Customer Rating:  
Summary: A great way to spend an afternoon
Comment: This is my first comic book ever (I'm more of a written-word girl), and I have to say that I absolutely loved it. I came to the comics through the series (and if you're a fan of the books, seeing the series is a MUST -- you can pick it up on iTunes until ABC Family gets off its hindquarters and gives us new eps.. or at least reruns, people? Please? Pretty please? Please, sir, may I have some more?), so the first two volumes weren't new to me by any means, but I still enjoyed them enormously.
The premise, for those of you not in the know, revolves around Wendy, an art-school graduate who works a string of temp jobs until something goes wrong at her latest employeer's ("AND laboratories, rescrambling your DNA") and she is attacked by an escaped science experiment ("Hentai tentacle monster" -- her words, not mine) and rescued by a clean-cut square-jawed "superhero" who goes only by the Middleman. Well, Wendy calls him a superhero. He points out that he never wears tights. As the Middleman's new apprentice, Wendy fights ganster apes (Vol 1), a cadre of Mexican wrestlers bent on world domination (Vol 2), and the insidious FATBOY (the Federated Agents of Tyrany, Betrayal, and Oppression's Yoke -- Vol 3, where Wendy posits that they were at the end of the line for good anagrams).
For fans of the series, Volumes One and Two will bring back fond memories, while Three will just plain shock (I'm still not sure how I feel about that ending, to be quite honest). If you've never seen the show before, you'll see how brilliant and funny Javier Grillo-Marxuach can be in any medium.
Fan of the TV show or not, you'll find this some of the most absorbing and interesting comic book fare out there (at least according to both me, the comic newbie, and my friend who's a fan of all things sketched). It's got a quirky sense of humor, more pop-culture references than you can shake a stick at, wacky villians (mobster apes and mexican wrestlers, what's not to love?), a game of Elephant polo, a very improperly-timed phone conversation, illiterate deaf-mute ninjas in kendo armor with six-shooters (you had to be there), and all other kinds of wacky.
In addition to the three main adventures are several short stories about the adventures of previous Middlemen and their sidekicks and a short fan-drawn story about the possible future of Wendy Watson.
I think I said that I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending of Volume Three but, even so, it left me eager for the (hopefully) upcoming Volume Four. Also reminded me how badly I want a second season of the series :)
Customer Rating:
Summary: Brilliant show, slightly less brilliant comic
Comment: I bought this after watching the show. My wife and I loooooved the show, so I had high hopes. Apparently this was created before the show, in between the first attempt at making it a show 10 years ago and the current instantiation (I hope hope hope it returns!!), and it basically outlines the plot of the first season of the show (except for a real surprise in the end...wow!!). As a result, I already knew what was going to happen most of the time. But if you haven't seen the show, buy this - it's a great intro to a fabulous concept, and maybe you'll push ABC Family to re-up the show...
Customer Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but not stellar
Comment: Bought and read this because I'm a fan of the series. Unfortunately, episodes one and three draw so much from the first two volumes that there's little "new" material until the second half of the book. That said, it's wacky fun and I can't wait for more of the series.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The only problem is that I wish there were more.
Comment: I was tipped that I might like The Middleman TV series, and I do, very much. Reading the comic is the logical response and it's good in itself and fascinating to see what changed (Wendy and Noser are Anglos; she reads different comics). The art is good enough to attract my almost-single-minded verbivore's eye. If you like wordplay and the old heroes (The Avengers, The Man from UNCLE) try it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: one of the best comic books ever
Comment: Middleman is one of the best comic books ever. Created by Javier Grillo Marxuach (Lost/Medium) Wendy Watson is just a temp at a lab when a monster attacks her. She is rescued by a stranger with a high powered laser gun who then offers Wendy a job saving the earth from threats like gangster apes, or a cabal of mexican wrestlers with a laser cage created by a diamond. Full of adventure and comedy it's also a successful tv series in America this is definitely a must buy.
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