Review: LARFLEEZE #2

LARFLEEZE #2
Written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis
Art by Scott Kolins
Release Date: July 24, 2013

LARF_Cv2_m5h691daxo_Larfleeze has absorbed the orange light of avarice and with no time to lose, as he comes face-to-face with the dreaded Laord of the Hunt at the edge of the known universe. It’s outer space madness as the goofiest of the Lantern Corps battles for his life, and loses — putting his sullen butler Pulsar Stargrave at a distinct disadvantage. Will having a new master lead him to appreciate our dog-faced “hero” all the more? Hmmm. Probably not.

Giffen and DeMatteis are clearly pulling out all the stops for Larfleeze to give their long-time fans the funny book we’ve been clamoring for from DC for months. If you came to the title expecting the sturm and drang of the greater universe to prevail, turn that frown upside down and get on board. DeMatteis in particular is laying in some of the funniest dialogue we’ve seen outside of a kids’ comic for a long time, and it makes for a title overall that’s exceptionally all-ages friendly, but also is just a plainly wild romp for those wanting a simply fun ride. Stargrave is clearly the focus of this issue (as Larfleeze himself was last), giving a little more context to his situation as indentured servant, and establishing his own brand of odd loyalty the way certain Giffen/DeMatteis creations have in the past. Think L-Ron, but with a bad, bad attitude and you’re starting to approach Pulsar Stargrave. But, to be fair, Larfleeze is certainly a different level of megalomaniac than we’ve seen star in a title before, making this journey we’re taking all the more curious.

Kolins produced some solid action throughout, with pencils harkening back to Giffen’s own simplistic style, but perhaps a bit rougher around the edges. Sadly, a lot of pages get mired down with word balloons, a little excessive in parts, so that the combination of dialogue, multiple panels and bright, bombastic patterns gets to be too much for a single page or spread to hold. It’s moments where Kolins is allowed more room to broadly illustrate that the art shines best, and while I certainly wouldn’t want to lose the cleverness of the title’s scripting to a heavy editing hand, a finer balance could probably be struck. Chalk this up to breaking in the new toys and seeing just how fast they can go when first taken out of the box.

Ultimately, the biggest regret I have about Larfleeze #2 is the relative background nature of the title character to this chapter, after the first few pages. As curious as I am about the world this weird anti-hero is going to inhabit, I definitely want to experience it through his eyes, however much of an oddity that experience may be. That’s what will set this title apart from being just another strange adventure to something weirdly cool and unique for the DC Universe.

The Verdict: 8.0/10

 

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One Comment;

  1. Christopher Shafer said:

    This is going to be another thorn in the side of the overly serious crowd. It’s very existence will gnaw at them. I LOVE IT!

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