New Thunderbolts #6

March 12, 2005

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: City of Heroes?

The new Thunderbolts are New York’s only hope to be saved from Hydra!

Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Co-Plotter: Kurt Busiek
Pencils: Tom Grummett
Inks: Gary Erskine
Colors: Chris Sotomayor
Letters: Albert Deschesne
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Cover Art: Tom Grummett
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Hydra’s plans become clear as the terrorist army overruns a New York without Avengers to protect it. Although may of the second-string heroes come out of the woodwork, only the Thunderbolts have the inside knowledge to save the day – because Baron Strucker has been bankrolling them from the beginning.

Considering the nature of this title, I’m really rather surprised at how many of the ongoing subplots are resolved this issue. Granted, most of then are resolved in a fashion that leaves more questions, but a lot of them are resolutions that leave more questions. Nicieza manages to pack an incredible amount of story into what’s basically an all-action issue, but he doesn’t make it seem crammed or bloated. Throughout the battle, stories and ideas are ticked off one at a time, adding up to the final package. We get the truth about Speed Demon, about Joystick, and about Captain Marvel, and despite some of the complaints I really don’t have any problem with his new status quo, although I must admit I don’t quite grasp the reasoning behind it. (There’s something bizarrely Freudian going on there, and I really hope Nicieza is planning to give us more of an explanation later on.)

Some of the stuff, such as Songbird’s actions in this issue, aren’t that surprising, but at the same time they work for her and show how far the character has come. The same goes for Mach-IV, still stuck in his old Beetle armor, but still displaying the true hero he’s become.

Tom Grummet again does a solidly entertaining job with this issue. He’s got some of the most action to draw that I’ve ever seen in a single issue, not just a fight scene but a city-wide fight scene involving hundreds of enemy agents and cameos from a lot of heroes outside of the main cast. This is the sort of thing that you usually have to see in a big summer crossover. He also gets points for a knockout cover – imagine, a cover that actually invokes the events of the issue. I’m amazed that Marvel let this get to the printer.

This book wraps up a lot of things, but there’s still plenty out there to keep us occupied. I can’t wait to see where it’ll go next.

Rating: 8/10

New Thunderbolts #5

February 11, 2005

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Call to Battle?

The Fathom Five is attacking – are there any Thunderbolts left to take them down?

Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Co-Plotter: Kurt Busiek
Pencils: Tom Grummett
Inks: Gary Erskine
Colors: Chris Sotomayor
Letters: Albert Deschesne
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Cover Art: Tom Grummett
Publisher: Marvel Comics

The Fathom Five are back, attacking Manhattan. The Avengers are gone. Only the Thunderbolts are left to save the day… but how many can be trusted? Atlas is acting erratic, Songbird is in the hospital, and the last time their leader saw Speed Demon, Blizzard and Joystick they were headed to a strip club. Oh – and Abe Jenkins is cut off from his Mach-IV armor.

This is a bad day.

This is also the issue where you see what this book has been leading up to. We see hints of characterization in Speed Demon that may start to betray his real motivation. We see Abe acting like the true hero he has become. We even get a promise to a final resolution of the Captain Marvel mystery, and all of this in book that’s chock-full of action from beginning to end. We even get a quick cameo from one of the villains of Nicieza’s most popular 90s work.

Nicieza and Busiek have created a pace that just won’t stop, and while some things still aren’t quite touched on this issue – the Swordsman subplot, for instance, you realize that they were subtly setting things up for a big sixth issue, perfect for the trade paperback. The thing is, with most comics these days, you see that coming from the first issue. Not here.

Grummett continues to impress with the artwork on this issue. There are a ton of characters bandied about in here – heroes and villains alike – and a lot of action, but he’s got great fight choreography and a good handle on everyone.

This book has been building momentum slowly. This issue you get the feeling that it’s finally hit the crest and it’s time to race to the finish. At least, the finish of the first story. If there’s anything that’s been consistent about the Thunderbolts from day one, it’s that every ending brings with it a dozen new beginnings.

Rating: 8/10

New Thunderbolts #3

December 24, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Heavy Burdens

Even with some all-star help, can the new Thunderbolts save the U.N.?

Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Heavy Thinking: Kurt Busiek
Pencils: Tom Grummett
Inks: Gary Erskine
Colors: Chris Sotomayor
Letters: Albert Deschesne
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Cover Art: Tom Grummett & Chris Sotomayor
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Last issue, a battle against The Game at the United Nations sent the building crumbling with the Thunderbolts, Mr. Fantastic and Namor inside. This time, heroes and villains alike work inside and out to save the lives of everybody trapped in the building.

The character dynamic in this issue is really, really good. It’s intriguing to see how quick Mr. Fantastic is to trust these new Thunderbolts, like he’s willing to give someone a second chance. On the outside, there’s a sharp contrast as Spider-Man has to forge an uneasy alliance with his former enemy, Mach-IV, who once plagued him as the Beetle. Mach-IV has to pull strings with his unlikely benefactor, Baron Strucker, to bring in the one man who can save the lives of everyone in the building. Finally, the book ends with a major, major twist (which is actually two twists in one – one of revelation and one of action) that turns the entire series on its ear only three issues in. Twists and turns were the hallmark of the old series, and it’s great to know that Nicieza and Busiek (who I have to assume is credited here for co-plotting) are keeping that tradition going.

Grummet, Erskine and Sotomayor continue to do a fantastic job with this book. They’ve got a lot to play with visually this issue, starting out with a four-page underwater sequence followed up with a major fire at the U.N. Songbird’s powers get a real workout this issue as well, which means they have a lot to play with as far as her powers are concerned.

Questions keep racking up with this book. What’s up with Atlas’s powers? How and why did Mach-IV hook up with Strucker? And what happened to Captain Marvel? I’d be lying if I said you got any answers this issue, but man, it’s fun getting to the questions.

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