Here's the problem with flip-books, anthologies or other books that have more than one creative team involved: No matter how much I love one story, if I don't like the rest of them, the book doesn't work for me. Case in point, Marvel Double-Shot #2, which is itself an extension of the Marvel Knights Double-Shot series, most of which had one story I liked and another I couldn't stand. The second story in this book, the Avengers done in Simpsons style by Bill Morrison, is a laugh riot, one of the funniest comic stories I've read all year. But the first story features some unclear artwork and almost laughable dialogue, and while I would definitely reread the second story several times, it's not worth the cover price by itself.
I know that Priest can write Dr. Doom. He's written him well, as recently as his appearance in Black Panther. But his take on the character here is almost a parody of the character. He speaks in third person throughout the entire story, and it goes from being something that indicates arrogance into something that indicates a complete break with reality. A few "Doom has no master" kind of things establishes him as a villain who believes himself superior to all around him; a few on every page puts me in mind of the "Jimmy" character from Seinfeld.
It doesn't help that Paolo Rivera's artwork is not the clearest when it comes to storytelling. Rivera is clearly talented; his work reminds me at times of Dan Brereton or some of David Mack's painted work, and his work on the inhuman form of Doom is very impressive. But he never quite gets across the humanity of Karen Sutter, an all-important element of the story, and the big climax of her encounter with Doom is terribly unclear, looking more like he has struck her than that he has simply removed his mask with a dramatic flourish.
On the other hand, we have Bill Morrison's story, which is the kind of thing that makes me wish Marvel had an ongoing humor title. A simple suggestion that Loki try going back to his mischievous roots is actually the kind of plot that could work in a mainstream Thor story, but Morrison takes it down a humorous road, having Loki use the most childish and old of pranks on the Avengers. The result is hilarious bits like Thor falling for the old loosened salt shaker gag, Cap falling for the flaming dog poop gag and Vision and Nick Fury re-enacting a phone prank that will seem familiar to followers of The Simpsons. The capper is the finale, which finds Jarvis cast into an unusual role.
The concept behind the Marvel Double-Shot seems to be unusual tales from unusual talents, and that means a certain ratio of hit and miss storytelling. So while I can't really recommend this issue overall, I do have to recommend the Bill Morrison tale, and commend Marvel in general for a forum where such unusual stories can find a home. I just wish they could find a way to provide more consistent quality, but the unusual nature of the stories may forbid that kind of predictability.
