I was a fan of the John Byrne era of West Coast Avengers, in which the Great Lakes Avengers were introduced. They primarily served as a means to advance Hawkeye's storyline. Here, Dan Slott focuses on the oddball characters more closely, and I can't think of a better writer in Marvel's stable of talent to tackle a comedic, nostalgic property such as this one. Slott's work on She-Hulk has proven he's the man for the job. He embraces a goofy narrative approach here that's very much in keeping with the characters, but what really stands out here is that he manages to include some truly dark and melancholy elements here as well. And when a comic also features a fourth-wall breaking squirrel mascot named Monkey Joe, that's really quite an accomplishment.
Craig Hollis didn't have what you'd call a typical childhood. His mother died giving birth to him, and his father followed her into the afterlife during when he was just a little kid. Like other kids, Craig had an imaginary friend, but it turns out he wasn't quite so imaginary. That unseen friend is the reason Craig turned out to be immortal, but as Craig grew up, became the unusual super-hero known as Mr. Immortal and formed the Great Lakes Avengers, he forgot about that invisible companion. Until now, when he's returned to visit Craig's teammates.
Pelletier was a logical choice for this project, given that he and Slott have worked togethr before on She-Hulk. But another reason he's a good fit here is that his style shows a clear John Byrne influence. The characters' faces here boast the same Byrne reactions we saw years ago on West Coast Avengers. Pelletier also humanizes Dinah Soar quite well, so as to allow the reader to buy into her relationship with Mr. Immortal. Slott helps to sell that relationship as well by giving the reader a glimpse at the soothing words only Mr. Immortal can hear.
Slott clearly has an appreciation for the sort of humor we got from Keith Giffen back in the 1980s in his various Ambush Bug comics. The same sort of tone is to be found here. The absurdity of Mr. Immortal's powers lend themselves easily to comedy, of course. Slott uses not one, not two, but three peripheral characters as narrators here, and their penchant for addressing the reader directly is amusing yet somehow doesn't interfere too much with the flow of the story.
I like Slott's not-everything-is-as-it-seems approach here, as he pulls back the veil and shows that not everything here is as funny as the reader is led to believe. Mr. Immortal ultimately comes off as a rather unfortunate character as opposed to laughable. At first, his background seems just pathetic, but there's a tragic quality that emerges as well. The same force that made Mr. Immortal immortal is also responsible for taking away those he cares for the most. It's an ugly irony that's dressed up in comedic clothing. 8/10
