Thunderbolts #154 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Declan Shalvey (art), Frank Martin (colors), Albert Deschesne (letters), Rachel Pinnelas (assistant editor) & Tom Brennan & Bill Rosemann (editors)

The Story: A done-in-one story focusing on Man Thing.

What’s Good: When the “new” Thunderbolts were announced last summer, none of the members was a huge surprise except for Man-Thing.  Huh, wha?  How was that going to work?  Man-Thing isn’t really a villain who needs to work off his crimes by being a member of the Thunderbolts.  But, Jeff Parker has really made it work.  In just about every issue so far, Man-Thing has gotten involved in the action.  He doesn’t talk and doesn’t take direction. He’s just kinda there in the background, pitching in here and there without being instructed to.

But, all along the question has been: Why?  Why would Man-Thing want to work with the Thunderbolts?

This issue digs into Man-Thing’s origins and possible motivations by way of a stand-alone story that sees him whisked back to the swampy Everglades that birthed him in the first place.  By focusing on his magical nature, former life as a scientist and his relationships with sorceresses much is (kinda) explained: If the scientist is still lurking in there behind those big red eyes, wouldn’t he want to travel and learn and hang out with pretty ladies with magic based powers like Moonstone?    We even learn a little bit about the “zoo” under the raft where Man-Thing lives.

We should all be keeping an eye on Declan Shalvey who draws this issue.  I became a big fan of his on the Boom! series 28 Day Later (and have a piece of original art from the series) and he’s carried that tight linework over to his work at Marvel.  His characters are all lifelike and vital and he draws a mean giant lizard (what is it with Jeff Parker and the oversized monsters the last few months?), but he also puts in all the other little touches that sell a scene taking place in the Everglades by drawing craggy old trees with Spanish moss, boats, outboard motors, etc.  He also looks like he works really well with Frank Martin on colors.  They seem to have a good sense of who is going to shade what aspects of the art and the end product is really nice.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Amazing Spider-Man #655 – A few people were pointing out how this story of loss and Peter resolving to do a better job has “been done before”, but I don’t think it has ever been done as well.  Slott and Martin do a masterful job telling a silent story of loss that combines with a fever dream sequence that cuts to the core of who Peter Parker is.  Runners-up: Fantastic Four #588 & Morning Glories #7.

Most Anticipated: Incognito: Bad Influences #4 – By the end of issue #3, the Brubaker/Phillips/Staples team had all of their game pieces out of the box, so I fully expect this issue to begin accelerating towards what should be a great conclusion to this series.

Other Picks: Sweet Tooth #19, Carbon Grey #1, Intrepids #1, Annihilators #1, Thunderbolts #154

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Amazing Spider-Man #655 – This was a hugely difficult week to pick from, as there was just so, so much to like…even if I seem to be the only person  high on Iron Man 2.0 right now.  But there was so much goodness, between Action and Detective Comics and Fantastic Four among others.  Ultimately though, I’ve got to give it to ASM, with its mix of a silent, mourning component and a surreal dream sequence.  If anything, Marcos Martin tips the scales with his awesome artwork.

Most Anticipated: Secret Six #31 – This is the story I’ve been waiting for ever since the Six’s brilliant first story-arc.  Better still, it’s a three-parter, which means things’ll be compact and not at all dragged out.  I can’t wait to see where this goes.  As a side note, I’m also pretty happy that we get a thinner weak after the insanity of last week.

Other Picks: Powers #7, Sweet Tooth #19, Secret Warriors #25, Brightest Day #21, Green Lantern #63