Vol. 2: Fox Hunt - Mark Waid
Paul Patton, Jr, son of the original Fox, is trying to put away his superhero life and focus on his family. But a psychopathic businessman named Mr. Smile, fixated on Fox, puts a million dollar bounty on his head, which becomes complicated when Paul's own son and even his wife decide they want to be masked vigilantes. I wasn't very impressed with this one for several reasons. First, it starts off with what seems to be a long-term story about going home again, saving a dead town, etc, but then that storyline is abruptly dropped. Second, its fights are cartoonish, about the same level of verité as a GI Joe or Super Friends cartoon. Paul is thrown through windows without a scratch, enemies that are supposedly intent on killing him capture him or watch him sleep, etc. Paul's son somehow changes into a costume while on the floor not ten feet away from a bank robber with a gun. It lacks internal consistency: Paul's son calls him "Dad" when he's in his civilian clothes, but then says not to say his real name out loud. Later, Paul opens his shirt to reveal his costume with a shopkeeper watching him. Also, though it is a humor book, I didn't find Fox's constant chatter, or the silly pratfalls, very amusing. A final thought, it's interesting that Waid uses "the villain is in love with the hero" that ultimately forms a plot point in his otherwise utterly dissimilar Irredeemable. This one's not for me. [2.5]
