Future Quest, Vol. 1

In outline, this is a cookie-cutter DC superhero crossover: heroes from different backgrounds meet, sometimes fight, and ultimately team up to take on a multiverse-threatening big bad. The difference in Future Quest is that the characters come not from DC’s backlist but from the Hanna-Barbera action cartoons of the 1960s. Jonny Quest, Space Ghost, Birdman, the Herculoids, Frankenstein Jr., and even more obscure characters are called into action to take on a vague menace called Omnikron. The plot meanders, often losing the thread from issue to issue. The real point is to showcase Hanna-Barbera’s classic and not-so-classic characters in full-throated, full-color action, with nary a whiff of Space Ghost: Coast to Coast–style snark. Readers who haven’t heard of Mighty Mightor and can’t name Birdman’s pet eagle are unlikely to get much out of the series, but the creators do a pitch-perfect job of recreating the pulpy fun of the original cartoons, with their thrown-together plots and sleek Alex Toth character designs. (Feb.)