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A self-actualized omnipotent being working the daily grind and then vegging out in suburban Denver almost sounds like the pitch for a stellar HBO series. For all his lessons learned, Reece is caught between the worlds and labels of “hero” and “villain”, never accepted as the first but with no use anymore for the last. His emotions are still easily cut as in a devastating moment where he curls into a ball on the floor when he believes his girlfriend has betrayed him. It is these tenuous emotions that all come into play as Molecule Man must help to defeat The Beyonder and then, drained and weary almost unto death, use his powers to heal a devastated landscape before a breach of the Earth’s core leads to the planet’s destruction.

But before I can segue to a conclusion, an awkward sidebar must be addressed. There are an inordinate amount of errors in the only six pages of editorial content that preface the collection - incorrect page numbers, incorrect issue numbers listed in the Table of Contents, artists who worked on the series misidentified in their section of the T of C, and an issue that was meant to be included but then yanked (the spoofy Deadpool) still listed in the copyright box. Being sloppy is one thing, but being sloppy with a $100 price tag attached shows borderline contempt. End of rant.

I didn’t have as many vivid flashbacks to my younger emotional self during the last few weeks as I might have thought. It was good to once again be (ever so briefly) back in the clutches of characters that were, for a time, and with fervor and passion, as real for me as anyone I might bump shoulders with in the halls of junior high. Granted, it’s hard to look entirely past the bloated nature of the project that was Secret Wars II (and judging by some of the vitriol I came across in forums over the last week, a lot of long-time comic book devotees do not) but even in the throes of its excess and unwieldy structure I was able to uncover a line I had forgotten, a sketch of a face that seemed instantly recalled to my mind, or a disturbing image I had long since blocked.

Next time: Chapter Two ends 2011 with a hearty salute to our neighbors up North. Settle in with a pre-Christmas, er, pre-Boxing Day extravaganza featuring the Canadian teen drama series to end all Canadian teen drama series, and a coffee-table book sequel from an author who I am never sure if I want to hug or throttle.

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