You Knew It Was Coming: Lethem Hired By Marvel

OK - this was great - like really great. Mind is blown. But I also have to admit that I have no idea what that book was actually about. Can anyone help me?

(also I've never read anything else of Lethem's except Gun, With Occasional Music like 15 years ago, so I have no idea what frame of reference he's coming from exactly - guess I should read Fortress of Solitude?)

i would rather see chris claremont writing for the new yorker, frankly
― strng hlkngtn, Monday, May 2, 2005 9:39 PM (4 years ago)
^when you're right, you're right.

I've read this at last, about a decade after it ended. I found it pretty terrific.

I was thinking just the other day that it was time Omega The Unknown came back. I suspect that the new series is going to be Deep Thoughts about Comics and Childhood and Masculinity though rather than pot-fuelled stories of Omega vs the space mutants.
― Tom (Groke), Tuesday, May 3, 2005

Tom Ewing is admirably knowledgeable about comics but his prediction in this one case wasn't correct. The comic has nothing directly to say about masculinity (which come to think of it has never been a great JL theme as such), and doesn't play on nostalgia and 1970s childhood as Tom seemed to fear it would. It's pretty much a self-contained exciting adventure with intelligence and digressions. Though I think I agree with nhex above that some of what is actually happening is not that clear.

I remember loving this, although it was over a decade ago since I last read it. IIRC it's a well-drawn and well-plotted coming-of-age story and at the time it made me think, why aren't more comics like this?

At the same time I kind of put it alongside the Lapham Batman story, City of Crime, as a really exciting longform story where the author seems to be above sticking the landing on the end of the story.

E.g. It's 11 issues of complicated plotting followed by a will-this-do final issue