Avengers/Thunderbolts #6

August 13, 2004

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Blood Will Tell

The Avengers and Thunderbolts have one last chance to save the world from Moonstone… but what will be the cost?

Writers: Kurt Busiek & Fabian Nicieza
Pencils: Tom Grummett
Inks: Gary Erskine
Colors: Brian Reber with Chris Sotomayor
Letters: Richard Starkings
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Cover Art: Barry Kitson
Publisher: Marvel Comics

With this issue the epic miniseries drawing to a close, I have to admit, I was a little underwhelmed. The ending fizzles a bit, but the way the various character storylines are resolved is very, very good. Moonstone is juiced up on too much power and has, in essence, gone mad. The Avengers and Thunderbolts, frequently at odd with one another, have come together and have to stop her before the holes she’s tearing in reality destroy the world.

The problem is, the solution kind of feels like a Star Trek ending – let’s say a lot of really technical words and hope the audience swallows enough of it to accept that there’s a way to solve the problem in there somewhere. That sort of climax never really works for me. On the other hand, Busiek and Nicieza are too smart to rely entirely on the technobabble, and instead fall back on the incredibly well-established personal relationships they’ve crafted among the characters so supply the rest of the conclusion.

We now know that this miniseries is serving as a launching point for a new Thunderbolts ongoing series this fall, and I couldn’t be happier about that. That’s a double-edged sword, though, as the epilogue segments of the book are very, very clearly an attempt to lay the groundwork to begin rebuilding when the new series begins. For fans who intend to read the new title, that’s a great thing, but people who were merely sampling the series or who got it just to follow the Avengers may be slightly disappointed.

This was originally solicited as a Barry Kitson miniseries, but he faded away after issue two and Tom Grummet has really owned this book ever since. Together with the ink work of Gary Erskine, he does some of the best old-fashioned superhero comic books I’ve seen in a long time – which makes sense, he’s been doing it a long time. Too many artists these days follow the “Image” approach – excessive detail, sketchy figures, muddy faces. Grummett knows just how to tell a story, and that’s the most important thing any comic book artist can do. I’ve heard that much of the creative team from this mini will carry over to the ongoing – I don’t know if Grummett will join them, but I certainly hope so. He’s earned it with his work here.

Overall, this really isn’t a stellar conclusion to the Avengers/Thunderbolts miniseries… but it’s a very good prologue to Thunderbolts Vol. 2. People who intend to follow along to that new series won’t be disappointed.

Rating: 7/10

Avengers/Thunderbolts #5

July 24, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Truth and Consequences

Moonstone has gone mad – can the Avengers and Thunderbolts put aside their differences to save the world?

Writers: Kurt Busiek & Fabian Nicieza
Pencils: Tom Grummett
Inks: Gary Erskine
Colors: Brian Reber
Letters: Richard Starkings
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Cover Art: Barry Kitson
Publisher: Marvel Comics

The second-to-last issue of this slam-bang miniseries gives me more hope than ever that this will lead into a new beginning for the Thunderbolts, which was hands-down the best concept to come out of Marvel Comics in the second half of the 90s, after clones, onslaughts and rebirths nearly ruined the entire line. This issue, with Baron Zemo’s energy-collecting scheme thwarted, Moonstone has internalized the power and is going berserk. The Avengers, the Thunderbolts and her ex-lover, Hawkeye, have to find a way to bring her back to reality before she destroys the world… and it will take another former Thunderbolt to do it.

Busiek and Nicieza do a great job pulling all of the elements of the story together, showing the two teams grudgingly form a sort of truce (as we all knew would happen). They go a step further, however, and bring in more elements from the old Thunderbolts series, showcasing a couple of former members and showing what they’re capable of. This bit may be a tad daunting for new readers, since there’s not much buildup or explanation, but this is a book playing mainly to fans of the original series, so there shouldn’t be too much of a learning curve there.

The most surprising, and best-done, aspect of this miniseries for me has been the characterization of Baron Zemo. Once a despotic mastermind and sworn enemy of Captain America, towards the end of the old series we saw him begin to move into a gray area, not becoming an outright hero, but shifting his motivation to more altruistic, if still misguided, ends. He does something in this issue that I never in a million years would have expected to see him do, but the action stems perfectly from the slow development he’s had, and it sets up an interesting new status quo for the character.

Tom Grummett… well, I’m an unabashed fan of Tom Grummett, and since Barry Kitson seemed to bow out of this miniseries just two issues in, he’s a fine replacement. He’s one of the most underrated artists out there, with clean, straightforward storytelling, dynamic poses and good facial expressions. If Marvel is in the market for a penciler for the new series, since Mark Bagley and Patrick Zircher are busy these days, you’ve got your man right here.

With just one issue left, I think I’ve got a pretty good idea how this miniseries is going to end… that’s not a complaint though. It’s clearly going to be setup for the return of one of my favorite comics, and I couldn’t be happier about that.

Rating: 8/10

The Phantom (2003 Series) #15

March 8, 2007

The Phantom #15 (Moonstone)
By Mike Bullock, Carlos Magno & Joe Prado

The two-part “Walker’s Line” comes to an end in fine fashion. The Phantom — this time in an urban jungle instead of an actual one, is holding vigil over the bed of his elderly aunt. As he takes to the streets, he finds himself cleaning up some muggers and would-be rapists, unaware that the fight is going to be brought to Aunt Bessie’s room. Mike Bullock has put together a very satisfying, old-school superhero story. The bit with the aunt aside, the whole thing is very Spider-Man-esque, which actually makes for a very interesting setting for the Phantom. Magno‘s artwork is eally great — detailed, but still clean, with really sharp panel layouts and choreography. This book looks as good as anything coming out of the Big Two, and it reads better than most of it.
Rating: 8/10

Avengers/Thunderbolts #3

April 30, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Nerves

Iron Man continues his infiltration of the Thunderbolts… but does Moonstone suspect something’s up?

Writers: Kurt Busiek & Fabian Nicieza
Pencils: Tom Grummett
Inks: Gary Erskine
Colors: Brian Reber
Letters: Albert Deschesne
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Cover Art: Barry Kitson
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Last issue, as the Avengers grew more suspicious of Baron Zemo’s intentions with the Thunderbolts, they disguised Iron Man as the old villain Cobalt Man and sent him in as a mole. This issue, Moonstone begins to poke holes through his disguise. Meanwhile, Hawkeye begins to learn that perhaps neither of his teams have been entirely honest with him.

Ever since the previous series ended (effectively with issue #75, before it became the supervillain “Fight Club” farce), Thunderbolts fans have been waiting for the other shoe to drop. Songbird, Atlas… even Moonstone were characters we believed could truly reform. But Baron Zemo? Could such a villain, not to mention the son of such a villain, who has plagued Captain America for so many years… could he really reform, or has he got something else up his sleeve. That seems to be one of the questions this miniseries is intended to answer, and it’s one of the most fascinating character studies I’ve seen in comics in years. Like the best issues of the Thunderbolts series, this story is about characters on the edge, walking the line between hero and villain, trying to decide what they really are and what they’re going to be.

Tom Grummett pinch-hits for Barry Kitson on the art chores in this issue, and as he did on his recent Teen Titans run, he continues to show why he’s one of the most underappreciated pencillers in the business. Grummett draws strong heroes, dynamic poses and great action sequences. Bonus points go to the whole creative team for including one of the best ideas from Busiek’s run on Avengers – the holographic globe-scanning apparatus that the team ostensibly uses to search for threats, but that doesn’t get used often enough in my opinion.

This is shaping up to be a great miniseries for fans of both properties who have been disappointed in how they’ve been treated lately. We already know Avengers is in for a renaissance in a few months. Hopefully this mini will inspire Marvel to give the Thunderbolts the same.

Rating: 8/10

Thunderbolts #147

September 6, 2010

Title: Scared Straight

Writer: Jeff Parker
Art: Kev Walker
Colorist: Frank Martin
Letterer: Albert Deschesne
Cover: Marko Djurdjevic
Editor: Bill Rosemann
Publisher: Marvel Comics

As a tie-in to Avengers Academy #3, the Avengers are bringing some of their young students to the Raft to hopefully shock them out of their more villainous tendencies. When an electromagnetic pulse hits the prison where the Thunderbolts are housed, some of the Avenger Academy kids set out to get revenge against their former torturer, Norman Osborn. As they hunt down the former Green Goblin, Luke Cage sets free the Thunderbolts to keep the rest of the inmates in check.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been a regular reader on this title. Marvel lost me at the same time that the book became part of Norman Osborn’s Initiative and most of the original cast departed, and in fact I only got this book because of its tie-in to the excellent Avengers Academy series. As it is, it’s okay. The book seems to have gotten back to its roots in a way, it’s once again about villains trying to find redemption of a sort. The Juggernaut actually works pretty well as a member of the team, although it’s hard to figure out why anybody would trust Moonstone again in such a capacity, and I’ve got no clue what Man-Thing is doing in this book. It is nice, though, to have original Thunderbolts Songbird, Mach-V and Fixer back in this title.

Kev Walker’s artwork is pretty good. A bit overly-detailed, like he’s trying to do a Leinil Yu riff, but he tells his story well, so I’ll nod and give a thumbs up.

I wish I could say this issue made me want to run out and start buying this comic again, as Thunderbolts was once my favorite Marvel title for a time, but it really is just “okay.” And just “okay” isn’t good enough for a comic book to make it to my pull folder.

Rating: 7/10