Advance Review: Thunderbolts #1 (of 5)

Of all the characters in the Marvel universe, one of the most costumed and to some extent, team member/leader, Clint Barton certainly has been around the block. From Hawkeye to Goliath, from Wild Pack to Avengers, it seems that Clint is something of a superhero hobo. Couple this with Marvel’s constant “never let a book cancellation stop an idea” approach to publishing sees Clint join yet another team again as the Thunderbolts, er….assemble?

Mayor Luke Cage has something of a PR problem. One of the laws that the previous Mayor, Wilson Fisk, instituted was that superhero vigilantes were banned from New York. Luke has a quite a few friends in that community and when he tried to repeal the law, his advisors stated that the New York natives are actually in favour of the law and in favour of the state sanctioned Thunderbolts. A rock and a hard indeed. Still being Mayor means that Luke can pull a few strings, influencing the make-up of the team. Welcome back home, again Hawkeye!

If I am honest, I have always found Jim Zub’s writing to be a tad pedestrian at times. There is nothing wrong with writing to a house style; Marvel have been doing it for years, in some shape or form. This time around however, I have to say that i quite liked the idea of a rudderless Clint Barton attached to a group of people solely picked because of their social diversity. It’s a clever little bit of meta prose, that doesn’t seem to heavy handed, unlike other pointed stories. Zub’s dialogue goes a step further; through a variety of writers Clint has gone through some character changes; there is a fun element to Clint that whilst expected, it is a Marvel book where everyone has to be funny after all, carries the interactions through the book. Whilst an introduction to the team of sorts, Zub works hard to showcase each one, Zub also takes time to plant a few seeds for future issues.

The art from Sean Izaakse works well enough. Izaakse has something of a house style that I am sure is aimed to please fans of the Avengers titles, if you can find an Avenger in their books, but that is a different problem. There are pacy panels with loads of details, the conversation panels use decent angles and characters look consistent throughout. What more could you want? Colors are provided by Java Tartaglia, which matches any of Marvels book in tone. Letters are sublimely supplied by VC’s Joe Sabino. Finally, there are a raft of covers to choose from, I am happy with the A cover. Speaking of covers, still no cover credits for letterers!

Not being a huge Hawkeye fan, I was kind of on the fence when this book came down the pipe. With that said, what I found was an enjoyable little romp that succeeds in hits aim to bring the Thunderbolts back in a way that fits the current Marvel city scape.

Writing – 4 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Colors – 4 Stars

Overall – 4 Stars

Written by; Jim Zub
Art by; Sean Izaakse
Colors by; Java Tartaglia
Letters by; VC’s Joe Sabino
Published by; Marvel Worldwide Inc.

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network