MIDDLEMAN VOLUME THREE: FIRST LOOK

From what I can tell, this Weekend Blog Extra is a bit extra special: it looks like I’m the first person to get an early review of the forthcoming MIDDLEMAN VOLUME THREE up on the net. The book’s official title is MIDDLEMAN: THE THIRD VOLUME INESCAPABILITY (available from Texas’s finest, Viper Comics), and with a moniker like that, you’re probably thinking that writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach and artist Les McClane have once again packed another volume of this series with a metric ton of terrific sight gags, loads of snarky dialogue, and a crate of tongue buried firmly in a cheek. And you’d be exactly right.

Volume three begins with a flashback, sending us to an earlier time in the Middleman’s career, and introducing us to his sidekick prior to Wendy Watson, Middleboy. The duo is on a mission against the Middleman’s greatest foe: Kanimang Kang, head of F.A.T.B.O.Y. (Federated Agents of Tyranny, Betrayal, and Oppression’s Yoke). However, in an amusing homage to Cap and Bucky, Middleboy is soon out of the picture, and we’re back in the present, F.A.T.B.O.Y. still a looming threat. In the meantime, Wendy has continued her training with the Middleman, but still longs for a life outside of the weird one she’s currently living. She’s still an artist, and the opportunity for a gallery show arises… just about the same time that a prominent scientist goes missing, requiring her to play hero instead.

What can you look forward to in volume three? The usual awesome artwork from Les McClane, who only seems to get better. Giant space robots battling one another. A giant mutated shark with arms. Femme fatales. Wendy’s combat lessons paying off. Multiple jokes at the Bond franchise’s expense, including a ninja carrying guns. Zesty dialogue (“Did you just say that so you could call me a bitch?” “I… uh…” “Cause you could have just said ‘give me the antidote, bitch.’” “You know what I mean!”) A betrayal. A death. A change in the series’ status quo. Plus: an alternate ending, drawn by a contest winner, a buncha pin-ups, and most pleasantly, Grillo-Marxuach provides many pages of annotations explaining some of the origins of the jokes, names, and character designs. Whew!

On first read, the primary story does end rather abruptly and without any sort of classic resolution and feels a bit hollow, a fact that Grillo-Marxuach openly alludes to in the characters’ dialogue. But instead of breaking the fourth wall, what it really does is set up the ending to the real story being told in this volume and the deepest emotional impact the series has put to page. There are really two tales being told here and it’s easy to forget that as you move through the pages.

The given alternate ending suggests that at one point, this could have closed the series, and honestly, that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. This has become one of my all-time favorite books, but if the creators decide they’re done, more power to them. Better that they call it quits on their own terms than run it into the ground. But the given ending suggests an intriguing and fresh direction, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens with the property, especially with the filming of the pilot for ABC Family approaching. I know for sure that I’ll be watching.

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/Mason