Captain America: Reborn #3

by Ed Brubaker (writer), Bryan Hitch & Butch Guice (art), Paul Mounts (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Bucky and Falcon battle the Thunderbolts, Cap’s glass coffin is exhumed, an old “friend” returns, and Cap battles skrulls in space… again.

What’s Good: From the haunting first page, to the contents of Cap’s coffin, the time traveling plot of this miniseries is once again handled surprisingly well, maintaining a surreal feel throughout.  I especially liked Cap’s method of getting a message to his friends in the present day, which was a definite “why didn’t I think of that” moment.  Once again, it’s great when Cap “breaks character” and discusses his time traveling dilemma with a person from his past, as there’s always this intangible sense of excitement when he does.

Seeing Cap having to re-experience his battles in the Kree-Skrull War was also rather neat, and had a totally different effect from last month’s tragic reiteration of Cap’s origins.  This really did feel like a 70s-era space-based Avengers comic repackaged under a modern lens, and it felt utterly bizarre.  The clash of a past comic under modern artwork was jarring, which I suppose was appropriate, given that this miniseries is about a wrongful collision of past and present.

Though I suppose it was inevitable, the ending of this month’s issue still had a definite impact.  Seeing the return of an old character, one that I’m sure I’m not the only fan of, is never a bad thing.  I’m also all in favour of the character’s new appearance.  It’s very 60s sci-fi, as though it lept off the pages of Brubaker’s Incognito.

Art-wise, you get more of the high-standard you’d expect from Hitch and Guice: an incredible level of detail, excellent shading, and an impossible work-ethic.  I especially enjoyed the team’s depictions of high-altitude flight, which were bright, rosy, and gorgeous.  Hitch and Guise also let loose with the splashes and double-page spreads this month, making some truly iconic work, here.  One particular spread of Namor will certainly elicit its fair share of reader profanities.

What’s Not So Good: Unfortunately, this month’s issue takes a step back from much of what made last month’s such a step up in quality.  The present day portions are still less engaging than Steve’s scenes, but while last month chose to focus more on Rogers, this month spends more time with his present-day friends.  As a result, the issue just feels a bit more bland.

And when we do get Steve, there just isn’t the same level of introspection.  The sense of loss, tragedy, and helplessness just isn’t as poignant.  Instead of the monologues regarding his torment that made #2 so great, we instead just get a barrage of admittedly impressive spreads and splashes.  Brubaker seems to have decided to go heavier on the action side with Steve this month, and the result is a lot lighter.  There just isn’t the same level of gravitas and emotional weight, making the entire comic suffer.

Also, readers of that monthly comic will be quick to notice that Brubaker’s Thunderbolts sound nothing like Diggle’s.  For instance, Ghost sounds like the leader of the team, which is just downright wrong.

Finally, while Hitch and Guice’s artwork is unbelievable, their panel layouts are not.  For some reason, they’ve gone totally wild with the wide panels (widescreen shots) this month.  It’s an almost non-stop barrage that’s repetitive, uninspired, and just annoying.

Conclusion: Fairly good and still better than issue #1, but a step down from last month.

Grade: B –

-Alex Evans

Thunderbolts #135 – Review

by Andy Diggle (writer), Miguel Sepulveda (art), Frank Martin (colors), and Albert Deschesne (letters)

The Story: Black Widow and Songbird make a run for it.

What’s Good: Diggle writes an interesting script for this issue, one that’s self-referential in many ways.  Whenever a character says a line that sounds ridiculous, cliche, or out of character, another character immediately picks up on it. It’s actually fairly clever.  They pick up on the failings in each other’s dialogue or the more ridiculous aspects of certain characters. There’s an especially funny line regarding the cliche nature of Nick Fury’s voice that isn’t to be missed.

This is overall a fairly solid issue, and one of the reasons for that is perhaps the first time since the beginning of his run, Diggle actually makes his team feel not only competent, but nuanced and outright intimidating. All too often, Diggle’s Tbolts have felt woefully ineffective. It was great to hear them finally speak of with fear. By placing them in the role of pursuers as opposed to main characters actually does wonders for the team and has given them a shot of legitimacy. Too bad this comes at the end of Diggle’s run.

Character-wise, I’m glad that Mr. X was finally was put to good use in this issue, and unlike most martial arts monsters, he actually is as invincible as he should be. Mr. X is a scary, scary dude and his action scene was fantastic, lightning quick stuff that looked and read great. Norman was also oddly competent this month. Dark Reign has often made him seem a bit bumbling, but this month, he puts out the brainpower that one would expect out of someone running the show, in a twist on a twist that’s really rather cool.

On art, Sepulveda brings his awesome shading techniques that make the book look unlike any other, giving it a neat “painted” feel.

What’s Not So Good: But that’s all I can say that’s good about the art this month, which is quite inconsistent. Close-ups of faces often look completely strange, even muddy and distorted. Nick Fury in particular looks horrible, and it’s clear that Sepulveda can’t draw beaten and battered faces. He also struggles with people shouting.

Unfortunately, many of  the other panels aren’t much better. When the shot is zoomed out a bit, a lot of detail seems to be lost, to the point of looking flat-out weird. Inexplicably, Sepulveda’s action scenes look great and don’t suffer from any problems. It’s only in zoomed out panels without action that it all becomes a bit blank and blurry.

Frank Martin’s colors certainly don’t do Sepulveda’s art any favours. It’s clear that Sepulveda’s art looks best with dark colors, but with much of the book taking place outdoors, Martin makes the book look damned bright; and it just feels very off, inappropriate even. Worse still, I feel that the strong bright colors ended up battling Sepulveda’s equally strong shading, resulting in a very weird looking comic book.

Despite the cool action scenes, there’s some sloppy work here, and the overbearing colors don’t work with Sepulveda’s drawings.

Conclusion: A fairly decent issue held back by off-putting artwork.

Grade: B

-Alex Evans

Thunderbolts #132 (Dark Reign) – Review

By Andy Diggle (Writer), Robert De La Torre (Artist), and Frank Martin (Colorist)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: It’s about time that the Thunderbolts got back to business after being treated as fodder for Deadpool for a few months.  The whole “Magnum Opus” thing definitely hurt the credibility of the new Tbolts team.  Andy Diggle and Robert De La Torre have some work to do in order to re-establish their team as deadly and efficient.

The Story: The latest issue of Thunderbolts is sort of divided into two parts.  The first deals with the mysterious and paranoid Ghost.  He’s a wild card on a team of wild cards and his teammates are a bit uncomfortable with both his personality and his abilities.  The second part deals with the Thunderbolts going after their latest target, the dangerous Mister X.

What’s Good: Thunderbolts #132 is gritty, dark, sarcastic, mean, and surprisingly clever.  In other words, it’s exactly the way the series is supposed to be.  Andy Diggle and Robert De La Torre get the series back on track in a big way and I for one, couldn’t be much more pleased.  The visuals capture the action and the tone of the book extremely well (the assassination plan plays out in a very entertaining way). The character work does a solid job of bringing out the personalities that make up the covert-ops team (it’s been a long time coming), and last but not least, the story develops in a way that creates some intriguing possibilities.  Also, the Ghost segments are almost worth the cover price alone.  There’s some great stuff there.

What’s Not So Good: A few panels look unclear or rushed in Thunderbolts #132, though it’s tough to place blame.  Sometimes De La Torre’s gritty style, while a very good fit for the series,  is occasionally a bit too rough.  Other times, it’s Frank Martin’s moody, dark coloring that’s the cause of the clarity issues. Another thing I must mention is that the twist ending is a bit predictable and, as a result somewhat disappointing.

Conclusion: It’s great to see Thunderbolts return to form. Now it just has to remain in that form and all will be well.

Grade:  B+

-Kyle Posluszny

Thunderbolts #126 – Review

By Andy Diggle (Writer), Robert De La Torre (Art), and Frank Martin (Colorist)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: The Thunderbolts: Secret Invasion arc, while definitely (and surprisingly) entertaining, put the series in a perfect spot for a new creative team to take the ball and run with it. Now the question is whether Andy Diggle and Robert De La Torre can capture the same manic energy that made the Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato Jr. run such a success. I have high hopes.

The Story: While Norman Osborne plays politics and soaks up some post-Secret Invasion praise in Washington, the rest of the team tries to sort out what the future holds in store. To say much more would really ruin the issue, as most of it consists of short segments that go a long way towards establishing the new status quo that Andy Diggle will be working from. However, I will say that it looks as though the team is in for one hell of a shakeup.

What’s Good: I really like the position of the team in this issue. Each character is given time to shine (Norman Osborn in particular) and, for the most part, prove why he or she was placed on the Thunderbolts in the first place. Writer Andy Diggle clearly understands the dark, conflicting nature of team and uses it to great effect. As such, the issue is almost as unpredictable as the team, itself and that, readers, is a good thing.

What’s Not So Good: My biggest complaint is that a few of the characterizations just feel a bit off. The Radioactive Man segment is slightly confusing and I feel that Songbird comes across as a bit too vulnerable. Also, the artwork seems to be in need of an extra layer of polish. Everything looks nice enough, but there is an inconsistency to the work in regards to the level of detail used in each panel.

Conclusion: The new creative team is off to a good, yet slightly flawed start. That said, I am really looking forward to where they’re planning to take the Thunderbolts in the near future. If you have been waiting for a chance to check out Marvel’s team of anti-heroes, now’s the time to jump aboard. It looks like this is going to be a crazy ride!

Grade: B-

-Kyle Posluszny

A Second Opinion

I largely agree with what Kyle’s saying here.  As Thunderbolts picks up a new creative team, this is the perfect spot for new readers to check out what is easily Marvel’s most mean-spirited and vicious team to date.  I was disappointed to learn that Warren Ellis was leaving the title, but having enjoyed his work on The Losers and Green Arrow: Year One, I remained optimistic when I read that Andy Diggle would take over.  I’m pleased to say that he does not disappoint.  I was not as bothered by Diggle’s characterizations of Radioactive Man and Songbird, feeling that the focus of the issue was to introduce the cast to readers who would not have been familiar with Ellis’ take on them.

Also, I loved Robert De La Torre’s art;  although I would agree that the quality of his inks seemed inconsistent.  Like Kyle, I’m excited to see where Diggle and De La Torre go from here.  I felt this was a solid start from a worthy creative team, and would strongly encourage any undecided Thunderbolts readers to pick up this issue and give it a try!

Grade: B

-Tony Rakittke