The Answer!

The Answer! #1-4

by Dennis Hopeless, Mike Norton, Mark Englert (Illustrator)

Insomniac librarian Devin MacKenzie is yanked into a maelstrom of mayhem and mystery by the punctuation-faced crime fighter known as the Answer! Can this unlikely team take on the sinister BRAIN TRUST? A thoroughly original superhero adventure from Mike Norton (Battlepug) and Dennis Hopeless (Avengers Arena, Cable and X-Force). Collects the four-issue miniseries.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Superheroes, Fiction

96 pages, Paperback

First published October 23, 2013

About the author

Dennis "Hopeless" Hallum is an American comics writer from Kansas City, Missouri who has written for Marvel Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Boom! Studios, Arcana Studio, and Oni Press.

See also under Dennis Hallum

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A librarian is sucked into a maelstrom of violence and deceit by a guy wearing a mask with an exclamation point on his face.

Frenetic and bloody.

[Miguel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Answer! is an ironic title for a volume that offers the reader hundred of questions and nothing in the way of resolving them. The narrative trajectory of The Answer! makes it frustrating. The beginnings of complex plot strings are introduced to the reader left and right. The Answer! is constantly being murdered only to reappear, a tendency that is only acknowledged at the conclusion of the volume. Devin, the real protagonist despite the title, also has unexplained powers and is networked into a complicated tug of war between The Answer and a powerful villain who is similarly immortal.

Still, there's a lot to like here. The Answer himself brings back memories of quirky heroes like Freakazoid or The Tick. He behaves inexplicably and has quite the odd gimmick, and the world behaves towards him the way he would wish. When captured, his captors leave him with his mask to humor his heroic aspirations. And yet, as certain characters treat The Answer as delusional, he certainly has powers of some kind.

Devin, herself, is also extremely likable despite the fact that nothing about her situation is explained. The saving grace of the volume is the fact that Devin is as clueless as the reader, giving the reader a powerful affective grounding in the narrative.

The fact that no questions introduced are answered, even remotely, is a heavy black mark against the text. The fact that there may be no sequel to this mini series coming makes it even more hard to swallow. Still, there are worse ways to spend an hour or two on a rainy weekend. Fans of off-the-beaten-path costume heroes might enjoy The Answer!

[Kevin Mann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mildly entertaining. Somewhat standard fare, although the Hero doesnt appear all that much, compared to the "screen-time" for the victim of the arc. It is more about her journey, which ends in a disapponting shrug-of-shoulders millenial generation crappy attitude moment.... Could have been much better, a shame because the arc really came alive when the hero was present. I will award an extra rating star for using Cincinnati as a setting, which never happens in comics. Lol.

[Alex Sarll]

Mike Norton and Dennis Hopeless have both done very good work on marginal Marvel books. But as so often happens, with leeway to create their own superhero story from scratch they produce something a little generic. The premise is sound enough, the leads are engaging (even if you can pretty much tell the female one was written by a guy), yet it never quite coheres into something that feels like it needs to exist.

[Ricardo Nuno Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, what a wild ride this book is!!! Pure fun!
I started this graphic novel by pure chance after being intrigued by some teaser pages in the "Dark Horse Super Sampler" available at:
https://digital.darkhorse.com/books/9...

I got intrigued. Then I started reading it. And then I couldn't stop. I truly couldn't stop.
It's hard to believe but it's the truth, really.
This graphic novel is simultaneously a thriller, a comedy and an explosive-non-stop-action story, and a few plot twists on top just to keep you happy!!!
Yup, you just can't put it down.

Trust me on this. Check it out. You won't regret it. Thank me later.

[Michael Blaylock · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's okay. A bit by-the-numbers, but not terrible. Nothing spectacular, but not a waste of time.

[Mark Ames · Rating 4 out of 5]

Craziness. Good times though. Really enjoying Mike Norton's artwork (clear lines) and storytelling - goofy but with little dark edge to it, maybe.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a silly little story about a brilliant librarian, a shadowy organization that tries to recruit her, and a strange superhero who plays like the Tick and has a tendency to die...
Although the collection is a self-contained story, it doesn't offer a lot of answers when it comes to 'The Answer' himself, but then the story isn't about him. It's about Devin, a 30-year-old super genius librarian. A present turns into a mystery hunt that turns into a kidnapping and possibly a cult. It plays all the story beats you expect, but never gets too serious. Fun, someitmes funny, but not deep enough to really hang a long term series on.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's an annoying bait-and-switch here. The title and cover of the book imply that it is a story about The Answer, a quirky superhero with an exclamation point on his face mask. But really the story is about a super-intelligent librarian named Devin who is the key to unlocking some sort of ancient mystical tome. This was an interesting story, I just wish it had been clear from the beginning that that was what it was about. I will probably read further volumes, hoping that it explains The Answer's apparent immortality.

[Bubbles Hunty Honest & Direct Opinions · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mostly/somewhat enjoyed it I guess. It was pretty confusing towards the end with long rambling explanations that a lot of times just didn't make sense. And the end didn't feel like an end at all and doesn't really answer anything.

It's also disappointing to me to know so little about "the answer" even though it's the name of the comic. Nothing about him is explained. How does he live? What's up with his voice that's mentioned once and never explained? Does he have powers? There is just too much unresolved/non detailed shit going on here to really be happy with how it turned out.

[David Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh man. This comic is not but fun. It's funny, smart and sufficiently plot-twisty. And, Mike Norton is killing it on art. The Answer himself is fantastically conceived -- visually kind of a cross between Grendel and Quantum, tempermentally a cross between Spidey and Deadpool, and wholly a mystery.
Chicago stories are cool, youse guys.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

This first volume introduces a fascinating plot and leaves many unanswered questions that I'm really interested in reading more about. It seems like the beginnings of a great series and having a Chicago librarian as the main character is just icing on the cake.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story and action. There are a lot of loose ends left, but that is so normal for comics. You are at least left feeling that Devin has adjusted to the changes in her life, and will rise to the occasion.

[Dustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, excitement, adventure, a genius librarian, and a superhero with death issues. I really enjoyed this one. My only real problem is that it sort of/sort of doesn't end on a cliffhanger.

[Binky Bowberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this first compilation of the Answer! story. Can't wait to see where the story goes as we follow brilliant librarian Devon MacKenzie into more mystery and mayhem!

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish it was longer.

[David Runyon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dreadfully unsatisfying.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike Norton really is amazing at drawing facial expressions.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever, but not clever enough.