Comic Info
Comic Name: Flex Mentallo
Publisher: DC Comics/Vertigo
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Frank Quitely
# of Issues: 4
Release Date: 2012
Flex Mentallo #3
Reprints Flex Mentallo #1-4 (June 1996-September 1996). Flex Mentallo is out to save the world! It appears that the end of days could be coming as the situation on Earth grows worse and worse. When Flex learns of a group called the Faculty X, he learns that another of Wally Sage’s creations called the Fact could have escaped into reality like him. Flex must find the Fact to stop a cataclysm and to restore balance as Wally Sage finds himself in a crisis of reality at the same time.
Written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Frank Quitely, Flex Mentallo: Man of Muscle Mystery collects the four issue mini-series from 1996 which had the subtitle of “After the ‘Fact’”. The series was collected in a deluxe hardback edition with supplemental material and a fake background introduction on the Flex Mentallo character.
I was a big fan of Morrison’s run on Doom Patrol (and Animal Man for that matter). The best part of Doom Patrol was the introduction of a character named Flex Mentallo in Doom Patrol (Volume 2) #35 (August 1990). The character was a parody of the classic comic book advertisement for Charles Atlas which had the “98 lbs. weakling” Mac becoming the “Hero of the Beach”. Unfortunately by the time Flex Mentallo was released, Charles Atlas’ brand had realized they didn’t like Flex Mentallo’s sense of humor and this prevented Flex Mentallo from being collected for years (and outrageous prices on this mini-series). As a result, I never got to read it until recently.
Flex Mentallo #4
I have to say that I’m about 70%—30% on Grant Morrison’s writing. The 70% that I like is rather enjoyable and the 30% I don’t like feels like it is trying too hard. Flex Mentallo really walks this line. I love the character and the ideas of the character, but the story feels like gibberish through most of it. The Doom Patrol: Musclebound storyline wasn’t quite logical, but it held on enough that it felt like a real rounded story. Flex Mentallo feels like it has a beginning and end, but the middle is a bit tough to wade through at points.
The story is aided by Frank Quitely’s great art. I love his version of Flex and the comic is just fun to look at. The special edition has a number of bonus sketches and the art is bright and remastered. If you are a fan of Quitely’s style, it is a must.
Flex Mentallo: Man of Muscle Mystery is not a book for everyone. Overall, I enjoyed it despite its fallacies, but I’m bias to the character and its conception. I do wish that Flex would return to be the Hero of the Beach once more, and I’d definitely be willing to venture down another strange road with this character…I just need it tone down a bit.
[easyazon-block align=”center” asin=”1401247024″ locale=”us”]
Related Links:
Doom Patrol 1: Crawling from the Wreckage
Doom Patrol 2: The Painting that Ate Paris
