When Geoff Johns created Larfleeze, he almost instantly became a fan-favorite character in the Green Lantern sphere. But while fans routinely cheered at his scattershot appearances, will they find enough to like in an entire series about him?
Written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis
Illustrated by Scott KolinsLarfleeze, the breakout character from BLACKEST NIGHT, last seen in the pages of THRESHOLD, is back in his own solo, ongoing series-and he’s not sharing it with anyone!
In his debut solo adventure, Larfleeze meets Laord of the Hunt, a pan-dimensional cosmic entity that believes all living things are prey-and he’s out to turn the universe into his own private hunting reserve! And the only thing worse than Laord is the deadly beings he can summon!
Being driven entirely by avarice to the point of having no personality outside of that trait, Larfleeze is unlike any other character in DC Comics. Up until “Larfleeze” #1, he has gotten an awful lot of mileage out of what is really just one joke. So it’s interesting to see veteran writers like Keith Giffen and J.M DeMatteis try to take Johns’ joke character and try to craft an honest-to-goodness backstory around him. There’s an attempt to show us all of the things that Larfleeze has had taken from him over his life. He began life with his parents attentions barely divided over more than a dozen different children. He grew to experience a smorgasbord of losses and disappointments throughout his life – a lot of which really should garner sympathy and inform you of a character that would end up so obsessed with possession and one that goes deeper than “MINE MINE MINE!” The backstory was clearly carefully devised to make the character that we see today a logical result of his upbringing.
The problem is that the joke that defines him is still very much on the forefront throughout the length of this issue and it ends up making him very hard to sympathize with and downright irritating at certain points. Just as Zapp Branigan would continually confound Kif Kroker with his obliviousness, Larfleeze too exasperates his humble servant Stargrave – who deals a variety of thinly-veiled sarcastic barbs throughout. Not many of these jokes really land though. Most are pretty corny, (one might say appropriately) childish, and become downright repetitive by the end of the book. The humor begins to really fall flat around the 6th time Larfleeze threatens to physically harm his slave for insubordination. Larfleeze weaves his story through a series of elaborate lies that act as attempts to soften the failures or disappointments in his life, which would have been a far more interesting narrative device had the constant need to go for the cheap joke had not been getting in the way. In this way, the first issue of his solo title acts as a validation of the idea that a little bit of Larfleeze goes a long way, and that he works best as an antagonist who sticks his head in for a little joke or to act as a nuisance once in a while. Having to pay service to the overly specific voice and tendencies of his character makes for a book that doesn’t let the dramatic bits linger long enough for maximum potency, nor gives you a break from the onslaught of an overbearing personality. Then again, unabashed Larfleeze fans who have no problem asking for more of his brand of humor should have a field day with this title.
Truth be told, Scott Kolins’ best moments in “Larfleeze” #1 are when he is asked to take Larfleeze to emotional places, despite what his own narration may be telling the audience. Technically, Scott Kolins is producing the exact sort of work that we’ve come to expect from him, with nothing in the way of bad surprises or true missteps. In fact, there are times when Kolins’ visual storytelling choices are the main thing that make the intentionally deceptive narrative come across in the proper way.
When asked to play up the humorous aspects of Larfleeze, again, it all comes off as too much. This is a manic character, but while Kolins captures that aspect of him, it contributes to that aforementioned overbearing personality of the comic book. Though comic books are a silent medium, Larfleeze is a very loud character, and his boorishness makes the book visually difficult to read at some moments too. If there is such a thing as too much expressiveness, this book fits that bill. Capturing Larfleeze’s own low attention span and producing sequential storytelling based on that is no doubt a difficult task that is perhaps an inherent weakness in the character. Again, it’s the reason why Larfleeze works better in small doses.
When entertaining side characters get their own books, the question is always there, but “Larfleeze” #1 clearly proves that Larfleeze is just better in small doses. Giffen and DeMatteis make an honest effort to give Larfleeze some true depth, but they also can’t avoid the narrative limitations of the nature of his character either. Even if you’re generally a Larfleeze fan, this book is a little much and it might just be due to the character being stretched beyond his usefulness.
Final Verdict: 5.0 – Unless you are the staunchest of Larfleeze fans, pass.
