The Good

Month after month, you can always count on LARFLEEZE to make you grin. This issue cranks up the wackiness as we're abruptly thrown into a conflict between beings from the other dimension. It's kind of an unfortunate shift because J.M. DeMatteis and Keith Giffen were beginning to stray away from the norm with Larfleeze. They've added a whole new, emotional layer with his memory and turned him into a living power battery. This issue, however, turns him back into just another source of comedy. Don't get me wrong, his remarks are still delightfully abrasive and absurd, but it's more of the same instead of continuing to expand the character. That said, there's plenty of sharp banter to appreciate and the look into his mind is sort of predictable yet still completely amusing.

Scott Kolins and Mike Atiyeh once again create visuals that do justice to this vast and vibrant cosmic story. Everything in the book continues to look great -- the beauty and complexity of space, the chaotic splash page, the deliciously bright and crisp effects... it's all a solid experience for the eyes and never fails to keep you 100% absorbed. Just like you can always count on this book to make you laugh, you bet you can also count on it to offer some grand spectacle.

The Bad

The past few issues finally began to strip Larfleeze of his one-dimensional image, so the decision to make him a solely a character who's limited to snarky remarks and displays of power -- something we're more than familiar with at this point -- is disappointing. To top it off, I'm not the biggest advocate of this story revolving around the powerful beings from the other dimension. In small doses, their eccentric personalities are fantastic and fit perfectly into Larfleeze's world, but this issue gives them a majority of the panel space and, to be completely honest, it's just not nearly as interesting as what we've seen in the past several issues. I'm sure there are some who'll have a blast with this plot and that's obviously fine, but for me, it isn't really bringing anything new to the table.

The Verdict

LARFLEEZE is still well-written and looks wonderful, but focusing on the cast from the other dimension is an abrupt shift and ultimately, leaves the main character feeling somewhat in the dust. Sure, Larfleeze technically has a more than fair amount of panel space in this one, but instead of moving the character forward, we only see him being selfish and powerful yet again. It's by no means a bad issue and I most certainly still love this series as a whole, but after so many interesting developments, this one felt like a little bit like a step backwards.

Hmm

as much as i like these other god-like beings i just want it to be done already lol

Had to cut this one, which I was reluctant to do. While I do wish continued success with this book, it appears that I made the right choice, for me. Not fond of these choices.