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Spider-Man/Human Torch. It is the only non-Marvel or DC book on the list.-Creators, Chris Priest and Mark Bright were inspired by Poitier & Curtis in the movie THE DEFIANT ONES
The Defiant Ones
The Defiant Ones is a 1958 drama film which tells the story of two escaped prisoners, one white and one black, who are shackled together and who must co-operate in order to survive. It stars Tony Curtis, Sidney Poitier, Theodore Bikel, Cara Williams, Charles McGraw, and Lon Chaney, Jr...
.
-Quantum & Woody appeared on the cover of Comic Shop News
Comic Shop News
Comic Shop News is a free weekly newspaper distributed throughout comic book specialty stores. It was launched in 1987 by Cliff Biggers and Ward Batty, both of whom continue to edit it today.- History :...
issue #499.
-Quantum, Woody and Vincent Van Goat appeared on the cover of Comic Shop News
Comic Shop News
Comic Shop News is a free weekly newspaper distributed throughout comic book specialty stores. It was launched in 1987 by Cliff Biggers and Ward Batty, both of whom continue to edit it today.- History :...
issue #542.
-Quantum, Woody and Vincent Van Goat appeared again on the cover of Comic Shop News
Comic Shop News
Comic Shop News is a free weekly newspaper distributed throughout comic book specialty stores. It was launched in 1987 by Cliff Biggers and Ward Batty, both of whom continue to edit it today.- History :...
issue #565 celebrating "Goat Month"
-Quantum & Woody appeared on the cover of the Diamond Preview Catalog for December 1996 and July 1997.
-An exclusive Quantum & Woody story was printed in Wizard Magazine #76 and has not been reprinted in comic book format.
-American Entertainment created an exclusive Quantum & Woody comic (Quantum & Woody #0) available only to their customers.
-Quantum & Woody fans are known on occasion to bring goats, dressed as the character Vincent Van Goat, to comic book conventions. Most recently a Vincent Van Goat was spotted at the San Diego Comic-Con International in 2009.
External links
- http://www.xomanowar.com/valiant/QuantumWoody/quantumwoody.html Quantum & Woody fan page
- http://www.mdbright.com/AcclaimComics.html MD Bright on Q&W
- http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/Rants/Best97.html Best comics of 1997
- http://www.carbonatedink.com/words/166/ Carbonated Ink of Q&W